Chicken Satay Salad

This chicken satay salad has crunchy cabbage, bean sprouts, peppers and carrots, tossed in a tangy peanut-ginger sauce, and topped with grilled peanut-ginger chicken. No oven needed!

Summer is the perfect time to make a big salad and enjoy for dinner. Some of our favorites include a healthy taco salad, or a strawberry arugula steak salad. This chicken satay salad is another great option, and the best part is that you don't need to turn on your stove or your oven!

The peanut ginger marinade infuses so much flavor into the chicken, which is then grilled to give it a smoky and slightly charred flavor.

The marinade does double duty as a dressing as well, which coats the vegetables with tangy peanut ginger flavor.

It's fresh, crunchy, easy to prepare, and so perfect for summer!

Recipe video

Want to see how I prepped this chicken satay salad? Watch the video below to see how it comes together! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel, or on Facebook.

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Start by prepping the marinade

The peanut ginger marinade is complex in flavors, adding so much flavor to both the chicken and the vegetables. Combine the peanut butter, rice vinegar, water, sesame oil, olive oil, soy. sauce, lime juice, minced ginger, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in a mason jar or bowl. Shake (or whisk) until smooth and combined.

Now this is a lot of ingredients, but they are common ones that shouldn't be hard to find at the grocery store, and they come together quickly to make an absolute flavor bomb of a marinade/dressing.

Once combined and smooth, remove ½ cup of the mixture to marinate the chicken, and cover/refrigerate the rest to serve as a dressing later on.

Marinating the chicken

Slice two chicken breasts into long strips, and place in a shallow bowl or reusable silicone bag with the ½ cup of marinade. Turn to coat, cover, and allow the chicken to marinate for 2-24 hours.

Do not marinate your chicken for longer than 24 hours, as the acids in the marinade will begin to break down the chicken and it can become mealy and unappetizing in texture.

Grilling the chicken

For this recipe, we are threading the chicken strips onto skewers. If you are using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for at least 30 minutes before grilling as they will burn and break otherwise.

Carefully thread the chicken onto the skewers and arrange on a plate.

Heat the grill to medium-high (400°F). Brush grill with oil, then arrange the skewers on the grill. Grill with the lid down for a total of 8-10 minutes, turning halfway. Check with a digital thermometer to ensure the chicken has reached an internal temperature of 165°F.

All barbecues cook slightly differently so it's important that you keep an eye on your chicken as it grills. If you feel like the chicken is done sooner, don't hesitate to check the temperature.

The salad

This chicken satay salad is fresh and crunchy. With a base of shredded cabbage, we are adding in shredded carrot, thinly sliced bell pepper, bean sprouts and green onions. The finishing touch is a sprinkling of salted roasted peanuts.

• shortcut-  swap the vegetables for a bag of cabbage or broccoli slaw to cut down on prep time!

On each bowl, add two skewers, and drizzle with the reserved vinaigrette. Enjoy immediately!

Recipe tips

• chicken breasts can overcook quickly, so it's important that you keep an eye on it and remove if it is cooking quicker than the estimated time
• you may swap the chicken breast for boneless skinless chicken thighs, threading two strips on each skewer (since they will be shorter)
• this salad is heavy on the ginger flavor, feel free to reduce or omit if you are not a ginger fan
• for a shortcut, used bagged slaw instead of freshly cut vegetables
• yes, this recipe can work for meal prep, find a modified version of chicken satay lunch bowls here
• after dressing, the salad will not keep for leftovers (because of the pesky bean sprouts)
• you may prep the marinade up to 7 days ahead, and pre-chop the veggies up to 4 days ahead (store in the fridge)

More summery salads

• Caprese Chicken Quinoa Salad
• Crockpot Beer Chicken Taco Salad with Cilantro Vinaigrette
• Pulled Pork Burrito Bowls
• Asian Chicken Soba Noodle Salad
• Kale Barley Salad with Honey Lemon Vinaigrette
• Kale Chicken Pasta Salad

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Chicken Satay Salad

5 from 5 votes

Prep Time: 2 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

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Print Rate

This chicken satay salad has fresh, crunchy vegetables and grilled chicken tossed in a spicy peanut-ginger sauce. An easy, fresh dinner.

4

Ingredients

Dressing/Marinade

• ▢ ⅓ cup peanut butter
• ▢ ⅓ cup rice vinegar
• ▢ 2 tablespoons water
• ▢ 3 tablespoons sesame oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons lime juice
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced ginger see note 1
• ▢ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salad

• ▢ 2 chicken breasts sliced into 1 X 2 inch strips (see note 2)
• ▢ 2 cups shredded cabbage
• ▢ 1 carrot shredded
• ▢ 1 yellow pepper thinly julienned
• ▢ 1 cup bean sprouts
• ▢ ⅓ cup salted peanuts
• ▢ green onions diced {garnish}

Instructions 

Chicken:

• Combine all dressing/marinade ingredients and whisk until smooth.
• Slice chicken and place in a shallow bowl or reusable bag. Toss with ½ cup of marinade {Cover and refrigerate the remaining dressing/marinade for later}.
• Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for 2 - 24 hours.
• Pre-heat grill to medium high. Make sure it is clean and brushed with oil.
• Thread chicken onto skewers (see note 3) and grill for 5 minutes a side, until cooked through.

Salad:

• Toss all vegetables in remaining dressing/marinade, a bit at a time {taste and decide how much you'd like, using all the dressing gives a heavily-dressed salad}. Top with peanuts and onions.

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Tips:

1- this dressing is heavy on the ginger flavor, feel free to reduce the amount if you are not a fan of strong ginger flavor.

2- you may swap the chicken breasts for boneless skinless chicken thighs.

3- if using wooden skewers, be sure to soak in water for 30 minutes before grilling to prevent them from burning and breaking.

 

Storage

Due to the bean sprouts in this salad, it does not keep well. For a modified meal prep-friendly version of this recipe, go here.

 

Prep ahead

• Veggies may be chopped up to 4 days ahead
• Dressing/marinade may be prepared up to 1 week ahead

Video

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/4 batch, Calories: 536kcal, Carbohydrates: 17g, Protein: 35g, Fat: 37g, Saturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 72mg, Sodium: 815mg, Potassium: 891mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 8g, Vitamin A: 2824IU, Vitamin C: 74mg, Calcium: 53mg, Iron: 2mg

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Thai

© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.

• Dressing/marinade adapted from Food.com