Chinese Chicken Salad – easy salad filled with fresh veggies, chicken, ramen noodles and a delicious healthy dressing.
Okay, it’s honesty time…I hate salads.
I am not one of those girls that goes to a restaurant and orders a salad. There, I said it.
I’ll probably receive some hate mail now, haha! 😉 But truthfully, I have to be in love with a salad in order to order one at a restaurant or to make one at home.
You may or may not have noticed that I have a small, itty bitty amount of green salad recipes on this blog. Not because I don’t like vegetables, but mostly because I don’t like the boring flavor of most salads. Okay, I’m totally generalizing, I know!
There are salads that I absolutely love! My mom’s mandarin orange salad is one that I will always devour. This Greek Salad is one of my favorite flavor combos. And my new favorite? Chinese Chicken Salad.
I never thought I would love a salad with big slices of veggies like this, but man, this is just sooooo good. The dressing is super simple but absolutely amazing. Fresh OJ with sesame oil is a fantastic flavor combo. I couldn’t get enough of this salad and ate it for lunch and dinner after I made it.
Whether you’re a salad lover or a salad hater, you will love this yummy, fresh and healthy salad!
Healthy Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 2 3-oz packages ramen noodles (toss the flavor packets)
- 2 lbs. cooked chicken sliced or cubed
- 1 medium red bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 1 cup trimmed snow peas
- 1 8-oz package sliced mushrooms
- 4 carrots peeled and sliced
- 1 15-oz can mandarin oranges, drained
- 1/3 cup orange juice I used fresh squeezed
- 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tsp. dried parsley or 1/4 cup fresh, chopped
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- sesame seeds to garnish
Instructions
- Lightly break up noodles and cook in boiling water until just soft (careful not to overcook!). Do not use the flavor packets. Drain and rinse under cold water and set aside.
- Prepare vegetables and place in a bowl. Add noodles and oranges.
- In a jar or other covered container, combine the juice, oil, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. Shake to combine. Pour over salad when ready to eat and toss. Enjoy!
I absolutely love salads but do not eat them nearly enough! This would be a fast favorite in our house!
I do love salads, and am the girl that orders them out all the time, too. Boring? Probably. 🙂 There’s nothing boring about this salad — I love that you made it like a pasta salad with ramen noodles! Very original and it sounds so tasty!
I rarely order salad out either. I think I’m worried I’ll go hungry with not enough food, which is certainly not a rational concern 😉 This salad looks delicious, Jen! Beautiful photos! Sharing all over the place 🙂
This looks so flavorful, Jen! Love it!
Totally agree! There are very few salads I would order at a restaurant, but this one is stacked with tons of amazing flavors! Awesome job Jen!