Sesame chicken salad has a sweet, creamy honey-sesame dressing, crunchy almonds, and sweet Mandarin oranges. It’s a delicious way to do chicken salad!
Last year I went through a Mason Jar salad kick here on Chattavore. One of my favorites was (and still is) the Asian chicken salad. It was a nod to one of my favorite menu items at Applebee’s, the Oriental chicken wrap. They don’t have that on the menu anymore, but they do still have the Oriental chicken salad, which has all the same flavors.
Anyway, that dressing…that dressing is just so good. I started thinking about how delicious it would be to make chicken salad with it. Not eat it with a fork chicken salad with lettuce, but chicken salad you could eat on crackers or bread or in a wrap (lettuce or tortilla). My ideal sesame chicken salad would be sweet and crunchy, with small chunks of chicken. Shredded chicken would be good too, but the first time I made this, I shredded my chicken by pulsing it in the food processor very briefly and it was a little too fine.
I used my dry-brined chicken thighs, because they are basically my go-to for any recipe that needs precooked chicken. The dressing comes together quickly and a then few runs with a sharp knife through some almonds, green onions, and drained Mandarin oranges is all it takes. I used smoked almonds because that’s what I had and I thought they’d work perfectly. I was right.
This sesame chicken salad took me less than ten minutes to make (besides cooking the chicken). I divided it up into Easy Lunchboxes (<–affiliate link) with fruit and crackers and stacked them in the fridge and Philip and I had lunch for several days. It was absolutely delicious and a nice way to start off the school year – no sad lunches here!
This sesame chicken salad with almonds and Mandarin oranges is great for lunch or an easy dinner!
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Shared on the Meal Plan Monday Link-up on Southern Plate and the Weekend Potluck link-up on The Country Cook.
Mary
Yield: 4-6 servings
10 minPrep Time:
10 minTotal Time:
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken thighs or breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded (I use this recipe )
- 1 recipe creamy honey-sesame dressing (see below)
- 1/2 cup toasted almonds, chopped (I used smoked almonds)
- 1/2 cup Mandarin oranges, well drained and chopped
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Whisk all of the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients to the dressing. Toss to combine and coat all ingredients with the dressing. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
Prep/Cook time does not include time to cook the chicken.
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