This Thai mango chicken salad is fresh, flavorful, and ready in minutes. Made with shredded chicken, crisp veggies, sweet mango, and a creamy peanut dressing, it’s perfect for quick meals or healthy meal prep. {Gluten-free & dairy-free}
Mango Chicken Salad Recipe – So Simple & Delicious!
This Thai chicken mango salad is one of our go-to favorite salads since it’s packed with sweet, savory, and crunchy goodness.
Loaded with veggies, juicy mango, and protein-rich shredded chicken, it’s light, refreshing, and perfect for summer lunches, dinner parties, or weekly meal prep. Plus, this salad is topped with the most delicious sweet-and-salty Asian peanut dressing, so it’s bursting with bold flavors and fresh textures in every bite!
For more vibrant salads, be sure to try my Cashew Crunch Salad and Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad too!
Before You Get Started
- Use your preferred method when making the shredded chicken. You can cook boneless skinless chicken breast in the crockpot, instant pot, boil it in water or use a rotisserie chicken.
- You can use shred your own cabbage in a food processor or thinly slice it on a cutting board, or purchase pre-shredded cabbage to save time when making this recipe.
- I find it’s best to use a mango that’s ripe but still slightly firm as it’s much easier to cut. If it’s overripe, it will be mushy and difficult to cut into thin slices.
- Allow the salad to sit in the dressing for at least half an hour to absorb the flavors. It tastes better the longer that it sits.
- Use desired amount of dressing. I only used half the dressing for this salad. You can reserve the rest of the dressing for another salad or it also tastes great used as a stir fry sauce!
Ingredient Notes
For the Salad
- Vegetables: This Thai mango salad consists of cabbage, carrots, red onion, and red pepper. You can use pre-shredded cabbage to simplify this salad even further; sub in green onion for the red; or use different coloured peppers if desired.
- Mango: Make sure your mango is ripe but firm for the best flavor.
- Cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, you can use fresh parley instead or leave it out altogether.
- Cashews: Cashews add such a great texture to this salad as well as healthy fats. Use raw or roasted cashews. You could also use roasted peanuts or macadamia nuts as well.
- Chicken: Shredded chicken offers protein to make this salad a full meal. You can use chicken breasts or chicken thighs and prepare your own shredded chicken or use a store-bought rotisserie chicken. You could also grill chicken, cut it into bite-size pieces and add it to the salad as well.
Peanut Dressing Ingredients
- Rice vinegar: This adds a subtle tanginess to the salad. Use the unseasoned variety to limit added sugar and sodium. You can also sub it for apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Tamari sauce: I use Tamari sauce in the dressing, but you can also use reduced sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos if desired.
- Honey: Use a raw honey if you can. It tends to be less processed, tastes better and also has more antioxidants. Brown sugar could also be used.
- Peanut butter: I used a natural peanut butter for this dressing, but you can use regular if that’s what you have.
- Sesame and olive oil: I like to add sesame oil to the dressing for a nice nutty flavor, but you can use all olive oil if preferred.
How to Make Thai Mango Salad with Cashews – Step-by-Step
- Add all of the ingredients for the salad to a large salad bowl.
- In a small bowl or mason jar, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Shake or stir until well combined.
- Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad (I only used half).
- Toss until evenly distributed. For best results, allow the salad to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Scroll to the recipe card below for the full printable recipe!
How to Store
This mango chicken salad recipe is perfect for meal prep. You can make it all up ahead of time, with the dressing and then keep it covered in a bowl or airtight container in the fridge. It will keep well for up to four days.
Recipe Variations
- For a zesty spin: Add a bit of lime juice to the dressing.
- For extra creaminess and texture: Add some diced creamy avocado.
- Make it a smaller side salad: Omit the shredded chicken and serve with your favorite mains.
- For a vegan option: Swap the chicken for chickpeas or marinated tofu or seitan and use maple syrup instead of honey.
- Add more of a kick: You can also make it spicier by adding some chili powder, chili flakes or a fresh chopped red chili to the salad dressing.
More Asian-Inspired Recipes
- Panera Chinese Citrus Cashew Salad
- Honey Garlic Sesame Chicken
- Healthy Chicken Stir Fry
- Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken
- Quinoa Edamame Salad with Sesame Ginger Dressing
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a star rating and review!
Thai Mango Chicken Salad
Servings 4 – 6 servings
This Thai mango chicken salad is fresh, flavorful, and ready in minutes. Made with shredded chicken, crisp veggies, sweet mango, and a creamy peanut dressing, it’s perfect for quick meals or healthy meal prep. {Gluten-free & dairy-free}
Video
Ingredients
For the mango chicken salad
- 5 cups shredded cabbage (can use regular cabbage or Napa cabbage)
- 1 1/2 cups matchstick carrots (can also grate the carrots)
- 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 ripe mango, thinly sliced
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/3 cup roughly chopped cashews
- 2 cups shredded or diced chicken
For the Asian Dressing
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 4 tablespoons tamari sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl or mason jar, combine the ingredients for the dressing. Shake or stir until well combined.
- Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad (I only used half). Toss until evenly distributed. For best results, allow the salad to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Notes
- Use your preferred method for shredded chicken: crockpot, Instant Pot, boiled, or rotisserie chicken.
- Save time by using pre-shredded cabbage, or shred your own in a food processor or with a knife.
- Choose a mango that’s ripe but slightly firm. It’s easier to slice than an overripe mango.
- Let the salad sit in the dressing for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can develop.
- Use as much dressing as you like. Extra dressing can be saved for another salad or used as a stir-fry sauce.
Nutrition
Calories: 468kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 26gFat: 26gSaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 53mgSodium: 1150mgPotassium: 823mgFiber: 6gSugar: 24gVitamin A: 9895IUVitamin C: 94mgCalcium: 87mgIron: 3mg
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This recipe was originally posted in February 2023, but the photos, text and formatting were updated in March 2026.
Made this tonight and absolutely loved it. This will be added to my favorites list. Easy, healthy and so full of flavor.
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I look forward to trying more of your recipes soon.
That’s amazing Rita – so glad you loved the salad! I hope you enjoy any other recipes that you try out too! :)
This looks amazing, could you substitute the peanut butter for a different nut butter or sunflower butter?
It might change the flavor a bit, but I think it would work! Keep me posted if you decide to try it out!
Amazing recipe! So delicious!!
Yay! So happy you loved the salad :) Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a rating and review!
This is absolutely delicious!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much for returning to leave a review :)