Sesame Avocado Asian Chicken Salad with Honey Ginger Dressing

Asian chicken salad with honey ginger dressing is one of my favourite salads ever, and I make it anytime throughout the year. Cabbage chicken salad is not only really tasty, but it’s also easy to throw together. As well as the chicken and cabbage, this is a salad with avocado, carrots, edamame beans, almonds, green onions, and cilantro. You can add some sesame sticks if you like. If you are looking for a cabbage salad recipe, you need to try this!

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The honey ginger dressing for this chicken cabbage salad recipe is one of my favourite parts. I used a combination of extra-virgin olive oil and sesame oil, as well as rice wine vinegar and soy sauce for savoury elements. I added honey for sweetness and then ginger and garlic too. The dressing is really good and goes so well with the ingredients in this Asian chicken salad.

This is really easy to make because you just have to combine the salad ingredients in a bowl and then mix the honey ginger dressing ingredients. That’s all, so this cabbage salad recipe is a snap to make and you can put it together in record time.

I used red cabbage when making this just because the colour looks so good contrasting with the other ingredients, but you can use green cabbage or even a combination.

Why Asian Chicken Salad is So Good

This Asian cabbage chicken salad is versatile. It can be the main event or served alongside as a side dish. The flavours are just amazing.

If you want this salad with avocado as a side dish, you might prefer to leave out the chicken. Doing that means you’ll need less of the honey ginger dressing.

Then you could serve it alongside crispy fried chicken. Use Panko breadcrumbs on the chicken to continue the Asian theme!

Some Variations You Might Like

If you want to add more to this Asian chicken salad, consider adding something sweet to the mix.

Drain a can of mandarin orange segments and add some of those, or throw in some chopped green apple or dried cranberries or cherries. The slivered almonds can be swapped for chopped cashews if you prefer, or even peanuts.

A handful of beansprouts would work here or some water chestnuts, fried vermicelli noodles, or sliced daikon radish. This cabbage salad recipe is going to be amazing whatever you add or choose to leave out. This salad with avocado is something you need to make at least once.

You can make it vegan by swapping the honey for sugar or sweetener and using tofu instead of the chicken. If you want a change of pace, you can use additional veggies instead of a protein option.

Asian Cabbage Chicken Salad History

You might be wondering about the history behind this Chinese salad with avocado and the honey ginger dressing. Actually, rather than being Chinese, it’s considered fusion or Pan-Asian cuisine. A green lettuce based salad is a Western not an Eastern idea. Also this type of salad is way more mainstream in North America than anywhere in Asia.

A lot of North American cookbooks in the 1950s started listing Asian style chicken salads. These would feature sesame seeds as a main ingredient in the salad and also the dressing, while before these seeds were just a garnish.

Twenty-five years ago, these recipes would include soy sauce, salad oil and garlic, as well as ginger which was exotic back them. Chinese five-spice or cinnamon was often used too. A sherry-marinated chicken, sesame seeds, iceberg lettuce, cilantro, green onions and lemon dressing were popular additions. Cashews or peanuts were often added for crunch.

These might not have been in any way authentic, compared to Chinese or other Asian salads, but they were certainly very popular. As well as a cabbage chicken salad recipe, many restaurants offer other options like salmon or seafood instead.

I love making Asian chicken salad and not only because it’s easy. It just makes such a nice change from sandwiches, and it’s also great when it’s hot and I don’t want to stand over the stove.

If you don’t want to cook at all, then you can buy shredded chicken for this Asian cabbage salad recipe and just use that rather than making your own.

Can You Make It Ahead?

You can certainly make this ahead. Keep the salad in one covered container and the dressing in another. By the same token, Asian chicken salad is a great idea to take to a potluck or picnic. I’d advise bringing the dressing along in a sealed bottle. Give it a good shake just before serving the salad, so it is nice and fresh when you serve it. Everyone will love the flavour and the crunch!

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If you like this Asian chicken salad, you might also like Cobb Salad with Garlic Cilantro Dairy Free Ranch Dressing, Sweet Potato Kale Salad or Mexican Elote Street Corn Kale Salad with Spicy Yogurt Lime Dressing.

Sesame Avocado Asian Chicken Salad with Honey Ginger Dressing Recipe

Let me know if you try out this Asian chicken salad with honey ginger dressing. This cabbage chicken salad makes a quick and flavourful dinner. If you are looking for a cabbage salad recipe or recipe for a salad with avocado, you need to try this!

This is also a chicken salad recipe that you might want to add to the menu – Zesty Tex Mex Chicken Pasta Salad.

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