Paleo + Whole30 Chinese Chicken Salad
Paleo + Whole30 Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe with a homemade salad dressing. Delicious and healthy 30 minute asian chicken salad recipe with favorites like cabbage, cilantro and mandarin oranges. Paleo, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, clean eating, real food.
REALLY freaking out over this Paleo + Whole Chinese Chicken Salad recipe.
If you know my husband at all, you know he is 100% obsessed with Chinese chicken salad. His favorite version is this Ramen Noodle Chinese Chicken Salad. His mom made it for him growing up, and he can’t get enough. It’s the only salad recipe he requests, which is saying a lot because he is such a meat and potatoes kind of guy.
I’ve been determined to make a healthier, paleo + whole30 version of that salad. You guys. I did it! I made him this salad and he said he liked it just as much! *Happy dance!*
I just made a few tweaks to the original version to make and even healthier paleo + whole30 chinese chicken salad.
First, I had to get rid of the ramen noodles. No way around that. But, I added in even more sliced almonds so you still get that great crunch.
I used the same salad base of iceberg lettuce, cabbage, red onions, scallions and cilantro with chicken breasts.
Next was perfecting the salad dressing. The original version used soy sauce and honey, but I knew I could find a way to make a delicious whole30 chinese chicken salad dressing. I swapped out the soy sauce for coconut aminos, and the honey for dates. You guys, I can barely tell the difference!
I added in a little more salt, since coconut aminos isn’t as salty as soy sauce. And I made the dressing in the blender to really pulverize the dates. It is so delicious!
Last, I added in some mandarin oranges just for fun. I’ve always loved citrus in my chinese chicken salad. Adds more brightness and the citrus is a great addition to all the other flavors. Be sure you read your label to make sure your mandarin oranges are packed in 100% fruit juice. I love using these mandarin oranges.
I’m just so happy to have a healthier paleo + whole30 chinese chicken salad recipe that the whole family loves. When I serve it to my 2 year old, I serve it “deconstructed style” with a pile of the grilled chicken, some mandarin oranges, a pile of sliced almonds, and some of the dressing he can dip everything in. He is a happy camper. And so am I since these salad is so dang healthy!
Paleo, whole30, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, soy free, sugar free, clean eating, real food.
Paleo + Whole30 Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 2 6-ounce chicken breasts (I get my chicken from ButcherBox, which I highly recommend)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, sliced
- 1/4 head of red cabbage, sliced
- 1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, sliced
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 2 10.7-ounce cans of mandarin oranges in 100% juice, drained (leave out for keto)
- 1 cup roasted, sliced almonds
Dressing:
- 1/3 cup avocado oil
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 2 pitted dates
- 1 teaspoon sesame seed oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line the rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay the chicken breasts on the parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until the chicken has an internal temperature of 165ºF, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat, rest for 10 minutes, then chop the chicken into bite sized pieces.
- Make the dressing by combining the avocado oil, rice wine vinegar, coconut aminos, pitted dates, sesame seed oil and salt in your high speed blender. Blend on high for 1 minute, until the date is fully chopped and the dressing is well blended.
- Make the salad by adding the iceberg lettuce, cabbage, cilantro, red bell pepper, green onions, mandarin oranges, almonds and chicken to your large salad bowl. Top with desired amount of dressing, toss and serve.
Notes
More Paleo + Whole30 Salad Recipes:
Paleo + Whole30 Broccoli Salad with Orange Almond Dressing
Paleo + Whole30 Grilled BBQ Chicken BLT Salad
Paleo + Whole30 Kale Blood Orange Salad
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24 Comments on “Paleo + Whole30 Chinese Chicken Salad”
Are the nutrients per person or per entire recipe. I haven’t tried this yet but going to tonight! Looks yummy!
It’s per serving! It makes enough to serve 6 people.
