Thai Chicken Peanut Salad

It is May, and school is almost out! So are the days of heavy hot meals. Summer is just around the corner and it’s time for lighter foods and yummy salads. Salads with an Asian influence have always been a favorite of mine, and my husband loves Pad Thai, but I really try hard to avoid the carbs that come with the noodles. So I adapted my own version of a Thai Chicken Salad with a peanut dressing. It’s crunchy and loaded with lots of healthy veggies!

I started with a mix of shredded cabbage and carrots (I used the store bought pre-chopped cabbage mix. Makes it easier if you are pinched for time!) I added in some baby gem lettuce, finely chopped. You could also use romaine or any other crisp lettuce.

I used chicken breast marinated with lime, olive oil and some seasoned salt.

I broiled the chicken and then shredded it into bite size pieces.

Next, I made a peanut dressing with peanut butter (all natural, no sugar), lime juice, liquid aminos (great sub for soy sauce) and some warm water.

I also made a spicy drizzle to go over the tossed sauced. I used rice vinegar, lime juice, hot chile paste and some honey. The sweet and spicy was a perfect combo over the salad for a perfect finish!

Crunchy, crispy, healthy and delicious!!

Here is the exact recipe:

Thai Chicken Peanut Salad with Spicy sauce

For the chicken:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Juice from 2 limes

1/4 cup olive oil

Seasoned salt or salt and pepper

Marinate chicken in a ziplock bag with all ingredients. Marinate at least 30 minutes. Broil for 10-15 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink inside. Cool and shred into bite size pieces.

For the salad:

2 cups shredded cabbage (red or green or mixture with shredded carrots, prebagged)

2 cups shredded gem lettuce

1/2 cup diced cucumber

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1/4 cup dry roasted salted peanuts

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add shredded chicken and toss with peanut dressing and drizzle with spicy dressing below.

For the peanut dressing:

1/2 cup natural creamy peanut butter

Juice from 1 lime

2 tsp. liquid aminos ( replacing soy sauce)

1 tbsp. honey

1 tablespoon Hot water, or more as needed to thin dressing

Mix all ingredients together in bowl till smooth. Pour over salad and mix well.

Spicy Thai Dressing:

2 tbsp rice vinegar

2 tbsp fish sauce

Juice from 1 lime

1 tsp. hot chili sauce

1 tsp. honey

Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Drizzle over salad for extra spice and flavor.

Although it seems like this salad is complicated and has lots of steps, a lot can be prepared in advance, making last minute preparation easy and quick!