Thai Grilled Chicken Salad

Grilled chicken breasts are smothered with a spicy peanut sauce on top of a vegetable and rice noodle salad. It’s packed with all the bright, satisfying flavours of Thai food in one stunning summer bowl. This delicious summer offering will nourish and satisfy your Asian food cravings!

Looking for an authentic Thai salad recipe? Take a look at our Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam). 

There are two things I want to fill my dinner plate with when hot weather arrives. One is fresh, seasonal vegetables. The other is smoky grilled meat.

Just give me some grilled chicken or steak and a pile of vegetables and I am happy! 

This grilled chicken salad brings both of these together in one fresh, vibrant dish. What could be better?!

Grilled Chicken Breasts

I normally try to avoid chicken breasts whenever I can. I find that they can be difficult to cook without the chicken turning dry or rubbery. I much prefer thighs, especially when it comes to grilling. But I know that not everyone – including my family – agrees with me, and I do find that they work much better when added to a salad.

But to get the most from chicken breasts, they do need a bit more attention. This usually means finding the perfect sauce or marinade to add extra seasoning.

Chicken breasts on their own have a very mild taste, which does mean that they are a bit of a blank slate. The right marinade will bring the flavour, while also tenderising the meat.

Thai Chicken Marinade

I’ve loved Thai flavours for as long as I remember. The cornerstones of the Thai cuisine are the combination of sweet, sour, spicy and salty flavours perfectly combined and balanced. I think these flavours work perfectly in the summer and they are easy to achieve with a little kitchen hack. 

And that is to use store-bought curry paste for a quick marinade, which is what I do. A pre-paste will contain a wide range of flavours, which not only saves a lot of effort, but means that you don’t need to have to buy a lot of spices that may not get much use.

I’ve kept things very simple for this recipe. Just smother the chicken breasts with This is an affiliate link.Thai red or green curry paste and let them marinade overnight or for 2-3 hours. 

How to Grill Chicken Breast

No one likes a dry chicken. Unfortunately, this can happen very quickly on a hot grill, so let me tell you exactly what to do to avoid this travesty:

1. Make sure your chicken breast is the same thickness throughout. I cut my chicken in half lengthwise, then pound the thicker part to even it out. 
2. If you are using marinated chicken, you are already ahead of the game as the marinade will tenderise it.
3. Clean the grill and oil it to prevent the chicken from sticking.
4. Avoid intense heat! Chicken breast is very lean, so cooking it over high heat will only dry it out while burning the outside. 
5. Use a combination of the direct and indirect heat for the best results. This means you will place the chicken breasts on direct heat for about 2 minutes on each side to get those beautiful grill marks.
6. Then move over to the indirect lower heat, cover the BBQ and continue cooking until done. This will take approximately 5-7 minutes for chicken cutlets and 15 minutes for a full chicken breast. Don’t forget to flip halfway through. 
7. Although it’s great to have a time marker, what is more important is to rely on the internal temperature of the grilled chicken breast, which should read 165F/74C. Invest in a This is an affiliate link.digital meat thermometer!
8. Rest your chicken for 5 minutes before slicing so juices have the chance to reabsorb.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

The second part of the flavour building is the sauce. A spicy peanut sauce is delicious and so easy to make at home. If you are allergic to peanuts, substitute with almond butter. 

Just a quick mix of the crunchy peanut butter, This is an affiliate link.soy sauce, ginger, garlic, lime juice and spicy This is an affiliate link.Sriracha will give you the most gorgeous concoction! I prefer using crunchy peanut butter for the texture it adds but a smooth kind will also work.

Just imagine pouring that sauce all over your slightly charred, fresh off the grill tender chicken breasts. Flavour explosion. 

Noodle Salad

Since this grilled chicken salad is meant to be eaten as a main meal and not just a little side, I added rice noodles to the mix to make it a bit more substantial.

If you are not a fan of rice noodles, feel free to use either ramen noodles or medium egg noodles from an Asian aisle of your supermarket. Even spaghetti can work in this delicious salad! And if you want to increase your fibre intake, swap for wholewheat noodles!

Now let’s talk about the vegetables. I wanted my salad to have a lot of texture, so I chose red cabbage, carrots and cucumbers to achieve that crunch. I also cut them all into long thin strips to mimic the shape of the noodles in the salad.

A This is an affiliate link.julienne peeler works really well to create that look or use a vegetable grater to keep things simple. You can also use a regular vegetables peeler to shave thin cucumber slices. 

Serving suggestions

I made this grilled chicken salad to stand all on its own as a complete – and incredibly satisfying – meal. With the egg noodles and hearty protein, it’s a salad that is going to tick a lot of boxes.

If you feel like switching things up, you can replace the chicken in this recipe with fish like salmon. My Asian Salmon will be a great addition to the noodle salad.

Storage and leftovers

I’m a fan of making this salad in advance. The combination of vegetables hold up well when stored in the fridge.

Make it early and have it ready to go when you feel the urge. You can keep the salad for 4-5 days if refrigerated in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container.

More Favourite Summer Salad Recipes to Try

• Burger in a Bowl
• Cobb Salad with Lemon Yogurt Dressing
• Italian Salad with Tuna, Corn and Mozzarella
• Coronation Chicken Salad

Or explore our large Salad Recipe Collection for inspiration.