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A salad like this will easily set you back $20 a pound at a gourmet market. But hey, why spend when you can whip it up at home? (And honestly, homemade always tastes better, right?) This Asian Chicken Salad with Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette is fast, fresh and really, really satisfying.
😍 Why You’ll Love My Asian Chicken Salad
This salad packs some serious crunch because of all the fresh vegetables, it’s beautifully simple, and ideal for meal prepping or making ahead of time – with a base of hearty vegetables, it will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge – dressing and all! It’s great way to use up leftover chicken but can be made vegan or vegetarian if you want it to be, and did I mention it’s gluten and dairy free?
🗒️ Ingredients
Green Cabbage – Cabbage is the base of this delicious salad and brings some serious crunch to the plate! Using cabbage as the base means it won’t go soggy once it’s dressed – this is what lets us prepare it ahead of time or as meal prep for the week ahead.
Carrots – Grated carrots are crisp but subtly soft, and have a slight sweetness that’s very refreshing!
Green Onions – Green onions, or scallions, give us a little bit of onion flavor without as much bite.
Orange – Not only do the juicy Orange segments provide some variety of texture to our salad, but they also bring sweetness and acidity, and of course a beautiful pop of color!
Cilantro – Cilantro is citrusy, herbal, and slightly peppery which makes it the perfect pairing for our orange-based vinaigrette!
Parsley – Parsley is clean, crisp and wonderfully refreshing.
Garlic – Garlic adds a bold and aromatic depth to our vinaigrette, offsetting the acidity of the vinegar and orange juice, and sweetness of the coconut aminos!
Sesame Oil – Rich and nutty, sesame oil is a staple of many asian cuisines. Its bold flavor is quick to overpower so remember a little goes a long way!
Coconut Aminos – Savoury and slightly sweet, coconut aminos bring a gentle umami richness to our dressing.
Rice Vinegar – The most subtle of the vinegars, Rice Vinegar has a subtle tanginess that brings out the brightness in other flavors and just a touch of sweetness.
👩🍳 How to Make My Asian Chicken Salad
🥣 In a large serving bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients to combine.
🥬 To the dressing, add the cabbage and salt and toss it with the dressing.
🥕 Add the carrots, green onions, and cooked chicken. Toss again to combine.
🍊 Gently stir in oranges, cilantro, parsley, roasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.
🧂 Taste it and add more salt if it needs it.
🥳 Enjoy!
🎩 Tips and Tricks
- Reach for a mandolin to cut down on all the chopping – just be careful with your fingers!
- This is a one-bowl recipe, if you’re planning on storing it to eat later, do yourself a favor and construct your salad in the container you want to store it in!
🤲 Substitutions
The Hungry Lady Salad series started as a way to create simple, fulfilling meals that are no-fuss by nature – and that means leaving room for substitutions! Here are a few of my go-to swaps:
- If you don’t eat meat, simply leave the chicken out, or swap in some chickpeas for some protein.
- Salmon or shrimp would be a great protein here instead of the chicken too.
- Use drained, canned mandarin oranges if you’d prefer not to segment the fresh oranges.
- If you don’t eat nuts, just leave them out. You get plenty of crunch from the fresh veggies.
📓 Best served with
- On its own, as a true meal-in-a-bowl Hungry Lady Salad!
- Crispy wontons or spring rolls would be a wonderful crunchy side.
- Blistered Edamame
👝 How to Store Leftovers
One of my favorite features of this salad is that it can be stored, dressing and all, for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. If you have a large enough air-tight container, you could go so far as to make and store it without having to create extra dishes!
🧠 Common Questions
If you’re planning on eating it as soon as it’s made, any leafy green will do. If you want it to stand the test of time, you’ll need a substitute that is as hardy – I recommend reaching for kale or Brussels sprouts. Broccoli stems could also work!
Supreme is a preparation where you cut away the peel and pith to extract the segments cleanly.
