Asian Chicken Salad — The Bright, Crunchy Main Dish That Saves the Hottest Days
If a Salad Has Chow Mein Noodles in It, I’m In
This Asian chicken salad is what I make on a warm Florida day when I am not turning on my oven for anybody. Crisp romaine, sliced almonds, shredded carrots, mandarin oranges, green onions, sliced chicken, and a generous handful of chow mein noodles — all tossed in a sweet-tangy sesame-and-rice-vinegar dressing you shake up in a Mason jar in about two minutes. It looks bright and fancy on the table, it serves a crowd, and there is not a hot stove or oven in sight.
🫒 This recipe is part of The Terrace, my Mediterranean diet hub — where I keep all my Mediterranean-friendly recipes, pantry staples, and the story behind why we eat this way.
🍗 This one’s in my collection of chicken recipes for a crowd — the ones I lean on hardest when there are a lot of people coming, gathered in one place.
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Watch me make this Asian chicken salad from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
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Asian Chicken Salad
Start CookingIngredients
- 2 heads romaine lettuce chopped (about 8 cups)
- 2-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts cooked and sliced
- 3 green onions chopped
- ⅓ cup shredded carrots
- 1 can (5 oz) chow mein noodles
- ⅓ cup sliced almonds
- 1 can (15 oz) mandarin oranges drained (save 2 tsp juice for dressing)
- For the Asian Salad Dressing:
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp mandarin orange juice reserved from can above
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 3-4 tsp sesame oil
- ¼ cup avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic or 3 cloves minced
Don’t Want to Plan? I Got You.Every Saturday I share a full week of dinners, sides, and a dessert — with the grocery list already done. Come grab this week’s Weekly Meal Plans!Method Start Cooking
- Make the dressing: Add brown sugar, mandarin orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, avocado oil, rice vinegar, and minced garlic to a 16-ounce Mason jar or small bowl. Screw the lid on tight and shake until the brown sugar dissolves and the dressing is emulsified. Chill in the fridge while you assemble the salad.
- Assemble the salad: In a large serving bowl, combine the chopped romaine, chopped green onions, shredded carrots, and drained mandarin oranges. Toss to combine.
- Dress the salad: Pour the chilled dressing over the salad and toss until everything is evenly coated.
- Add the crunch: Right before serving, add the chow mein noodles and sliced almonds. Toss lightly so they stay crispy.
- Add the chicken: Arrange the sliced cooked chicken on top of the salad. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
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Notes
Four Weeks of Family-Friendly FoodWhen people gather, I cook. Four weeks of the dinners my crowd asks for — planned, tested, and shopped for. Come see what’s in the cookbook →Why This Asian Chicken Salad Works
This Asian chicken salad earns its place in the rotation because it does what a good main-dish salad has to do — it eats like dinner, not like a side. The chicken keeps it filling, the chow mein noodles and sliced almonds give it serious crunch, the mandarin oranges add a sweet citrusy pop, and that homemade dressing pulls it all together. Every bite has a different texture, which is honestly the whole point of a chopped salad. Without those crispy noodles on top, you’ve got a green salad. With them, you’ve got a meal.
The history nerd in me loves that this style of salad — sometimes called Chinese chicken salad or chopped chicken salad — actually came out of a California restaurant called Madame Wu’s in the 1960s, not from anywhere in Asia. It’s an American invention from the start, which is why every version you’ve ever seen looks a little different. Some use cabbage, some use lettuce, some have wonton strips, some have crispy noodles. Mine leans into romaine and chow mein noodles because that’s the version I grew up loving, and because chow mein noodles from a can are a kitschy ingredient I will defend to the end.
The other reason this recipe earns its slot in our summer rotation: it does not require a single thing from the oven. The chicken can be poached on the stovetop, grilled, or pulled off a rotisserie from the grocery store. Everything else is just chop, shake, toss, serve. On a warm Florida day, that matters. My big bamboo cutting board handles the romaine, the green onions, and the chicken with room to spare, and the whole salad comes together in about fifteen minutes start to finish.
A Few Things That Make Asian Chicken Salad Even Easier
- Use a Mason jar for the dressing. Shake-and-pour beats whisk-and-spill every time. Toss every ingredient into a 16-ounce jar, screw the lid on tight (check the lid before you shake — ask me how I know), and shake until the brown sugar dissolves and the oil and vinegar emulsify. Chill it while you chop the rest. It also stores beautifully in the fridge for the next time you want a quick salad.
- Save the mandarin orange juice. That little bit of juice from the can is the secret to the dressing. It adds a soft citrus sweetness that you can’t quite get from any other ingredient. Drain your oranges over a measuring cup so you don’t accidentally pour it down the drain.
