A tasty recipe for Thai Chicken Salad with baby spinach, cucumber, mint, cilantro, and scallions with crispy shallots. A flavorful entree salad perfect for warm summer nights.
Spirituality has nothing to do with the atmosphere you live in. It’s about the atmosphere you create within yourself. ~ Sadhguru~
Spring has sprung, and with it come the tenderest baby greens imaginable. This is a lovely spring or summer salad perfect for dinner outside on warm summer evenings. It’s light and refreshing and full of flavor.
Ingredients in Thai Chicken Salad
- Chicken: You’ll need chicken breast and coconut milk for poaching, kefir lime leaves, fresh lime and fish sauce. Feel free to use leftover rotisserie chicken.
- Greens: Baby spinach and lots of fresh herbs: mint, cilantro and scallions.
- Veg: Feel free to add cucumbers or radishes or anything fresh, crunchy and watery.
- Garnish: something crunchy! Crushed roasted peanuts, our peanut chili crunch or crispy shallots.
How to make Thai Chicken Salad
- Cooking the chicken breast. Chicken is gently poached in a flavorful coconut broth.
- Once cooled, pull chicken apart with two forks and toss with baby spinach and three different herbs – basil, mint and cilantro, which gives this its incredible flavor.
- From here you can add other veggies like thinly sliced radishes, Turkish cucumbers, carrot ribbons and green onions.
- Top the salad with something crunchy or crispy- roasted peanuts or crispy shallots.
Give this Thai Chicken Salad a try…. I know you’ll love the flavor! For more Thai – inspired dishes take a peek at these 25 Best Thai Recipes!
More entree salads you'll love!
Or my favorite… Thai Noodle Salad! Always a hit!
Have a beautiful week,
MORE RECIPES TO TRY!
- Grilled Chipotle Chicken
- Thai Chicken Salad with Spinach
- Chicken Salad with Quinoa & Arugula
- Chicken Salad Sandwich
- Quinoa Chicken Salad
- Black Bean Salad with Corn & Quinoa
Thai Chicken Salad
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2
- Category: Entree Salad
- Method: tossed
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Ingredients
- 14-ounce can coconut milk
- 1 lime (divided)
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 3 kefir lime leaves– optional
- 12–ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 extra large handfuls baby spinach (about 4 ounces)
- 1 Turkish cucumber, sliced
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced at a diagonal
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
- 1/4 cup torn mint leaves
- 1/4 cup torn basil leaves (Thai basil is nice) or sub more mint or cilantro.
Instructions
- Place the coconut milk, juice from half a small lime, salt, fish sauce and optional kefir lime leaves in a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
- Add the chicken breast, cover, and simmer gently for 15-25 minutes or until chicken pulls apart easily with two forks. Let cool.
- Place salad ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and toss gently to combine. Set aside.
- Once the chicken is cooked, using two forks shred the chicken into bite-size pieces and set aside. Let the cooking liquid cool to room temp, about 10 minutes.
- Add the chicken to the salad bowl and spoon some of the cooled flavorful coconut broth over the salad, toss gently just enough to coat the leaves lightly.
- Adjust salt and lime to taste. Divide among two large plates and garnish with lime wedges & crispy shallots and any other additional garnishes.
Notes
You can also make the chicken ahead, keeping some of the poaching liquid (which must be at room temperature) to toss with the salad.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 cups
- Calories: 393
- Sugar: 2 g
- Sodium: 1106.7 mg
- Fat: 27.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 22.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 11.2 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 30.2 g
- Cholesterol: 82.7 mg
This recipe is my absolute favourite and the flavours OMG👌
I add mango in mine also which is lovely on warmer summer days!
Great to hear Amber!
My husband and I loved this! So easy and super free delicious! I added a little rice to bulk it up a little and it was perfect.
Perfect Katie- glad you both like this one!
Could you make this somehow with tofu instead of chicken? If so, same prep method? Thanks!
You know, yes I think you could…but may be a bit bland? I would make crispy tofu, then add to Poaching liquid.
I thought this was pretty tastey but a little bland/cool. I added some chopped peanuts and some sriracha and that pepped it right up! Perfect for a light dinner on a hot night!
Very nice salad, different but good.
Sounds delicious. Anything special to do to multiply the recipe by 3?
No, although you may only need to double ( instead of triple) the coconut poaching liquid, it may be enough??