Thai Chicken Chopped Salad

This is one of those recipes that works great for dinner or as a meal-prep recipe for weekday lunches. A few minutes of chop therapy (chop therapy is when you turn on your favorite music, preferably very loudly, and wash, slice, dice and chop a bunch of veggies or fruit), and you’ve got all the elements for a huge and very tasty salad.

I find that I am very prone to eating Doritos and peanut butter toast for lunch if I don’t have something sort of prepped. When I’m hungry, I am HUNGRY and lunch needs to be quick and easy. This salad is exactly that. I keep the prepared salad separate from the dressing in the fridge and when I’m ready to eat, I scoop out a portion and drizzle it with the dressing. Give it a good stir and you’re ready to eat.

I made a reel of it on Instagram if you want to see just how easy it really is to make. And of course, you could always sub in different ingredients to your preference. You could do cooked shrimp instead of chicken or skip the protein altogether. Shelled edamame, sliced mango and creamy avocado would all be lovely additions if you happened to have them. Cooked ramen or spaghetti noodles would bulk this salad up for a heartier meal as would a big handful of baby spinach mixed in. See? The options are endless. This salad easily serves 6 to 8 hearty portions if you have a decent sized cabbage so keep that in mind as you’re preparing this recipe.

Thai Chicken Chopped Salad

• 1 head green or Napa cabbage shredded

• 1 red bell pepper diced

• 2 large carrots shredded

• 1 English cucumber chopped

• 2 cups skinless shredded rotisserie chicken

• Fresh cilantro

• Peanut dressing*

In a large bowl layer the red bell pepper, shredded carrots, English cucumber and chicken over the shredded cabbage. Drizzle peanut dressing over the salad and use tongs to toss and combine until well-mixed. Garnish with fresh cilantro.

Creamy Peanut Dressing

• 2 tablespoons sesame oil

• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter

• 2 cloves garlic

• 1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger

• 1 teaspoon sriracha

• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

• 1 tablespoon honey

• Splash of water

In a blender or food processor combine all of the ingredients except the water. Pulse a few times to combine. Add a tablespoon of water, blend and keep adding water until the dressing is smooth and to the desired thickness. Pour over the salad and store extras in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.