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Chopped Thai Crunch Chicken Salad. With lots and lots of crispy, salty, fried wontons. This yummy Thai-inspired salad is a mix of fresh greens, chicken, mango, creamy avocado, and delicious crunchy peanuts, all topped with those delicious crispy wontons. Everything is tossed together with my favorite toasted sesame, garlic, and ginger peanut dressing. I’m pretty sure you’ll find it delicious. This salad is a wonderful mix of savory, sweet, and salty. It’s no-cook, easy to toss together, bright and colorful, plus, of course, totally delicious!
This salad! Ah, of all the salads I’ve shared, this one might be the most addicting. I have to blame that all on the salty peanut dressing. Anything peanut butter, plus sweet and savory, is always on the addictive side. We love it.
With Easter taking place this weekend, I’ve been in major spring mode – even though it’s still March. We actually had a full week of sunshine, so it did feel like spring would soon be here! But, alas, the snow is back, such is life in the mountains.
The upcoming holiday and sunshine inspired a handful of bright new recipes. This salad being one of them!
When I first started cooking, I used to make this exact peanut dressing for grilled chicken. Until now, I’ve always saved the dressing for summer days. But it’s so delicious tossed up in this yummy Thai-inspired salad, why wait?
This salad will be great for serving over Easter. It’s a light spring dinner, and what’s even better is that any leftovers can be enjoyed for lunch the following day!
OK, these are the details
Step 1: make the peanut dressing
This is one of the yummiest dressings. It’s a mix of creamy peanut butter, tamari (or soy sauce), toasted sesame oil (this adds such a good flavor; if you have it, definitely use it), lime juice, garlic, pickled ginger, spicy red Fresno peppers, hot sauce (try sambal oelek or sriracha), and honey.
I prefer to mix everything together in the food processor and then thin it out with the ginger juice from the pickled ginger jar.
If you do not love spicy, you can omit the hot sauce and or chile pepper.
Step 2: the wontons
This step is not technically a part of the recipe. You can choose to buy store-bought crispy wontons or make your own.
If you make your own, you just need oil for frying, wonton wrappers (or use egg roll wraps), and sea salt. I fry the wonton strips in hot oil, then sprinkle with sea salt and sometimes lime zest. These are so yummy!
Step 3: the salad
Next up is the salad. I use shredded green cabbage, shredded chicken, carrots, and mango. Then I mix in chopped Thai basil, cilantro, and green onions too.
For the CRUNCH – peanuts and toasted sesame seeds.
And the sliced avocados go on top!
Step 4: toss it
Now toss the chopped salad with the peanut dressing. I use half the dressing, then save the remaining dressing for serving.
The dressing really is key, it’s what brings in all the flavor. Then finish the salad with extra avocado slices and so many fried wontons, they are delicious! Oh, and lots of extra dressing and lime juice too!
Fresh and totally delish! A great salad for spring and summer.
Looking for other dinner ideas?
Crockpot White Chicken Chili Burrito Bowls
Red’s Favorite Spicy Tuna Poke Bowls
Skillet Chicken Adobo with Coconut Rice
30 Minute Pineapple Chicken with Coconut Rice
Weeknight Sesame Teriyaki Chicken with Ginger Rice
Sesame Ginger Orange Chicken Salad
Lastly, if you make this Chopped Thai Crunch Chicken Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chopped Thai Crunch Chicken Salad
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 542 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Peanut Dressing
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup tamari/soy sauce
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame oil (or olive oil)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon chopped pickled ginger
- 1 jalapeño or Fresno pepper, chopped (seeded if desired)
- 2-3 tablespoons hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
Salad
- 4 cups shredded cabbage
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
- 1 cup chopped cilantro/basil
- 1/2 cup chopped or thinly sliced mango
- 1/3 cup chopped peanuts
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1/3 cup chopped green onions
- crispy wontons, for serving (see notes)
Instructions
- 1. To make the dressing. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Pulse to combine, thin with water as desired. 2. To make the salad. In a salad bowl, combine the cabbage, chicken, carrots, herbs, mango, and peanuts. Pour over half the dressing, then toss to coat the greens. 3. Add the fried wontons, sesame seeds, green onions, and serve with a squeeze of lime. ENJOY the yumminess.
Notes
Crispy Wontons: Heat the avocado or olive oil in a skillet. Add the thinly sliced strips of wontons and let cook, 1-2 minutes, until deeply golden and crisp. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle with flaky salt.
This salad was a big hit at our house! Very refreshing and the dressing was amazing!
Hey Tracy,
Thanks so much!! Love to hear that everyone enjoyed this salad, I appreciate you giving it a try! xT
Made this last night and it was delicious! I didn’t have mango, so I used mandarin oranges and it turned out great. I thought the dressing was a good balance of sweet and salty and I had enough to use as a dipping sauce for some shrimp dumplings we had with the salad. Yummy all around!!
