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Healthy Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad: Paleo & Whole30

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Growing up, my best friend’s mom would always make this sesame chicken chopped salad. It was what she always brought to gatherings and what she always made us during the summer. I love it so much so I decided to make a healthy, Paleo version. You know, without the sugary dressing and wonton strips mixed in. 😉

Healthy Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad is an easy paleo salad recipe, and an easy low carb option! The sesame chicken is a great Whole30 meat marinade for grilled chicken, too! It's a family friendly recipe everyone will love #paleosalad #whole30 #whole30salad via @paleobailey
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A few months ago I needed a salad to bring to a party. Not only do I hate showing up empty handed, but it’s always best practice to bring something you know you can eat when you’re trying to eat healthy. This salad is always a crowd pleaser. It’s also a pretty quick one to make in a large batch.

I prefer to use chicken thighs for sesame chicken chopped salad because they tend to absorb a lot of flavor and stay really juicy. You can totally use chicken breasts too if you’d rather. You’ll first want to mix up the dressing because you’re going to use a few tablespoons of it to marinade the chicken. I hardly ever have enough foresight to marinade it longer than 20 minutes. If you have longer, great. If not, oh well. No one is gonna ask you. Probably. 😉

sesame chicken chopped salad

Almost all of the ingredients I used I ordered from Thrive Market which makes feeding a crowd (or making a ton of meals for myself) really cheap. Plus they offer 20% off of your first 3 orders which is a deal that’s hard to pass up.

Thrive Market sells your favorite organic and non-gmo brands for up to 50% off retail.

If you don’t like a heavily dressed salad, wait to add the dressing until you’re ready to eat. I just mix it in a glass Pyrex bowl that I can bring with me along with the Tupperware the salad is in or store in the fridge. If you want the cabbage to absorb the dressing and become more of a coleslaw, add the dressing in and refrigerate for a few hours before serving! It’s awesome either way!

Other Salads You’ll Love:

Mexican Chopped Tuna Salad

Chopped Big Mac Salad

Taco Chicken Salad

Blackened Chicken Chopped Salad

Recipe Tutorial Video

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Healthy Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad: Paleo & Whole30

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 1x
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sesame chicken chopped salad
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★★★★★ 5 from 41 reviews

Ingredients

For the Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup coconut aminos
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar)
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Salad:

  • 1.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 4 diced green onions (can sub for 1/2 red onion finely diced)
  • 1/2 large green cabbage, thinly sliced, or one whole green cabbage if it’s small
  • 1/2 red cabbage, thinly sliced
  • 2 cups shredded or matchstick carrots
  • 1 cup sliced almonds
  • 1 can Mandarin oranges (no sugar/syrup – check labels!)
  • 1/2 cup chopped and loosely packed cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon white sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl
  2. In a plastic baggie, add about 3-4 tablespoons of dressing with the chicken
  3. Allow to marinate for at least a half hour
  4. Add chicken with the dressing into a large skillet and cook over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until cooked thoroughly or grill
  5. Allow to cool to room temperature before chopping and adding to the salad
  6. Combine all other salad ingredients besides dressing and chicken in a large bowl
  7. When chicken is cool, add to the salad
  8. Stir in dressing well and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts:

  • Calories: 432
  • Sugar: 9
  • Fat: 32
  • Carbohydrates: 16
  • Protein: 26
Healthy Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad is an easy paleo salad recipe, and an easy low carb option! The sesame chicken is a great Whole30 meat marinade for grilled chicken, too! It's a family friendly recipe everyone will love #paleosalad #whole30 #whole30salad via @paleobailey
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Healthy Sesame Chicken Chopped Salad is an easy paleo salad recipe, and an easy low carb option! The sesame chicken is a great Whole30 meat marinade for grilled chicken, too! It's a family friendly recipe everyone will love #paleosalad #whole30 #whole30salad via @paleobailey
Pin to Pinterest!