Orange slices are my preference, but at the end of the day, if you don’t want to supreme the orange, you don’t have to! A fresh orange cut into chunks will taste just as delicious.
Reach for some regular soy sauce or tamari instead.
Asian Chicken Salad with Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Orange-Sesame Vinaigrette:
- 1 large clove garlic, grated
- Zest and juice from ½ of a medium orange
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- ¼ cup coconut aminos, or soy sauce
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- 5 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
Salad:
- 4 cups thinly sliced Napa or green cabbage
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken, (12 ounces cooked)
- 2 cups orange segments, supreme an orange, or cut fresh orange segments into chunks
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup roasted sliced almonds
- ¼ cup toasted sesame seeds
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large serving bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients to combine.
- To the dressing, add the cabbage and salt and toss it with the dressing.
- Add the carrots, green onions, and cooked chicken. Toss again to combine.
- Gently stir in oranges, cilantro, parsley, roasted almonds, toasted sesame seeds and red pepper flakes. Taste it and add more salt if it needs it.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was a great recipe (as yours always are!!). I used regular sesame oil because I couldn’t get my hands on one that was toasted. I found it was quite a strong flavour. Would you substitute these oils or use something different?
I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Louise!
You can always swap the sesame oil for more avocado oil, or find a balance between the two that is more to your taste – it can mean a little bit of experimenting but it’s worth it, I promise!
Kat.
Loved this! I added a couple tablespoons of maple syrup.
That sounds like a delicious addition, Michele!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Kat.
This salad is delicious, and was very easy to prepare. I made it as written, and it was perfect. It has now earned a spot in my rotation of favourite salads! Thank you!
This means the world, Anna! It’s always an honor to be in the rotation 😉
Kat.
This salad was delicious but I think too much dressing and not enough greens for me so I added arugula.. Sliced oranges bc I didn’t know what “supreme” an orange meant (googled it later). Super delicious, crunchy and filling. One giant bowl lasted me 4 days! Next time I will add the dressing to each serving as my salad was pretty soggy. All in all a winner. Thanks Kat!
Patricia, I’m so glad you enjoyed this one! I’m a big dressing gal, but as always, edit to your hearts content!
Thank you so much for being here!
Kat.
Delicious! I could drink the dressing. Thank you!
Thank you Heather! I’m so glad you loved it!
Kat.
This salad is so full of flavor. I love the sweet and savory. I used the chicken from my chicken bone broth recipe. I will make this over and over again.
I can’t wait for your cookbook to arrive! Your website is my go-to when looking for a recipe.
Mary!! Thank you so much for being here, I’m so glad you loved this recipe and I can’t wait for you to get my cookbook either! The countdown is ON!
Kat.
This is incredible. I prepped it for lunches and had to restrain myself from eating it for dinner, too.
Thank you so much Caet! I know that feeling well 😉
Kat.
Crunchy, tangy, sweet, and salty–all the good stuff for detoxing from the heavy fat and sugar bombs from the holidays. I added peanuts to mine, and gomasio in place of the salt. The rest of the recipe was just as printed. So good! Even the teenagers ate it up. And it didn’t break the bank, either. I made a double batch because a: teenagers, and b: great left over the next day. We had it with homemade hot and sour soup for dinner.
I love this so much, Andrea – I was craving vegetables so strongly after the Christmas/New Year festivities and I knew others would be too!
A major compliment that your teenagers enjoyed it too, thank you for sharing!
Enjoy,
Kat.
I made this for my parents on Saturday and we all LOVED it! So flavorful and tasty! Thank you for this one, it’s fabulous!!!
This made my day! Thank you for sharing, Jess!
Enjoy,
Kat.
I made this today and it’s delicious. I ate it for lunch and supper. I did increase the amount of cabbage but it worked fine. Healthy and filling. Thanks for the recipe.
You’re so welcome, Emily! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Kat.