This Crunchy Chicken Coleslaw Salad makes the perfect lunch or dinner. The peanut sauce adds flavor and the coleslaw adds crunch! Great way to use leftover chicken.
Hi friends!
Lately, I’ve been getting a lot of lunch recipe requests so I wanted to share this salad with you. It’s not a traditional leafy green salad because it uses coleslaw but it’s just as delicious and a fun way to change things up.
Chicken and Coleslaw Recipe
It’s also a great way to use up leftover chicken. In the recipe, I use shredded chicken, but you could use rotisserie chicken, leftover grilled chicken or whatever you have on hand. You could also make a big batch of shredded chicken to freeze and then pull some out a few weeks down the road to make this quick and easy salad.
And this makes a great lunch. The only thing to consider is that if you’re not eating it right away, I would store the salad and the sauce separately and mix them just before serving so everything doesn’t get soggy. Because you want that crunch, am I right?!
Crunchy Chicken Coleslaw Salad
Chicken Coleslaw Sandwich
Another great thing about this mix is that you could easily turn it into a sandwich or wrap. The peanut sauce is a unique twist and will set it apart from most of the sandwiches you’re probably making.
If you wanted to, you could even keep everything separate and add some lettuce as well. Then just assemble your chicken coleslaw sandwich with a layer of lettuce, a layer of chicken, a layer of mixed veggies and top it all off with the sauce and another piece of bread! Or throw it in a wrap and put it on a panini press for a few minutes!
Here’s how you make it:
Coleslaw Chicken Salad recipe
PrintCrunchy Chicken Coleslaw Salad
This Crunchy Chicken Coleslaw Salad makes the perfect lunch or dinner. The peanut sauce adds flavor and the coleslaw adds crunch! Great way to use leftover chicken.
Ingredients
1 pound cooked chicken (I use shredded)
1 bag coleslaw
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded carrot (Approx 1 large)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, minced
2/3 cup sliced green onion
2/3 cup chopped peanuts or cashews
chopped jalapeno, optional
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup tamari (or soy sauce)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 2 Tbsp maple syrup or honey
Sriracha or other hot sauce, to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl combine cooked chicken, coleslaw, bell pepper, shredded carrots, cilantro and green onion and mix well.
- In a separate bowl or jar, combine peanut butter, tamari, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic, maple syrup and sriracha. Stir well or shake to combine. Taste and add more sriracha or sweetener if needed.
- Pour sauce over coleslaw mixutre and toss well to coat. Top with peanuts and more green onions if desired and serve.
- If not serving immediately, store sauce separately from coleslaw mix and combine just before serving to avoid soggy coleslaw.
If you wanted to prep this for a week of lunches you could divide the sauce among 4 large mason jars, then top with the coleslaw mixture and store in the fridge. When ready to eat, dump into a bowl and stir to coat.
Want more coleslaw recipes? I have several using broccoli slaw but you could easily swap in coleslaw:
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Easy Broccoli Slaw Recipes
These Easy Broccoli Slaw Recipes are made using simple ingredients that can during food prep on the weekend and thrown together during the week for quick, healthy dinners or lunches.
Broccoli Slaw with Ramen
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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–
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I made this for a quick lunch today and it was delightful! I used skippy peanut butter and microwaved it for about 30 seconds before adding in the other ingredients for the sauce and it came right together. Used rotisserie chicken for added convenience. I’ll definitely add this to my lunch line up!
Wow is all I have to say! This will be my new go-to lunch. I used an orange bell pepper because it’s what I had, but I think red would be better. I also had some leftover edamame from a previous dish that I added in, which really complemented the other flavors. I am not a sriracha lover, so I used a few dashes of cayenne pepper instead. Combined with the jalapeño, it provided the kick I was craving. This recipe was so easy that, even as an inexperienced cook, I was able to pull it together quickly and felt like I’d made a restaurant dish. I’ll be eating this all summer!