Natalie, The thought occurred to me while reading this recipe that if you toasted the Ramen noodles in the Chinese chicken salad, just a little bit, it would probably make it even better and I think it does. You just want them to be a nice light golden brown and you have pay extremely close attention and keep an eye them and not walk away though because they will burn in the blink of an eye. But, it makes them even crunchier and gives them kind of a nutty taste, in my opinion. You can either toast them under the broiler or in hot dry skillet on the stove top, whichever way you prefer, and as I said before, whatever method you choose, pay very close attention to them and continuously toss them about and keep them moving in order to prevent them from burning. It’s really an extra step that isn’t totally necessary but I think it was worth a few extra minutes of my time, myself. Try it and see what you think. 😀
I LOVE THIS IDEA! Now you’re inspiring ME! I can’t wait to try this next time. Thanks for sharing this with me!
I made this last week. I was a hit! My husband asked me to make it again tonight! Easy weeknight dinner.
Only alteration was using monk fruit instead of dates. It totally works well!
Yeah! So happy your husband requested it again Antoinette! :)
100% yum! This was a welcome bowl of nutrition on day 8 of my Whole30. I will definitely be making this again.
I just love your description, it IS a bowl of nutrition Jasmine! Congratulations on starting your journey to better health. Day 8 of Whole30 is fantastic! So glad you will be making this again.
My husband said this is the only salad he wants me to make from now on! Plus, the dressing is his new fave salad dressing. 😊. Another great recipe! 💗
I love that your husband has requested my chicken salad to be the only salad you make Debbie! LOL! That is just perfect! I do think the dressing just makes it so yummy!
Natalie— I love your recipes and have made several successfully. My only frustration is the format for the printed recipes with the print being so small, a lot of space between lines and the ingredient links printing in barely readable light green. I print recipes I love to l have handy for menu planning. Is there a way to change the format to be more user friendly? Thank you! And keep up the great cooking!!
I am so happy you enjoy my recipes Sharon. When you go to print my recipes, click ‘Print Recipe’ at the top of the recipe. To the right there is a place where you can click to change the scale of the recipe and make the text larger. You have the option of 1X, 2X or 3X. That should help with the size of the font. As far as spacing goes, they are all formatted as double spaced. That seems to be the preference of most of my readers. If you prefer it in single space, you could copy and paste it into a word document and adjust the spacing accordingly. I hope these tips are helpful to you and I apologize if you find the formatting frustrating. I really appreciate your feedback and I am always working to improve my site.
Yum! I have to try this one, sounds delish!
I sure hope you like it Asriel!
OMG NATALIE! How has it taken me this long to make this creation? It is incredible. I’ve made tons of chinese chicken salad dressings in my day and this is 10 times better than any I’ve tried (not to mention others are always loaded with sugar, and this is actually healthy). Unbelievable!
I am so happy you tried the Chinese Chicken salad and you like it Hannah! That is music to my ears! I love the dressing too!
My kids (6 and 7) have asked for this for lunch everyday this week, and I haven’t minded at all. This is SO delicious!! Thank you so much for the amazing recipe, I’ve had the hardest time finding sauces/dressings that made Whole 30 easier to do as a family (not that the kids need to, it’s just easier to cook one meal), and this is just what we needed. I can’t wait to try more of your creations!
I love hearing that! Kids asking for salad?! What a mom win! Thank you for letting me know you liked my recipe. And that your kids did too! You made my day! Rooting for you on your Whole30!
WOW! This salad is addicting..I could eat it every day. Light and fresh and the almonds give it a nice flavor and crunch. Will make this again and again
So glad you enjoyed it Sherry! It’s one of our favorites! Thanks for letting me know you liked my recipe. This comment made my day!
Where can I find the nutrition information on your recipies?
I calculate all my nutritional information on myfitnesspal.com! Best to do it with the exact ingredients you use so it is the most accurate. You are going to LOVE this salad!
Just tried this salad yesterday and LOVED it! So yummy, and I loved how you used dates as the sweetener for the dressing!
Hurray! I’m so glad you liked it Chelsey! You just made my day!