Chicken Almond Salad + Thai Peanut Dressing

Welcome back to QCK!

Today’s recipe is a great work from home lunch recipe that you can make ahead of time and throw together when you’re ready. It’s a mixed greens salad loaded with all sorts of vegetables: carrots, snap peas, bell peppers, red onion, tomato, dressed in a creamy, sweet and savory Thai peanut dressing, and served with chicken. It’s super nutritious and loaded with protein so it actually keeps you full and energized for hours to follow.

Here, I baked the chicken breast with my leftover Sweet Chili Miso Sauce, you don’t have to make it this way, but I had it on hand and it pairs really well with the creamy peanut dressing and adds just a touch of heat. I tossed the mixed greens with shredded carrots, red onion, cucumber, sugar snap peas and bell pepper. Normally I would also chop up some cherry tomatoes too, but I didn’t have any on hand so I decided to skip it this time. But that’s kind of the beauty of this salad, you can add/take away anything you like. It’s fairly versatile.

The dressing is wonderful. Creamy peanut butter (you could also use tahini), soy sauce, a touch of rice vinegar, some sesame oil, and a touch of honey to bring it all together. It’s so flavorful and unique, making the salad that much more satisfying.

Substitutions and Add Ons

• Peanut butter can be substituted with tahini, or almond butter.
• Sesame Oil can be substituted with extra virgin olive oil.
• Mixed Greens can be substituted for spring mix, arugula, romaine or butter lettuce.
• Red Onion can be substituted with green onion, or omitted.
• Almonds can be substituted with peanuts, cashews, or omitted.
• Chicken can be substituted for tofu, shrimp, or omitted.
• You can also add tomato, green onion, romaine, cilantro, fish sauce (to the dressing).

Recipe

Prep: 20 Min

Cook: 25 Min

Category: Salads

Servings: 2

Ingredients

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1/4 C Sweet Chili Sauce, homemade or store bought
• 4 C Mixed Greens
• 1/4 C Shredded Carrots
• 1/2 Small Red Onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 C Snap Peas, roughly chopped
• 1 Red Bell Pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/4 C Slivered Almonds
• 1/4 C Creamy Peanut Butter
• 2 Tbsp Fresh Lime Juice
• 2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp Sesame Oil
• 1 Clove Garlic, grated
• 2 tsp Ginger, grated
• 2-4 Tbsp of Water or Coconut Milk, if needed

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Place chicken on a parchment lined sheet tray and brush with sweet chili sauce.
3. Bake 25-30 minutes or until completely cooked all the way through.
4. Make the dressing either in a blender or in a bowl with a whisk. Combine peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and ginger. Add water or coconut milk as needed for desired thickness.
5. Assemble salad in a large bowl by mixing mixed greens, carrots, red onion, peas, bell pepper and almonds.
6. Toss the salad with the peanut dressing and top with chicken.
7. Extra dressing can be stored covered in the fridge up to one month.

As always, I hope you enjoyed this recipe! If you tried it out let me know in the comments. For more recipes check out my homepage and follow along on Instagram. Don’t forget to like, follow, comment and share. Thanks for reading! 

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