Grilled Chicken Salad with Red Chili Peanut Sauce

 I recently discovered this new-to-us recipe when I was searching for something to make for dinner using leftover grilled chicken.

It has quickly become one of our favorite dinner recipes.

Made with lots of leafy greens, colorful veggies, & grilled chicken slices, the star of this dish is the amazing sweet & spicy red chili peanut sauce!

If you follow the recipe below, you’ll have some yummy sauce left over. And – as we discovered – it makes a perfect lunch wrap with all the same ingredients rolled up into a flour tortilla.

Oh, I love how grilled chicken can be used for 3 meals in one week!!

How to Make this Easy Grilled Chicken Salad with Peanut Chili Sauce

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Ingredients for the Peanut Chili Sauce

• 2 red chilis with seeds removed
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons peanut butter, smooth
• 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Ingredients for the Grilled Chicken Salad (for 2 people)

• 6 cups spinach, or leafy greens of your choice
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow pepper
• 1 medium carrot
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 2 grilled chicken breasts

How to make the Peanut Chili Sauce Dressing

• Step 1: Slice the ends of the red chilis off, and slice down the middle. Carefully scoop out the seeds using a spoon. (**Note: Spicy pepper seeds can burn the skin of your hands, so use gloves to prevent that from happening.)
• Step 2: Place red peppers in a mini chopper (or food processor or blender) and whir until they become tiny chunks.
• Step 3: Add in the rest of the ingredients (one at a time), whirring after each addition, until it is smooth.

Sidenote: I absolutely LOVE my mini food chopper (similar to this one). I got it decades ago as a Christmas gift, and I find myself pulling it out to use it often. It’s perfect for chopping up small batches of things like nuts, oreo cookies, graham crackers, bread crumbs, and dressings.

How to make the Grilled Chicken Salad

• Prepare the dressing.
• Prep the veggies by washing them and cutting into thin slices (or large dices, if you prefer)
• Assemble the salad by plating half of the leafy greens on each of 2 plates or large bowls.
• Layer on sliced veggies.
• Top with sliced grilled chicken breasts.
• Drizzle over about 3 Tablespoons red chili  peanut sauce. (There will be peanut chili sauce left over to use later!)

Variations of this recipe

You can customize this grilled chicken salad so many different ways! Here are a few different ideas:

• Use mixed greens instead of just spinach as your salad base.
• Add red cabbage to the mixed greens.
• Green onions, snow peas, and roasted peanuts would be nice add-ins to this salad recipe.
• If you like cilantro, add some in!
• If you find the red chili peanut sauce too hot, add in some more honey to cool it down.

For more salad recipes, you might want to check out:

• Spicy Lime Chicken Salad
• Macaroni Salad
• Classic Potato Salad

And, if you’re on the hunt for healthier recipes like I am, here are 5 quick and easy healthy  weeknight meal ideas.

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This recipe was inspired by Bobby Flay’s Chinese Chicken Salad with Red Chili Peanut Sauce