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Reader Interactions

Reader Reviews & Comments

  1. Hi Bailey! I really love this recipe. It’s simple, delicious, and great for meal prep. Thank you for all your hard work developing recipes, this one is a true winner!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  2. Currently doing a Whole30 and meal prepped this salad for this week’s lunches. IT IS SO GOOD! I used strawberries instead of mandarin oranges cuz I don’t like mandarin oranges and it is still very very delicious! Big fan. Thanks Bailey!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  3. At my hubby’s request I am about to make this for the 3rd time in three weeks. We love it fresh and it makes the best leftovers for lunches! Thank you!
    I’ve been making it with one bag of the pre cut cabbage slaw and a bag of the broccoli slaw.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thank you so much, Kim! I’m thrilled you both love it! I really appreciate you taking the time to come back and share this!! <3 - B

      Reply

  4. So damn good and easy. Can I say damn? But damn, it was good! Loved it for leftovers, like you said on your stories; it gets better as it sits.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thank you SO much, LeeAnn! I’m thrilled you love this salad as much as I do 🙂 (PS – we are a damn friendly website 😉 ) <3 - B

      Reply

  5. This salad was so good and so easy to make!!! Next time I’m doubling the chicken and the dressing so i can have it with some other options as well!!! Great recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Woo! I LOVE the chicken and the dressing too. I grill chicken that’s been marinaded in it and then use the other half for salad dressings with the grilled chicken. It’s like a weekly staple in the summer 🙂 Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know you enjoyed it! It’s super appreciated 🙂 – B

      Reply

    • Woo! This is SO great to hear!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back to let me know you enjoyed it. I really appreciate it 🙂 – B

      Reply

    • This is SO great to hear!! Thank you so much for taking the time to come back and let me know – it’s so appreciated! <3 - B

      Reply

  8. Can I give more than 5 stars?! This recipe hits all the meal prep marks – fast, simple, DELICIOUS and gets better the longer it sits in your fridge. Can’t recommend that you make this enough!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Amazing!! I’m so, so glad to hear this. Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know! It’s so appreciated <3 - B

      Reply

  9. I am super excited to make this. Is the minced ginger fresh (i.e. from a ginger root) or powdered (spice) ginger? Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi there! I use minced ginger that comes in the little glass containers (like minced garlic), but you can use fresh ginger root from the whole ginger minced too 🙂

      Reply

  11. Excited to try this first thing in the New Year. The only canned mandarin oranges I see are in pear juice concentrate – is that ok on Whole30? or should I look elsewhere? Thank you!

    Reply

    • That is compliant! 100% Juice (and juice concentrate) are ok as long as it’s used in something and not being poured in a glass and, say, drank with breakfast 🙂 Hope you love the recipe!! <3 - B

      Reply

      • I’ve gotten them at Target and Whole Foods before (but I haven’t bought at Whole Foods in a while being they last forever, so I don’t know haha!) But, this is the brand I get https://amzn.to/2rLdaZL. Honestly though, you can just sub for white sesame seeds. It doesn’t change the flavor much (black sesame seeds are a tiny bit nuttier) but it’s no biggie!

        Reply

  12. AMAZING RECIPE! I will make this over and over again. Wow. Really. My husband and I can’t believe how good it is!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Hey there! Fruit isn’t off limits all together with keto, there’s still nutritional value to them, really if you omit them or not, that totally depends on how many carbs you personally do per day and what you want to use them on. If you used cuties or halos (the little tangerine type oranges), there’s 6.5 net carbs in one, and half of one of those would be plenty for 1 serving of the salad so you’d be looking at about 3.25 net carbs from the fruit. Or you could omit altogether and the salad is still super super good! 🙂

      Reply

  17. I love this salad. It is so fresh and yummy! I prepped Sunday and am eating this for lunch all week. I put everything but the dressing together and grab and go daily.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  18. The best salad ever in the history of salads. Seriously SO FREAKING GOOD! That is all 😊

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  19. Made it tonight for a quick dinner and for lunches for the rest of the week. So delicious and easy! I already can’t wait for lunch tomorrow!

    Reply

  20. Sooo good!! Made this for my best friend bridal shower and so many people asked for the recipe!
    Thank you so much!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  22. I’ve made several WKS recipes and was apart of your January 2019 whole 30 group.

    This recipe makes it back into the fold every few weeks. One of my favorites!! I’ve grilled the chicken and done shrimp once too which was awesome.

    I think I could live a life with this for lunch and your instant pot pot roast for dinner.

