Chinese Chicken Salad
Crunchy Chinese Chicken Salad with ramen, mandarin orange, almonds, and sesame dressing. Fresh, flavorful, and perfect for spring and summer meals.
A Quick, Light, Flavorful, Hearty Salad
If you love this Chinese Chicken Salad, chances are you probably already know that I have a similar version of ramen noodle salad on my site. However, I love the mandarin oranges and sesame dressing in this one! It makes it taste so nice and light- a great spring or summer salad for sure!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Yes. This salad is still delicious without chicken and works great as a side dish, just like a traditional ramen salad. You could also switch out the chicken for canned salmon (just make sure to pick out any skin and bones and shred it well.
If you want to add a little more color to your salad, add some ½-1 cup of grated or shredded red cabbage. To add a little more sweetness, try adding craisins.
No. The noodles go in dry and soften slightly once tossed with the dressing.
Yes, but for the best crunch, wait to add the dressing until about 15-20 minutes before serving.
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. The noodles will soften over time but the flavor remains great.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- coleslaw mix – or you can use 3-4 cups shredded cabbage instead
- cooked chicken-This is a great way to use any leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken. If you need to cook some up ahead of time, Instant Pot Chicken, Crock Pot Shredded Chicken, boil some chicken, or even air fry and chop some chicken up beforehand. You can also use a can of chicken as well.
- chicken flavored Ramen– you only need noodles for the salad, but keep the package of seasoning for the dressing
- mandarin oranges– make sure to drain these really well so they don’t add a whole lot of extra water to the salad.
- sliced almonds – these can be left out if you don’t like nuts. Also, if you prefer, you can toast them as well.
- sesame seeds
- green onions – an optional ingredient but I love the slight onion flavor they add.
- olive oil – avocado oil could also be used.
- rice vinegar – regular rice vinegar or seasoned rice vinegar both work. You could also use plain white vinegar or apple cider vinegar if necessary.
- sesame oil – this gives the dressing that classic sesame dressing flavor. Only a little is needed as it can be a very strong flavor.
How To Make Chinese Chicken Salad:
Add the coleslaw mix to a large bowl. Break the Ramen noodles into bite-size pieces and add it to the bowl. Add the cooked chicken, drained mandarins, almonds and sesame seeds. Toss to combine.
To a small bowl or measuring cup, add the oil, rice vinegar, Ramen seasoning packet, sesame oil, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to fully coat.
Garnish with sliced green onions and serve.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Chinese Chicken Salad
Ingredients
- 14 ounce package coleslaw mix (or 3-4 cups shredded cabbage)
- 1 package chicken flavored Ramen (set aside seasoning packet for dressing)
- 2 cups cooked chicken, coarsely chopped
- 15 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained very well
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 2 Tablespoons white sesame seeds
- 2-3 green onions, sliced (optional, for garnish)
Sesame dressing:
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
- 1 packet Ramen chicken seasoning packet (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon salt (optional)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Add 14 ounce package coleslaw mix to a large bowl.
- Break 1 package chicken flavored Ramen noodles into bite-size pieces and add it to the bowl.
- Add in 2 cups cooked chicken, coarsely chopped, 15 ounce can mandarin oranges, drained very well, ½ cup sliced almonds and 2 Tablespoons white sesame seeds. Toss to combine.
- To a small bowl add 1/3 cup olive oil, 3 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar, 1 packet Ramen chicken seasoning packet, ½ teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Stir to combine.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to fully coat.
- Garnish with 2-3 green onions, sliced and serve immediately to keep the ramen noodles crunchy. If you prefer them soft, cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- This can be served as 6 side salads or 4 full salads.
- If you prefer to not add the seasoning packet, you don’t have to. It adds great flavor but you can leave it out. The same goes for the salt. You can add the additional salt or not.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I love this salad, but it doesn’t keep well for just 2 people. To adjust for our household I make the salad as directed, but keep the nuts and broken noodles in a zip bag separate from the dressed salad. When ready to serve, I put the salad in individual bowls, then stir in some of the noodle/nut mix. That way we can enjoy the salad for a few days with its original crunchy goodness.
This was delicious! I love the addition of the mandarin oranges! My book club devoured this salad and everyone wanted the recipe. Thank you!!
It is so good and that dressing is spectacular!!
Can I use the flavor packet in the cole slaw package that has the dressing??
I don’t buy the package that comes with the dressing (see my ingredient image above). Just get the package that is for coleslaw (it’s just the pre shredded cabbage and carrots) – don’t add any coleslaw dressing to this