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Chopped Chicken Cashew Salad with Homemade Creamy Cashew Dressing

Yield: 6 Servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Dressing:

  • ½ cup roasted salted cashews
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons chopped shallots
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, from about 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons canola, olive or avocado oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Salad:

  • 3-4 cups cooked chopped chicken (see note)
  • ½ tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 4 cups shredded Napa cabbage
  • 2-3 cups chopped romaine lettuce
  • 1 cup chopped snow peas
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 2 green onions, white and green parts thinly chopped
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • ½ - 1 cup chopped roasted salted cashews

Instructions 

  • For the dressing, pulse the 1/2 cup cashews in a blender or food processor until the texture is like a paste. Add the rest of the dressing ingredients and process until well-combined and mostly smooth. Set aside or refrigerate for up to a couple days.
  • Toss the cooked, chopped chicken with the 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, lettuce, snow peas, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. Add the chicken.
  • Toss the salad with the dressing (add a bit at a time; you can serve any extra alongside if you don't use it all to dress the salad). Sprinkle the cashews on top and serve. If you are planning to have leftovers, don't toss the salad with the dressing as a whole - serve the dressing on the side and store the dressing and salad leftovers separately in the refrigerator.

Notes

Chicken: if you don't have cooked chicken (a rotisserie chicken works great here), this simple, flavorful method for cooking chicken to shred or chop is a great alternative. If doing the above (cooking the chicken to use in the recipe), try rubbing the soy sauce + sesame oil mixture on the chicken before cooking instead of tossing with the cooked chicken like called for in the recipe.