This recipe for Chinese chicken salad is loaded with chicken, veggies, wontons and almonds, all tossed in a sesame ginger dressing. An impressive salad that’s perfect for potlucks and parties!
I often serve salads when I’m entertaining, especially during the warmer months. Some of my favorites include burrata salad, mango salad, Tuscan kale salad, ramen noodle salad, BBQ chicken salad and this fresh and delicious Chinese chicken salad. You can never have too many salad recipes!
I love to order Chinese chicken salad at restaurants, but I had never attempted to make it myself at home. I’m a big salad eater, especially at lunch time, and I decided it was time to create my own version of the restaurant favorite. Dare I say this is even better than the restaurant version? It has plenty of crunch and the perfect balance of flavors.
Table of Contents
Chinese Chicken Salad Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need green and purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, cooked chicken, almonds, wontons and sesame seeds. You will also need vegetable oil, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and sesame oil for the dressing.
How Do You Make Chinese Chicken Salad?
Place both types of cabbage along with the carrots, green onions, chicken and almonds in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the salad dressing ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad, and gently toss to combine. Add wonton strips, sesame seeds and additional green onions on top, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Salad
- Hoisin sauce is a sweet and savory Asian condiment that can be found in the ethnic aisle of most grocery stores.
- You’ll want to grate your ginger on a the fine edge of a box grater, or on a microplane so that it’s in tiny pieces that blend into the dressing.
- I like to shred my own cabbage using a mandoline. If you’re looking to save some time, you can buy a bag of coleslaw mix instead.
- You can use any cooked chicken you have on hand – I used diced grilled chicken breast but rotisserie chicken and leftover roasted chicken also work just as well.
- Wonton strips can be found in the salad dressing aisle near the croutons.
- Not a fan of green onions? Cilantro is also a nice addition.
Quick Tip
You can prepare the salad ingredients and dressing up to 8 hours before you plan to eat, then toss everything together right before serving.
Recipe FAQs
This salad is hearty enough to serve as a main course, but it also pairs well with other Asian inspired recipes such as orange chicken, chicken fried rice, sweet and sour pork, and General Tso’s chicken.
This salad is best when eaten immediately. The dressed salad will last up to 4 hours in the fridge. After that time, the wontons may get soft.
This salad is not a traditional Asian dish. In fact, many people think the Chinese chicken salad was invented in American! The dish gets its name from the use of Asian ingredients such as wontons, sesame seeds, soy sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame oil.
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Asian Chicken Salad Variations
There are so many ways to alter the ingredients in this recipe to suit your tastes.
- Protein: Try grilled shrimp or cubed tofu instead of chicken.
- Greens: Use shredded romaine lettuce, napa cabbage or iceberg lettuce instead of red cabbage and green cabbage.
- Avocado: Add one diced avocado to the mix for a fresh new flavor.
- Oranges: Add one small can of drained mandarin oranges for a sweet and savory salad.
- Noodles: Try using chow mein noodles or broken up ramen noodles instead of the wonton strips.
- Veggies: Feel free to add other vegetables such as bean sprouts, red bell pepper, snap peas or snow peas, baby corn or water chestnuts.
I make this salad constantly – it’s great for a ladies lunch, the perfect potluck offering and makes for a simple yet satisfying dinner.
More Great Salad Recipes
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Chopped Salad with Chicken
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Shrimp Salad Recipe
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Three Bean Salad
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Greek Salmon Salad
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Chinese Chicken Salad Video
Love This Recipe?
Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section further down the page.
Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- 4 cups green cabbage shredded
- 1 cup purple cabbage shredded
- 1 cup carrots shredded
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions plus more for garnish
- 3 cups cooked chicken
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds toasted
- 3/4 cup wonton strips
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger finely grated
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Place the green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots, green onions, chicken and almonds in a bowl.
- For the dressing: Combine all dressing ingredients in a bowl; whisk until well combined.
- Pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Toss to coat evenly. Sprinkle the wonton strips and sesame seeds over the salad.
- Garnish with sliced green onions, then serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use any cooked chicken you have on hand – I used diced grilled chicken but rotisserie chicken and leftover chicken also work just as well.
- Wonton strips can be found in the salad dressing aisle near the croutons.
- You can prepare the salad ingredients and dressing up to 8 hours before you plan to eat, then toss everything together right before serving.
I love this recipe. I toast the sesame seeds to really bring out the sesame flavor. I also add canned mandarins and some fresh chopped cilantro to finish. This is a recipe other people always ask me for when I bring it to an event. This salad is also good with a nice piece of fish if you aren’t in the mood for chicken – the citrus from the mandarin & the dressing are an excellent complement.
I made this for dinner tonight with leftover orange chicken. Very delicious! Crunchy, tangy, filling. It hits all the right notes. I will use the dressing over and over. Thank you.
Absolutely Delicious and it will be in our recipe line up from here on out!!! I doubled the dressing recipe since we love it so much and put it in a plastic squeeze bottle for additional salad dressing to have on hand.
This was very enjoyable for something different. I’m kind of a safe, not adventurous palate. I did use half cabbage, half iceberg lettuce, as I don’t love cabbage and I couldn’t taste the difference between the lettuce and cabbage. My husband even liked it and that is something. Loved the toasted almonds, although I used sliced. Looking forward to making it again, I’ll also make it as a side and keep the chicken out to eat often. Thank you
What is a serving size? This would be very low points on WW (weight watchers)!
It’s 1 1/2 cups!
The dressing for this salad is the absolute VERY BEST–and believe me I have tried about every Sesame Ginger dressing on the internet. Some are too oily, not flavorful, etc.–I think it is the addition of the hoisin sauce that makes the difference. This is now my “go to” Sesame Ginger Dressing!!
Loving the recipes.
Thank you
Wow I will definitely try it out
Is there a brand of Hoisin sauce your prefer? Or, do you make your own?
I typically use Lee Kum Kee or Dynasty!
Do I have to fry the wonton strips or can I buy them?
I buy them already fried in a bag!
is chicken seasoned with anything before cooking ?
I just season with salt and pepper!
This looks like something I would get at my favorite restaurant. I love that I can make it at home at a fraction of the cost. So many yummy flavors in this salad!
I am totally loving this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad, looks wonderful.
Made this the other night and cannot wait to make it again already! Thank you!
I adore a good Chinese chicken salad. Totally need to make this salad this summer!
How can I cut down on the sodium in this recipe
You can use a low sodium soy sauce and try omitting a few teaspoons of the soy sauce on top of that. Hope that helps!
I love your LOADED version of Chinese Chicken Salad. The more toppings, the merrier!
Beautiful salad Sara, love all the crunch you added too!
Thaaaaaaanks 🙂
This looks like it would be great fun to eat – a bite of this, a bite of that … all beautiful and I bet it is delicious! Love the crunchy additions – perfect!
Swooning!!! Nice salad ♥