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Here is a salad that you’re going to want to make all summer long! Inspired by ingredients and flavors commonly found in a spring roll, this Spring Roll-Inspired Grilled Chicken Salad is a complete showstopper.
I absolutely love the flavors + textures of spring rolls — soft noodles, crisp veggies, fresh herbs, what could you not love? With that in mind, I created this recipe inspired by all the flavors and ingredients I love. And what you are left with is a filling, satisfying salad that is impressive enough for summer entertaining, but also simple enough for an easy weeknight recipe either on your grill or a grill pan indoors.
For this recipe, you will start off by making a delicious peanut dressing for the salad, which will also double as the marinade for your chicken. The chicken is then grilled off and served over rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber, carrots, and tons of herbs and then drizzled with the peanut dressing. It is SO satisfying and so so addicting.
I plan on making this Spring Roll-Inspired Grilled Chicken Salad become one of my go-to summer entertaining dishes because it’s simple to make yet impressive and exciting to serve! Enjoy!
Spring Roll-Inspired Grilled Chicken Salad
Ingredients
For the Marinade + Dressing:
- ¼ cup avocado oil
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp red curry paste
- â…“ cup unsweetened full fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
For the Chicken:
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ tsp Kosher salt
For the Salad:
- 2 cups thinly sliced romaine lettuce
- 2 Persian or mini cucumbers halved and thinly sliced
- 1 cup matchstick carrots
- 3 green onions thinly sliced on the diagonal
- ¾ cup loosely chopped mint more for serving
- ¾ cup loosely chopped cilantro more for serving
- ¾ cup loosely chopped Thai basil leaves more for serving
- 6 oz vermicelli rice noodles
- ½ cup roughly chopped peanuts
- Thinly sliced jalapeño optional for serving
- Lime wedges for serving
Instructions
Make the Marinade + Dressing
- Starting with the marinade, in a large bowl, add the avocado oil, coconut aminos, rice vinegar, fish sauce, coconut sugar, garlic, red curry paste, coconut milk and lime zest and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
- Next, make the dressing. In a separate small bowl, add the peanut butter and ½ cup of the marinade mixture, whisk until smooth. If it is too thick, add additional marinade 1 tbsp at a time. Set aside.
Marinate the Chicken
- To the large bowl with remaining marinade, add your chicken and salt and toss to coat. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the salad.
Prepare the Salad
- In a large bowl, add the lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, green onion, mint, cilantro and Thai basil, gently toss to combine and set aside.
- Next, cook your noodles according to the package directions. Once cooked, drain then place in a bowl of ice water to chill while you grill your chicken.
Grill the Chicken
- Heat grill over medium-high heat (350- 400 degrees F) and oil the grill grates (to do this, dip a wadded paper towel in a little oil and, using tongs, wipe the oil evenly over the grate. Be careful not to use too much oil, because that's a sure fire way to start a good flare-up—a little goes a long way here.)
- Cook the chicken over the heat for 4-5 minutes per side, until grill marks appear and the chicken is cooked through. The lid should be closed throughout the cooking process.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 5-8 minutes before slicing and serving.
Assemble the Salads
- Drain the rice noodles and divide amongst 4 bowls. Next, divide the lettuce mixture amongst each bowl, then top each with the slice chicken. Drizzle each with the dressing then top with the peanuts and additional herbs. Serve with lime wedges and enjoy!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Eat Love Eats.
This was INCREDIBLE! Alex nails it again. That sauceeee. I would definitely recommend doubling the dressing. We had tons of leftover marinade but ate all the dressing for dinner and so we don’t have enough for leftovers! It definitely took much longer than 45 minutes even with two of us working in the kitchen since there were so many components. But maybe I’m a slow chopper haha. Next time I might pickle the carrots and cucumbers a la a bahn mi!
Love that idea for the pickled veggies
This was a quick and easy and super delicious recipe! I subbed the peanut butter with almond butter (peanut allergy), this just might be one of the best marinades I’ve ever had! Perfect summer dish that’s on repeat in my house!
So happy it was a hit!!!
So good! The flavors don’t disappoint.
I can’t stop making this! It’s SO good!!!
Fantastic. Picky eaters even loved it and it was so filling and felt so nutritious. The chicken thighs were incredible. I’ll be using the marinade again to serve the chicken with other sides and combinations. 11/10!
Wow this was great! Took longer to make but worth the effort. Fresh herbs really helped. Can’t wait to make again.
Made a batch of this to make quick lunches for a few weekdays! Really good flavor and filling! Subbed rotisserie chicken because my life is chaos with a toddler. 🙂
This was delicious! I was in a dinner ideas rut and made this. Loved it. Even my 2 year old ate it (minus the lettuce). Will be making it again! Dressing and marinade are amazing.
so glad you love it!
Loved this. So delicious
This recipe is amazing! I’ve made it twice now. I use rice instead of rice noodles. I’ve also turned leftovers into a wrap. There is so much flavor!
We absolutely loved this salad! I doubled the dressing because we loved it so much. The fresh herbs and grilled chicken really make this. We’ll definitely be making again!