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.

*The full ingredient list with amounts is in the recipe card below.

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.

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

• Sweet Potato and Kale Quinoa Bowls
• Crunchy Chickpea Mediterranean Salad
• Bacon Cheeseburger Salad
• Kale Crunch Salad

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