- Go lighter on the sesame oil than you think. The recipe says three to four teaspoons and I almost always do three. Sesame oil is bold and a little goes a long way — less makes the dressing brighter and more balanced. You can always add a touch more if you want to taste it more strongly, but you can’t take it back out.
- Add the noodles and almonds at the very last second. Toss the lettuce, carrots, green onions, and mandarins with the dressing first. Then pour those crunchy bits over the top and toss lightly just to mix. If the noodles sit in the dressing too long, they soften — and soggy chow mein noodles are not the move.
- Use a rotisserie chicken if you’re in a hurry. The recipe calls for cooked chicken breasts and I do prefer to season and bake my own so I know what’s in it. But on a true weeknight, a rotisserie chicken pulled from the grocery store works perfectly. Shred or slice and lay it right on top.
Asian Chicken Salad FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
Is Asian chicken salad a main dish or a side?
With the chicken on top, it’s absolutely a main dish — I serve this Asian chicken salad with frozen egg rolls or some toasted garlic bread on the side and it is a full dinner. Omit the chicken and it becomes a beautiful side salad that goes with almost anything off the grill. I’ve brought the no-chicken version to potlucks and barbecues a hundred times, and it always disappears.
Can I make this Asian chicken salad ahead of time?
Yes and no. The dressing keeps in the fridge for at least a week — make that any time. The chopped lettuce, shredded carrots, green onions, and mandarin oranges can all be prepped a day ahead and kept in the fridge in separate containers. But the noodles and almonds go in only right before serving so they stay crispy, and the dressing goes on right before serving too. Pre-dressed salad that sits in the fridge gets sad fast.
What’s the difference between chow mein noodles and other crispy salad toppers?
The crunchy chow mein noodles that come in a can — the short, fried, golden-brown kind — are not the same thing as the soft chow mein noodles you stir-fry. They’re crispy right out of the can and that’s exactly what you want on this salad. You can swap in crispy wonton strips, broken-up uncooked ramen noodles, or fried rice noodles in a pinch, but the canned chow mein noodles are the classic and they’re the easiest. I almost always reach for La Choy chow mein noodles .
What kind of chicken works best?
Any cooked chicken breast will work — grilled, baked, poached, or pulled from a rotisserie. I usually season chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a little onion powder, then bake them at 375°F until they hit 165°F internal, about 25 to 30 minutes. Let the chicken rest before slicing so the juices stay in the meat, then slice across the grain into pieces about the thickness of your finger.
Can I make the dressing without sesame oil?
You can, but I really do recommend keeping it in. The sesame oil is what gives the dressing its signature toasted, slightly nutty Asian flavor — without it the dressing tastes more like a sweet vinaigrette. A small bottle lasts forever in the pantry because you only need a few teaspoons at a time. If you genuinely can’t use it, swap in a neutral oil and add a pinch of toasted sesame seeds to the salad to bring back some of that toasty note.
What do I serve with Asian chicken salad?
Frozen egg rolls from the freezer aisle are my go-to — just bake or air-fry them while you assemble the salad and you’ve got a full restaurant-style plate. Toasted garlic bread also works beautifully if you’d rather lean comfort food. For a lighter meal, just the salad with the chicken is plenty filling on its own. And if you want to feed a real crowd, double the salad and add a pot of jasmine rice on the side.
How do I scale this Asian chicken salad up for a crowd?
The recipe as written serves about 6 to 8 people as a main dish — perfect for the Longstreth crew. To feed a bigger group, just double everything and use a larger serving bowl. You can absolutely double the dressing in a quart Mason jar and keep what you don’t use for a quick salad later in the week. For really big gatherings, I’ll set up a “salad bar” — bowls of each ingredient, the dressing on the side, and let everyone build their own plate.
🛒 Complete Shopping List
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Ingredients
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Equipment
More Quick Crowd Dinners You’ll Love
- Cucumber Tomato Salad — another no-oven side that disappears the second it hits the table.
- BLT Salad — technically a salad, emotionally a BLT. Perfect for the same hot-weather rotation.
- Maple Balsamic Grilled Chicken — tastes fancy, easy enough for any weeknight, and the grill keeps the oven off.
- Curried Chicken Salad — a bright, crunchy no-cook chicken salad with apple, pecans, and a warm hit of curry. Another cool-kitchen favorite.
- Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad — a lighter, no-mayo chicken salad with curry, apple, and pecans, made for the same no-oven days as this one.
📬 Come to the table on Saturday
Every Saturday morning I send a printable meal plan and full grocery list — the whole week, formatted for the fridge and the grocery run — plus new recipes and whatever’s happening at the Longstreth house. Drop your email below and I’ll save you a seat.
Asian Chicken Salad — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.