    Reply

    • This made my day!! Thank you so much for sharing!! I’m thrilled you love this salad as much as I do! (and the pot roast is another of my faves – great minds think alike! 😉 ) – B

      Reply

  23. This recipe is amazing!! I have made this no less than 5 times. It is the best for lunch meal prep or taking to a party!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ahh! This is so awesome. Thank you so much, Erica – I’m so glad you enjoy it and that you took the time to let me know. I appreciate you!! <3 - B

      Reply

  24. My favorite recipe from Bailey! It’s on my menu this week! So crunchy, savory, and satisfying! Every time I serve it to someone new they ask for the recipe. Yum!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Oh this is wonderful to hear. Thank you so much, Sheila. I truly appreciate you sharing this with me and I’m so glad you love the recipe – it’s a favorite over here too :)! <3 - B

      Reply

  25. I cannot get enough of this recipe, it is seriously SO GOOD. What are you waiting for? Go make it!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • About 4 days in the fridge. The longer the dressing sits with it the more it becomes like a slaw as the cabbage softens. You can keep the dressing separate if you want it to be crunchier 🙂

      Reply

  28. This is hands down my FAVORITE recipe on Pinterest!!! We have it at least 2-3 times month. Super easy and DELICIOUS!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  29. This sounds great and I can’t wait to try it. The only questions I have is do you have any idea what the calories are per serving and how much is in a serving?

    Reply

    • Hey Donna! I didn’t do the nutrition info for this salad because so many use it differently as either a side salad or a full meal. I’d say it probably makes about 5-6 servings as a full meal. For the nutrition info you can enter it into whatever you use to calculate/track, such as myfitnesspal 🙂

      Reply

    • Hey there! If you’re using as a meal I’d say 5-6, as a side salad it will give you much more 🙂

      Reply

  33. So Delish! Making it for a family gathering next weekebd. Can’t wait to try with grilled chicken this Summer! ????

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  34. This is a great recipe! I used walnuts instead of almonds. I will definitely make this again and again again. Appreciate the share!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • I don’t calculate macro info, but you’re welcome to use My Fitness Pal or whatever nutritional calculator you use for your meals!

      Reply

  36. This makes a HUGE portion of one delicious Asian salad! I make it for a week of lunches & I’m onto making it a second time now. the only thing I change is using fresh mandarins & plenty of them. Just yum! Thanks for sharing such a yummy, easy recipe x

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  37. Hmmm don’t have toasted sesame oil ???? Can I just omit it?? Also don’t have black sesame seeds so should I double the white ones??

    Reply

    • You can use regular, not toasted sesame oil if you have it, or replace with avocado or olive oil. And yes! I’d just double the white sesame seeds 🙂 The black ones mostly just make it look a lil’ fancy, doesn’t alter taste! Enjoy!!

      Reply

  38. this recipe is a slam dunk – made it to take to a pitch-in, and it was one of the first things to run out! people loved it (paleo & non-paleo alike), and are still asking me for the recipe!

    I also made it to meal prep & it holds up well over the course of the week in the fridge.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thank you so much! This made my day. It’s definitely one of my top favorite recipes ever! Thanks for coming back and letting me know! <3 - B

      Reply

    • Yeah! That should be good! I often just use a bag of green cabbage and a bag of purple, so I think 2 bags of coleslaw would be fine!

      Reply

  40. Omg this tastes exactly like the Asian chicken salad I used to eat at Wendy’s every day (when I was 18 and fast food salads were the peak of my healthy eating). It is so delicious! I love the crunch of the almonds and the dressing is great as well. Always looking for non mayo slaw recipes. Thank you! This was so good I had to leave a review after I raved about it on insta stories.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Haha! I remember that salad, too! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know – I truly appreciate it! So happy you loved it 🙂

      Reply

  41. This salad was almost too beautiful to eat but wow am I glad I did! New favorite Whole30 recipe!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  43. I’m excited to make this recipe this week! I don’t have any avacado oil- do you think that olive oil or grape seed oil would taste ok as a substitute?

    Reply

    • Hey! Honestly this makes a LOT of salad haha! I’d say probably 6 servings if had as a meal, much more than that if had as a side!

      Reply

  45. Another win from @wholekitchensink!

    YOU GUYS I ALMOST CRIED THIS IS SO GOOD! Definitely one of my top recipes and will be making this over and over again. Thanks Bailey!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Thank you, Brad! I’m SO glad you loved this! It’s 100% my favorite recipe on this website! <3

      Reply

  46. My family was tired of the chicken recipes we usually ate and wanted a change. I made this and even my kids loved it! Instead of just mixing the dressing in, I left it on the side so we could put a little on it in case it was too strong for them. My son went back and got more with even more dressing on it and mixed it well. We ate this with homemade potato salad. My hubby couldn’t wait to take it for lunch the next day! I will be making this again! Oh, and we used gf soy sauce since I couldn’t find coconut aminos… delicious!

    ★★★★★

    Reply

    • Ahh! This made my day, Melissa! I’m so happy you and your family loved it – it’s one of my favorite recipes ever! Thank you so much <3

      Reply

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