Kung Pao Chicken Salad

This low carb Kung Pao chicken salad is a delicious and healthy meal. It will satisfy that takeout craving while on a low carb diet. The Asian homemade dressing is full of flavor and easy to whip up. Best of all it has only 6.1 grams of net carbs and 25.1 grams of protein!

You might also like this low carb spring roll salad!

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. So today I created this low carb Kung Pao chicken salad because it seemed to have it all: lettuce, crunchy vegetables, nuts, chicken and a really tasty Asian dressing.

I tried to use the flavors of one of our favorite Chinese takeout dishes which is kung pao chicken. However I made some changes while adapting it to salad form. I used rotisserie chicken so not frying involved and I use sliced almonds instead of traditional peanuts. Though you can use those if you prefer.

But what I really love about this low carb recipe is the dressing. It is spicy, tangy and is full of flavor. I want to use this in my next stir fry as I think it will work great for that too. I’ll keep you post.

Recipe ingredients I used and substitutions.

The basic salad ingredients for the base is romaine lettuce, bell peppers, celery and green onions. Note you can other veggies in your salad like shredded carrots, radishes, snow peas, Chinese cabbage, red onions, etc.

I also used chopped cooked chicken. This is the perfect recipe to use leftover chicken breast or rotisserie chicken.

The kung pao dressing is bit more complicated and the ingredients were:

• chili garlic sauce – I used this brand and you can find this in most grocery store. It’s a great product because it has a bit of heat and tang but also the garlic flavor.
• soy sauce – Most people have regular soy sauce on hand. However if you have soy allergies you can substitute with coconut aminos. If you do use these, skip the sweeteners because the coconut adds a bit sweet. You can also use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer.
• rice vinegar – You should be able to find this at the grocery store in the international aisle. If you already have rice wine vinegar that would work too as it’s really the same thing.
• fresh ginger root – You can buy fresh ginger root and a ginger root paste at Aldis. Many grocery stores have one or the other. But don’t use dried ginger spice as it doesn’t have the same flavor for this dish.
• fresh garlic – This is also important to the dressing so I would not substitute though if you have to use garlic powder, you will want to use ¼ teaspoon I used a large clove in this recipe.
• hot pepper flakes – This is optional depending on how much heat you want. My hubby makes his own with peppers from his garden. Check out his post!
• sweetener – You can use whatever kind of sweetener you want and if you don’t care about carbs you can use regular white sugar. It’s such a small amount it doesn’t make much difference.
• olive oil – As with most dressings you need to use this but you can substitute with vegetable oil or avocado oil l if you want. I just use a mild olive oil with all my dressings.

And on the top I used sliced almonds for that crunch factor and because I don’t particularly like peanuts. But since peanuts are typically in kung pao chicken you can also use those if you prefer. They are higher in carbs but would taste good in this salad. Sesame seeds would also be good any are low in carbs.

Another addition that you can try is some fresh cilantro mixed in. I forgot to put some but would I know it would taste delicious. You could also use Thai basil or fresh parsley if you have fresh herbs available.

How to make this low carb kung pao chicken salad.

 Step 1: Chop up the lettuce and dice the green onion, peppers and celery. Place all the vegetablesin a big salad bowl and set aside.

Step 2: Chop up the cooked chicken into bite sized pieces and add to the bowl.

Step 3: Make the dressing by adding everything to a mixing bowl and whisking well to combine.

Step 4: Next pour the Asian dressing over the lettuce, veggies and chicken. Toss to coat everything.

Step 5: Sprinkle the sliced almond or peanuts if using on top and serve. This is a filling salad and I would serve it as a low carb dinner or big lunch. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

Note you can keep the salad and dressing separate if you are not going to eat all at once. That way the leftovers won’t get soggy. So you should store them in separate containers and mix when ready to eat. Please scroll down to view the printable recipe card.

This healthy salad was a really satisfying meal for me. The dressing is seriously delicious and all the crunchy veggies, nuts and added chicken really filled me up. Like I mentioned above I wish I had put some fresh cilantro on top as I love that in Asian salads.

More low carb Asian dishes to try.

I love Asian food and it’s not that hard to make healthy low carb dishes if you have the right condiments on hand. Below are some recipes that use the chili garlic sauce, rice vinegar, fresh ginger and soy sauce from above. So if you like this recipe you can use those products in these recipes.

• keto teriyaki salmon bowls
• low carb Thai marinated flank steak
• low carb air fryer sticky drumsticks
• keto smoked Thai beef jerky
• keto sesame ginger dressing
• low carb fried cauliflower rice
• keto Asian slaw

I felt that this keto kung pao chicken salad was perfect for a dinner. It was filling and tasty and totally satisfied my takeout cravings. And the dressing was the perfect balance of spicy and tangy. I hope you like it as much as we did.

The nutrition for one serving is: 255 cals / 13g fat / 9.3g carbs/ 3.2g fiber / 25.1g protein = 6.1g net carbs