Hey Nancy,
Love this!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe, great idea to use the mandarin oranges! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Love your creative recipes, And sometimes I tweet them to include my favorite fresh herb, Basil, Dill, Italian Parsley. Always plenty leftover to eat another meal.
Thanks so much Lydia!! Love that you are able to add flavors that you enjoy:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
Just made the dressing and I have to throw it out. It’s way too salty. I used soy sauce not tamari as the recipe says but you need low sodium soy I think?
Hi Jodi,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry it was too salty for you! I really think it’s personal preference, so it sounds like you might like tamari or low sodium soy sauce! xx
Made this tonight to use up left over chicken. (My first attempt at homemade wontons… I had NO idea it was so easy) we thought we would have leftovers for lunch tomorrow but we ate every single bite. Thanks for another winner.
Hey Jill,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for making this salad and sharing your feedback, so glad it was delish! xT
Hi there,
This recipe is lovely!
So sorry that you have to deal with comments from people who get frustrated by a minor typo… (just use your creativity or common sense people).
Your recipes are inspirational and fun!
Thanks so much Orsi!! I appreciate you trying this salad and your kind message, so glad it was enjoyed! xT
Hi Teagan,
This salad looks delicious. I look forward to trying it. I must say I agree with the comments asking you to either hire a professional, proofreader or do it yourself many of your recipes do have typos. I also noticed in the description you say to thin the dressing out with the juice from the pickle ginger jar, which is a great idea. In the direction you say to use water be helpful if it said the ginger juice or water. Thank you.
Thanks so much Clo! While I appreciate your feedback, I can promise you that I proof the recipe and then my mom proofs it between 2-3 times before we post. We are human, so yes, we do have mistakes sometimes. You can thin the dressing with the ginger juice or water depending on your taste preference. I hope you love this salad! xx
Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. But there are always mistakes in your recipes. Time to find a new proofreader. This is the career you chose, you have a responsibility to do it as best as you can. If you’re not into it anymore, then stop.
That was a very rude comment. You have the option not to follow her!
I love your recipes! I often use them as a base and tailor them to suit my preferences so not fussed with the lettuce/cabbage issue.
So it’s been proofread 4+ times and you still have an abundance of mistakes or discrepancies.. this isn’t the clapback you think it is. You have massive spelling/grammatical errors in half of your posts – it almost seems like you’re drunk. Do better.
I saw this recipe this morning and I made it for dinner tonight. LOVE! So good. I made it exactly as written and this is a keeper. The dressing is not too sweet or “peanutty”. The jalapeno, hot sauce, and pickled ginger give it just enough heat. So glad I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow.
Thanks a lot, Deborah!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for your comment! Xx
Very delicious recipe. We skipped the Wontons as we can’t find them in our hood. Anyway a great dish with freshly roasted chicken thigh from the air fryer.
Greetings from Munich, Sibylle
Thanks so much Sibylle! I am so glad to hear this salad turned out nicely for you, thanks for trying it! xT
Hi Sibylle,
I used BOMBAY MIX instead of wontons and it is delicious!
Hi Alicia, thank you so much for that great idea! Will try it next time.
Worth going out to get the pickled ginger. And since I’m GF I used broken GF pretzels sticks instead of wonton. Easier, less oil, and definitely makes the salad great!! Thanks for a winner!
Hey Jan,
Happy Monday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your comment, I’m so glad it turned out well for you! xT
Maybe the correction was made since I don’t see lettuce mentioned in the instructions.
Hi Becky,
Yes, there was a small typo with the lettuce, there is only cabbage in this recipe:) I hope you love the salad! xT
Please proof read, this happens with nearly every recipe you post
Hi Barb,
Sorry for the typo:) No lettuce in this recipe, just the cabbage! Let me know if you give it a try! Happy Monday:) xx
Before I try this, why is there no lettuce in the ingredients list, but is part of the assembly instructions? Proof reading is important.
Hi Michelle,
So sorry for the confusion, the lettuce was a typo, you are just going to use cabbage:) Let me know if you give this salad a try! xT
How much lettuce ? It’s not mentioned in ingredients ??
It’s listed as the first ingredient under salad. 4 cups shredded green cabbage. Hope that helps.
Cabbage and lettuce are different vegetables. Both are listed in the assembly, but not the ingredient list.
Janet – in the instructions it says to add the cabbage with the lettuce! But yet there is no lettuce listed in the ingredient list.
As I say on every single recipe…please hire a professional proofreader/editor! Your readers shouldn’t have to be questioning every recipe you post. Extremely frustrating and maddening.
Hi there,
Sorry for any confusion, there is just cabbage in this recipe, no lettuce:) Let me know if you give it a try! xT
The directions say to add lettuce, but the recipe doesn’t call for lettuce. Is there lettuce?
Hey Anne,
So sorry about that, the lettuce was a typo, it’s just cabbage:) I hope you love this recipe! xT
for clarity, a “typo” is an error in spelling of a word. A word present that shouldn’t be present is an error. Spellcheck will find typos but only a proofreader with knowledge of the content would find an error.