This Kung Pao chicken salad is a delicious and healthy dish to satisfy that take out craving. This low carb recipe has a Kung Pao dressing that is full of flavor and easy to whip up.
You might also like this low carb spring roll salad!
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Just in case you didn’t notice I love salads. I love nothing better than a big, crunchy salad full of all kinds of tasty bits. On day I dreamed up this Kung Pao chicken salad because it seemed to have it all: lettuce, crunchy vegetables, nuts, chicken and a really tasty dressing. And that is my kind of salad.
I made a few changes from standard Kung Pao chicken by not frying the chicken and by substituting blanched almonds for peanuts. The dressing came out fantastic and I can’t wait to use it in a stir fry too!
Other delicious healthy salads to try
As I mentioned I have a lot of salads on this site for you. Just click here and you can see over 40 different salad recipes … yes 40! I told you I liked them.
Chinese chicken salad ingredients
This is a basic salad base. I used Romaine lettuce, bell peppers, celery and green onions. For the chicken I just tossed in some rotisserie chicken. Most of the flavor is in the dressing. It was so good!
Kung Pao Salad Dressing ingredients
Some of the ingredients in the dressing are a bit unusual but they are not too crazy. You can probably find them in your grocery store, Asian market or online. I used the following:
- chili garlic sauce – I used this brand.
- soy sauce – You can use coconut aminos if you are Paleo but skip the sugar if you do because it is a bit sweet.
- Chinese cooking wine – I used one like this but you can substitute dry sherry or a dry white wine
- fresh ginger root – I bought a jar of ginger paste in an Asian store and love it! Grated ginger root would be perfect too.
- fresh garlic
- apple cider vinegar
- hot pepper flakes – My hubby makes his own. Check out his post!
- Splenda – You can use white sugar if you don’t care about carbs.
Kung Pao chicken salad
The dressing is seriously delicious. I”ll let you know how it is when I use it for a stir fry.
This is a little higher in carbs but I would still consider it as a low carb dinner. I forgot to mention that I sprinkled some slivered almonds. You can use peanuts or cashews if you wish. They are higher in carbs but would taste good in this salad.
I hope you enjoy this tasty Kung Pao chicken salad and the nutrition for one serving is:
269 cals / 13.9g fat / 10.2g carbs/ 3.2g fiber / 25.5g protein = 7.0g net carbs
I have another great Asian flavored low carb recipe for you to try. Check out my friend Josi’s Turkey Asian Cabbage Bowls … delicious!
Kung Pao Chicken Salad (low carb)
Ingredients
- 4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 cup bell peppers, cut into chunks
- 2 stalks of celery, cut into chunks
- 4 green onions, chopped
- 2 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped
- 1/3 slivered almonds
Dressing
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine, or dry sherry
- 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 4 teaspoons garlic chili sauce
- 2 teaspoons vinegar
- 2 packets of Splenda
- hot pepper flakes, optional
Instructions
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In a large bowl, add your lettuce and vegetables and toss.
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Add chopped chicken and almonds on top.
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In a bowl mix the rest of the ingredients and whisk until well combined.
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Pour dressing over top the chicken and almonds.
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Serve as is or toss if you like.
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