salad dressing

Name: Spicy Thai Chicken Salad with Chili Lime Dressing
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 22 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Thai - American
Ingredients: 3 tbsp. rice vinegar; zest and juice of 2 limes; 1/2 shallot, finely sliced; 1 clove garlic, minced; 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar; 1 small red Thai chili (green if you can't find red), minced; 4 tbsp. neutral oil (vegetable, grapeseed, canola); salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 small head green or Napa cabbage; 3 medium carrots; 10 ounces cooked chicken breasts, shredded or finely sliced (2 small); 1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped; 1 bunch scallions (green onion), sliced on bias; 1 cup snow peas, thinly sliced on bias; 1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped; 2 tbsp. Thai basil, chopped (sub regular basil if you can't find, or omit); 2 tbsp. mint, chopped; salt & pepper to taste

Spicy Thai Chicken Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

December 28, 2021

Home » salad dressing

Spicy Thai chicken salad with chili lime dressing is fresh and delicious. It’s the perfect light and refreshing lunch or dinner, and it’s great for meal prepping. This Thai spicy chicken salad recipe comes together quickly – just toss all of the ingredients in a bowl. With plenty of crunch and texture, this salad is satisfying, good for you and so delicious.

Thai chicken salad

This recipe for spicy Thai salad with chicken is one of my favorites. I love it in the heat of summer, but I truly love it after the holidays. For me, it’s the perfect antidote to all of the sweets I tend to eat at the end of the year.

I make no apologies for it, but after a few weeks, I start craving spicy, crunchy vegetables, and this friends, hits the spot.

Is this supposed to be an “authentic” Thai recipe? No. It’s something I made up over ten years ago. It has Thai flavors and that’s the name I gave it a decade ago.

This is the base of the salad – lots of vegetables and herbs with a bit of chicken. If you choose to omit the chicken, this salad is vegan.

I go heavy on the herbs, because I like it that way. If you don’t, feel free to cut back on them, or add in more cabbage, carrots or chicken.

Spicy Thai salad with chicken and lime vinaigrette.

Chili lime dressing ingredients

This spicy Thai dressing is super quick and easy. If you have difficulty finding fresh chili peppers, and you like a little heat in your food, you can add a dash of sriracha or any other hot sauce that you like.

To make the chili lime vinaigrette, this is what you’ll need –

Chili lime vinaigrette dressing ingredients.

I roasted all of my garlic, forgetting that I needed raw for this dressing. Either way, it was still delicious.

One more note, I prefer Thai red chili for this dressing, but the Asian market was out of them, so I had to use a green hot pepper. Again, the dressing will be delicious no matter what kind of chili you use.

Thai chili lime dressing

Combine rice vinegar, lime zest and juice, shallot, chili pepper and garlic in a small bowl. The acid will help break down and mellow garlic & shallot and the flavors along with the chili pepper will infuse dressing.

Let this sit for 10 – 15 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients. After you’ve added everything, give it whisk and let it sit for another 10 – 15 minutes.

I like the acidic bite of vinegar and lime juice, however, if you don’t, reduce limes to one.

How to make Thai chicken salad

Making this Thai chicken salad recipe could not be easier. Everything is mixed up in one large bowl. I will admit that there is a bit of chopping, if you don’t have a food processor, but it isn’t too much work.

Thai basil (pictured below) can be found at any Asian market. This is out of my garden. It was flowering, so I picked it, yours will likely not have flowers.

If you can’t find Thai basil, substitute with regular basil, or omit it. The flavor is very unique, so I recommend checking out your local market to try to find it.

Once you have all of the vegetables and herbs chopped, the chicken shredded and the dressing whisked together, it all goes into a bowl. Give it a good mixing and serve. It’s so simple to make and it is so delicious!

Spicy Thai salad with chicken and chili lime dressing.

Time saving shortcut – Use rotisserie chicken from the store instead of cooking chicken breasts!

For this recipe I only used the breast meat. If you are using a store-bought rotisserie chicken, reserve the thighs for sandwiches or soups, the carcass for stock, etc.

I poached a couple of chicken breasts while I was grating vegetables and chopping herbs. It barely takes any time at all, it will be cooked by the time you finish everything else. Then use a couple of forks to shred the meat and set it aside to cool slightly.

Combine everything in a large glass bowl to show off all of the colors from the veggies and herbs. This salad is perfect for weekday lunches and meal-prepping. Full of flavor, texture and lots of crunch, it’s as good for you as it is delicious.

More quick and easy salad recipes

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Yield: 8 servings

Spicy Thai Chicken Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

Spicy Thai chicken salad with cilantro chili lime dressing is fresh and delicious. It's the perfect light and refreshing lunch or dinner, and it's great for meal prepping.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 22 minutes

Ingredients

For the dressing

3 tbsp. rice vinegar
zest and juice of 2 limes
1/2 shallot, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
1 small red Thai chili (green if you can't find red), minced
4 tbsp. neutral oil (vegetable, grapeseed, canola)
salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

For the Thai chicken salad

1 small head green or Napa cabbage
3 medium carrots
10 ounces cooked chicken breasts, shredded or finely sliced (2 small)
1/2 cup salted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 bunch scallions (green onion), sliced on bias
1 cup snow peas, thinly sliced on bias
1 tbsp. cilantro, chopped
2 tbsp. Thai basil, chopped (sub regular basil if you can't find, or omit)
2 tbsp. mint, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Make the chili lime dressing

Combine rice vinegar, lime zest and juice, shallot, chili pepper and garlic in a small bowl. Let this sit for 10 - 15 minutes, then add remaining ingredients and give it a whisk. Let the dressing sit for an additional 10 - 15 minutes. Set aside until ready to use.

