Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad – A fresh, delicious and healthy salad made with rice noodles, chicken, carrots, cucumber and cabbage.

Mixed with an easy made Vietnamese style sweet and tangy salad dressing and topped with crunchy peanuts. Perfect for an easy family dinner.

Check also: Classic Taco Salad and Tuna and Feta Salad.

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad

This Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad is a perfect way to use leftover chicken alongside some vegetables and a delicious salad dressing.
This recipe is suitable for lunch, dinner or even for lunchbox. It is a healthy main or side dish that is so simple and easy to make. One good thing about this recipe is that it can be made two days ahead of time and kept in the fridge until needed. This salad is loaded with fresh veggies and chicken; it is the ideal one-meal dish.

Related: Italian Tomato And Onion Salad and Japanese Seaweed Salad (Wakame).

What's in The Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad?

• Dried rice noodles: I used dried rice noodles because they have a chewy texture and transparent appearance.
• Cucumber: It adds great taste and some crunchiness to the salad and has a lot of water content which helps in hydration.
• White cabbage: I used finely shredded white cabbage. However, you can use red or Chinese cabbage.
• Carrots: Use chopped, grated or matchstick carrots. It adds crunch and colour to the dish.
• Skinless chicken breasts: Make sure to use shredded, cooked chicken breasts for the salad. You can also use store-bought roast chicken or poached chicken.
• Spring onions: Spring onions are rich in fibre. Make sure to use sliced spring onions.
• Red chillies: Use birds eye chilli if you are a fan of the heat; if not, you can use jalapeño. Make sure to the slice red chillies as it adds some extra spice to the salad.
• Roasted peanuts: I used roasted peanuts; you can use cashew or pine nuts instead.
• Parsley: use Finely chopped Parsley. It gives a lovely taste to the salad.

For the Salad Dressing

• Light brown sugar: It adds the right amount of sweetness to the dressing and a lovely flavour too.
• Lime juice: Lime gives a good tangy flavour to the salad.
• Vinegar: Use white or balsamic vinegar. I love using balsamic vinegar.
• Garlic: This dressing requires only one minced clove of garlic as it adds an amazing flavour.
• Oyster sauce: It adds a savoury flavour to the dressing. You can replace it with soy sauce or fish sauce instead.

How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Salad?

• In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients, then set aside.
• Soak the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain and rinse under cold water. After that, drain it well, then put it in a serving bowl.
• Chop the cucumber, finely shred the cabbage, grate the carrot, and slice the spring onion and red chillies.
• Add all the veggies to the noodles. Shred the cooked chicken breasts and add to the veggies.
• Pour the sauce over the salad and toss to combine.
• Sprinkle the peanuts and the parsley on the top, then serve.

Recipe Tips

• If you’re serving the salad individually, add a generous amount of roasted peanuts to the salad.
• Make sure to toss the salad well to combine the sauce well with the veggies.
• You can substitute oyster sauce with fish sauce based on your preference.
• You may also use chicken breast fillets, chicken tenderloins or chicken thighs for this salad.
• To cook the chicken, season it with salt and pepper and grill or boil it until fully cooked; You can also use leftover chicken or turkey in making this salad.

Some Variations

• You can use coriander, cilantro or mint with parsley as herbs are key to any Vietnamese food.
• Use cashews or sunflower seeds instead of roasted peanuts.
• You may use cayenne pepper instead of red chillies for some extra spice.

Possible Additions to This Recipe

Chickpeas: You can add half a tin of well-drained chickpeas.
Green mint: Add some roughly chopped mint.
Rocket
Roasted eggplants
Baby spinach
Peach, slices.
Pineapple, slices.
Watercress

Serving Suggestions

Serve this Vietnamese chicken noodle salad with fries, hummus, savoury couscous or quinoa. You can also serve it with some roasted veggies.

Recipe FAQs

Can I store the Vietnamese chicken Noodle salad?

The veggies in the salad leave a lot of moisture, and the rice noodles tend to turn dry when left longer than 48 hours; it is best to consume it fresh. You can also make ahead by chopping all the ingredients prior and add the dressing at the last minute.

How long will this salad last without dressing?

This Vietnamese chicken salad will last up to 5 days without dressing in the refrigerator.

Can I use any other kind of meat in this salad?

You can substitute the chicken with any meat, based on your preference. Turkey would be a great option for this salad.

What other dressing can I use with this salad?

The dressing is what makes the Vietnamese salad. But, feel free to try it with Greek dressing, avocado ranch or lemon aioli sauce.

How long does dressing stay?

Homemade salad dressing lasts 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Why does the rice noodles turn mushy?

Rice noodles are very delicate, so soaking them for more than 3 minutes in boiling water will make them turn mushy.

More Salad recipes

• Lemon garlic potato salad
• Tuna avocado salad
• Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad
• Grilled chicken salad
• Healthy taco salad recipe
• Creamy tuna pasta salad
• Mediterranean eggplant salad
• Easy potato salad recipe

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