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    Home » Recipes » Salads

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    Published: Nov 30, 2021 · Modified: Mar 7, 2022 by Nicole · As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe
    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing is bright, colorful, simple to make, and absolutely delicious. Crunchy vegetables are tossed with cilantro, edamame, and cashews. It's then topped with chicken and drizzled with a flavorful creamy sesame dressing. This salad is the perfect healthy lunch or light dinner.

    Ingredients

    This Chicken Cashew Salad is perfect for fall and winter, since cabbage and carrots thrive in cooler weather.

    Cabbage: Two cups each of shredded green and red cabbage make up this salad.

    Carrots: One or two carrots, shredded or cut into matchsticks.

    Edamame: One cup of cooked, shelled edamame. I typically buy these frozen and just boil them for a few minutes while I prep the salad. Like these frozen shelled edamame from Whole Foods.

    Cilantro: Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped. It adds so much extra flavor to this salad. You can leave this out if you don't like cilantro, but if you do like it, then definitely include it!

    Green Onion: These also add a ton of flavor. Just slice the green parts and discard the whites.

    Chicken: A pound of chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise.

    Cashews: Half a cup of your favorite cashews.

    Creamy Sesame Dressing: Olive oil, white vinegar, sesame oil, honey, fine sea salt, garlic powder, and plain greek yogurt.

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    Step-By-Step Instructions

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing is easy to make and will be ready in less than 20 minutes. It's even perfect to meal prep lunch or dinner for the week.

    1. Prepare the Dressing. In a jar, shake together the olive oil, greek yogurt, white vinegar, sesame oil, honey, garlic powder, and salt. Set aside.
    2. Cook the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Brush or drizzle with olive oil. Add the chicken, and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove from the pan, thinly slice or cut into bite sized chunks, and set aside.
    3. Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss the green and red cabbage, carrots, edamame, cilantro, and green onion.
    4. Serve. Divide the salad among 4 bowls. Top each with chicken and cashews. Drizzle with creamy sesame dressing.
    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    Serving Suggestions

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing makes a great lunch or light dinner.

    Customize it: Want to make it vegetarian or vegan? Leave out the chicken or substitute for tofu. Leave out the greek yogurt from the dressing and substitute the honey for maple syrup or sugar to make it vegan. Prefer a different protein? Try steak or shrimp!

    Marinate the chicken: The salad dressing gives tons of flavor, so I just season the chicken with salt and pepper. However, for more flavor, marinate it for 30 minutes before cooking in teriyaki sauce or a soy sauce mixture (soy sauce, honey, a dash of ginger, and clove of minced garlic).

    To make ahead: Prepare the dressing and refrigerate in the jar. Prepare the chicken and refrigerate in an airtight container. Assemble the vegetable mixture and store in an airtight container. Mix together just before serving, then add the cashews.

    More Salad Recipes

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    • Crunchy Chickpea Mediterranean Salad
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    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing

    • Author: Nicole | Fresh Apron
    • Prep Time: 15 minutes
    • Cook Time: 5 minutes
    • Total Time: 20 minutes
    • Yield: 4 servings 1x
    Print Recipe
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    Description

    Chicken Cashew Salad with Creamy Sesame Dressing is bright, colorful, simple to make, and absolutely delicious. Crunchy vegetables are tossed with cilantro, edamame, and cashews. It's then topped with chicken and drizzled with a flavorful creamy sesame dressing. This salad is the perfect healthy lunch or light dinner.


    Ingredients

    Scale

    For the Dressing

    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • ¼ cup plain greek yogurt
    • 2 tablespoons white vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
    • 1 ½ tablespoons honey
    • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

    For the Salad

    • 1 pound chicken breast, sliced in half lengthwise
    • 2 cups shredded green cabbage
    • 2 cups shredded red cabbage
    • 1 cup carrots, shredded or cut in matchsticks
    • 1 cup cooked, shelled edamame
    • ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
    • ¼ cup green onion, sliced
    • ½ cup cashews
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Instructions

    1. Prepare the Dressing. In a jar, shake together the olive oil, greek yogurt, white vinegar, sesame oil, honey, garlic powder, and salt. Set aside.
    2. Cook the chicken. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Brush or drizzle with olive oil. Add the chicken, and cook 2-3 minutes per side, until cooked through. Remove from pan. Thinly slice or cut into bite sized chunks. Set aside.
    3. Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss the green and red cabbage, carrots, edamame, cilantro, and green onion.
    4. Serve. Divide the salad among 4 bowls. Top each with chicken and cashews. Drizzle with creamy sesame dressing.

    Equipment

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    Grill Pan

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    Tongs

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    Notes

    Recipe adapted from Pinch of Yum.

    To make ahead:  Prepare the dressing and refrigerate in the jar. Prepare the chicken and refrigerate in an airtight container. Assemble the vegetable mixture and store in an airtight container. Mix together just before serving, then add the cashews.

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @freshapron on Instagram and hashtag #freshapron — I can't wait to see what you've made!

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    Nicole | Fresh Apron

    Hi, I'm Nicole! I’m so happy to share all my recipes with you. I'm all about using fresh ingredients and creating simple recipes. Enjoy and happy cooking!

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