When people swooned over my sister Sandee’s Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad, I adapted her recipe into a low-carb version of this tasty salad! And if you like chicken and cabbage and Asian flavors, you’re going to love this salad too!
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Years ago my sister Sandee brought this Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad to our family Super Bowl party, and right away people wanted the recipe. So Sandee gave me the recipe over the phone, and then I made a low-carb version using all cabbage (no carrots), omitting the crunchy ramen noodles, and using sweetener instead of sugar.
Through the years I loved the low-carb version of this salad with chicken, cabbage, and Asian flavors when I made it, but last year I got infatuated with Asian Green Salad with Soy-Sesame Dressing, and when I had some of that in the fridge I used it on this salad, with great results! And I didn’t like having to buy a package of ramen noodles to make this dressing since I wasn’t using the noodles, so this is a new-and-improved version of Sandee’s salad with Soy-Sesame Dressing.
I’ll also tell you how to adapt if you like using the ramen packet in this recipe. Either way you make it, this Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad is a delicious crunchy salad that’s a perfect main dish salad for lunch. If you like cabbage and Asian flavors, I bet you’re going to love this salad!
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
How to make this salad with uncooked chicken breasts:
- Trim undesirable parts from two boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I save the scraps to make chicken stock.)
- Poach the chicken in water or broth with a little poultry seasoning (affiliate link).
- Cook chicken until it’s firm to the touch, about 10 minutes with the liquid barely simmering, then drain and let cool.
- Chop chicken as described in the recipe
What is unseasoned rice vinegar?
Unseasoned rice vinegar is simply rice vinegar that doesn’t have added sugar.
Do you need peanut oil for the Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad?
Peanut oil is great for the Asian-flavored dressing in this salad, but you can use any neutral-flavored vegetable oil if that’s what you have.
Can you make Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad with the ramen seasoning packet?
If you’ve had this type of salad with cabbage and chicken, it might have included uncooked ramen noodles and had a dressing that was seasoned with the chicken ramen noodle seasoning packet. If you want to make that version, you can substitute the ramen noodle packet for the sesame oil (or part of the sesame oil) in the dressing.
Is this Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad low in carbs?
If you make this chicken cabbage salad with sweetener and replace the ramen noodles with nuts like I did, this salad has only about 8 net carbs per serving.
Want more low-carb salads with Cabbage?
Check out Low-Carb and Keto Cabbage Salads for more ideas for using one of my favorite salad ingredients.
How to make Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Whisk together soy sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, peanut oil, Monkfruit sweetener, and Sesame Oil.
- Put chopped chicken into a bowl and mix in about half the dressing. Let chicken marinate in dressing while you prep other ingredients.
- Thinly slice and then chop enough green cabbage to make about 6 cups chopped cabbage.
- Slice green onions. (Forgot to take a picture of that!
- In a large dry frying pan, toast almonds over low heat, just until almonds start to be fragrant.
- Mix cabbage, sliced green onions, toasted almonds, and sesame seeds into the chicken marinating in the bowl. (Save a few almonds and sesame seeds to garnish the finished salad.
- Add more dressing, then toss to combine until the salad is as wet as you prefer. (You may not need all the dressing.
- Season with fresh-ground black pepper, sprinkle with reserved almonds and sesame seeds, and serve.
More Cabbage Salad Recipes You Might Like:
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 3 cups diced, cooked chicken
- 6 cups thinly sliced and chopped cabbage
- 1/2 cup sliced green onion (more or less to taste)
- 3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted in dry pan
- 2 T sesame seeds (see notes)
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Dressing Ingredients:
- 2 T soy sauce
- 2 T unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 T peanut oil (see notes)
- 2 T Monkfruit Sweetener
- 1 1/2 tsp. Sesame Oil
Instructions
- Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Whisk together soy sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, peanut oil, Monkfruit sweetener, and Sesame Oil. (This dressing is good on lots of things so you might want to double the amount of dressing.
- Put chopped chicken into a bowl and mix in about half the dressing. Let the chicken marinate in the dressing while you prepare other ingredients.
- Thinly slice and then chop enough green cabbage to make about 6 cups chopped cabbage.
- Slice green onion.
- In a large dry frying pan, toast the almonds over low heat, about 90 seconds, or until almonds start to be fragrant.
- Mix cabbage, sliced green onions, toasted almonds, and sesame seeds into the chicken marinating in the bowl. (Save a few almonds and sesame seeds to garnish the finished salad.
- Add more dressing, then toss to combine until the salad is as wet as you prefer. (You may not need all the dressing.
- Season with fresh-ground black pepper, sprinkle with reserved almonds and sesame seeds, and serve.
- This will keep about one day in the fridge, but probably not much longer than that.
Notes
I use Toasted Sesame Seeds for this recipe, or you can toast your own or use black sesame seeds.
I’d use Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) for this salad, but use any sweetener of your choice.
Peanut oil is great in this, but you can use a neutral-flavored vegetable oil if that’s what you have.
Recipe adapted by my sister Sandee from several sources and adapted into a low-carb version by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 330Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 355mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 22g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Made with all cabbage (no carrots) and using an approved sweetener, my sister Sandee’s Asian Chicken Cabbage Salad would be low in carbs and also approved for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This Asian salad recipe with chicken and cabbage was first posted in 2010, after my sister Sandee brought it to a family Super bowl party. It was last updated with more information and a slightly-improved recipe in 2024.
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