Make the Spicy Thai chicken salad

Shred the cabbage and carrots in the food processor, or grate carrots on box grater and thinly slice cabbage. Add to large mixing bowl.
Add shredded chicken, peanuts, scallions, snow peas, herbs, salt and pepper. Toss to combine.
Pour dressing over and mix thoroughly to coat. Serve immediately.

Notes

If you are serving this salad later, or meal prepping, DO NOT add dressing. Keep it separate and mix just before eating. The acid will turn the herbs dark and make the mixture soggy. The crunch is the best part of this salad!

Omit the chicken and this salad is vegan.

How to make sherry lime vinaigrette

June 5, 2020

Home » salad dressing

Sherry lime vinaigrette is a delicious dressing for your salad or vegetables. The combination of sherry vinegar and tart lime juice not only makes this vinaigrette super tasty, it is very versatile.

This homemade vinaigrette with fresh lime juice is fresh and zingy, and it is great for meal prep recipes!

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Mediterranean Chicken Meal Prep Bowls

August 6, 2019

Mediterranean chicken meal prep bowls are a tasty way to stay on track and eat a nutritious, flavorful lunch. A few minutes of planning ahead and you will have a week’s worth of lunches ready for the work week. Meal prepping with chicken, like this Moroccan Chicken Meal Prep Bowl, is likely the easiest to do because it’s what most of us eat.

Dedicating a few extra minutes on weekends to set up your meals for the week is time well spent. Whether it be lunches, dinners or both – chicken with Mediterranean vegetables is a healthy and nutritious choice. You can find even more healthy meal prep ideas on this post.

Meal prep can be the difference between staying on track with healthy eating choices or going off the rails and finding yourself ordering through a speaker in the drive-through.

Chicken meal prep

You probably had chicken for dinner at least one night this week, right? So, why not cook a few extra pieces and make a few Mediterranean lunch recipes like this chicken with Mediterranean vegetables. Focused on lean protein, leafy greens and vegetables, this is a tasty lunch that is also good for you.

Vegetarians can leave out the chicken and make a chickpea lunch bowl and still get protein, vegetables and greens. No matter what you substitute, as long as you are keeping it in the Mediterranean diet lane, you’re in for a nutrient-dense and delicious lunch.

Healthy Meal Prep Ideas

Trying to figure out what to do for lunches during the week can be a drag. Especially when you are trying to eat healthy, nutritious food instead of hitting the drive-thru. Stocking up on fresh vegetables and staples like chickpeas, feta and olives make meal prep a breeze.

As long as your meal prep lunches are focused on leafy greens, lean proteins, fresh vegetables and a whole grain, you can’t go wrong. This Mediterranean Bowl Recipe has a scoop of quinoa, which bumps up the protein in this healthy bowl.

If you aren’t a fan of feta, substitute it for something you like. Ricotta salata is a crumbly cheese similar to feta but milder in flavor. Not an olive lover? Leave them off.

Chicken Bowl with Vegetables

When I’m making a “bowl” like this for meal prep, I usually include a grain. This time, I made roasted chickpeas in place of the grain. Roasted chickpeas are crunchy and delicious when they are warm. After they’ve cooled, they are chewy and nutty which gives great texture to this salad.

I grilled a few extra chicken breasts when I made them for dinner a couple of nights ago. I knew that I was going to do these for lunches for the week, so I planned ahead and made more than I needed. Do you love chicken meatballs? Same deal. I made meatballs one night and made extra to make meal prep easier.

I’m far from consistent on this, but I try. I find that if I have something already prepped for the week, it helps me stay on track with good choices instead of grabbing whatever I can because I’m starving and I have nothing ready to eat.

Meal prep lunch ideas

With a little planning and a little time spent prepping, you can stay on track and weekday meals become one less thing to worry about. Personally, I can attest to this. When I don’t have a plan, I stand in front of the fridge and scrounge for whatever I can find.

chicken with Mediterranean vegetables meal prep lunch

In order to avoid this, I have a handful of go-to healthy make ahead meals like these Low Carb Chicken Fajita Bowls and our newest obsession – Mediterranean Meal Prep Lamb Meatballs.

If you’ve never had lamb meatballs, please, please try these. I have converted more than a few people to lamb lovers after trying these meatballs. They are incredibly good and so full of flavor.

Easy Mediterranean Meal Prep Recipes

mediterranean chicken meal prep bowls on whitewashed background

Mediterranean recipes are focused on leafy greens, lean proteins and whole grains. Finding a way to work these foods into your routine is the key to eating nutrient-dense meals, at least most of the time. Because, let’s face it, none of us are perfect and no one eats this way every single day.

If you are looking for a few Mediterranean lunch recipes to help get you through the work week, this link has everything from fish to salads to grains and everything in between. There are lots of delicious and healthy weekday lunches to help keep you on track.

What do I need to make these Mediterranean Chicken Meal Prep Bowls?

Tahini – this is my preferred brand of tahini. Some brands can be bitter, this one is not.
Meal prep containers – the same ones used here.
Condiment cups – to keep your dressing sealed tight.

Please share

Your shares help this site to grow. Do you know someone who would like this? I’d love it if you would share it on Facebook or pin it to your favorite recipe board.

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do! Please consider rating and/or commenting. I love hearing from you! Did you make these Meal Prep Mediterranean Chicken Bowls? Tag me on Instagram @pookspantry or share it in the Fabulous Foodie Friends Facebook group! I can’t wait to see your version!

Yield: 5