Make use of your leftover chicken to make this cucumber chicken salad! It’s made with sliced cucumber, spring onion and shredded chicken with fresh cilantro and salted peanuts coated in a creamy peanut lime, satay inspired dressing. Simple and delicious!

Peanut Cucumber Chicken Salad

This Cucumber Chicken Salad is super easy to make – especially if you’re using prepared chicken.

The process basically breaks down into two main steps:

1. Mix the dressing in a small bowl or jar.
2. Slice, shred and chop salad ingredients as needed.

Then, simply combine everything a large bowl and toss until combined. Easy!

Dressing Ingredients:

• Peanut Butter – Use natural peanut butter if you can. The oily texture is idea for making a creamy dressing.
• Lime Juice – The acid from the lime adds a bright, zing to the dressing.
• Soy Sauce/Tamari – Ensure it’s gluten free if needed. For a soy-free alternative, try coconut aminos. Even though it is made from fermented coconut sap, the coconut flavor is basically non existent. 
• Maple or Honey – A small amount of sugar helps balance out the salty peanuts and the zesty lime.
• Toasted Sesame Oil – One teaspoon is enough to gentle, mellow flavor which ties everything together.

Salad ingredients:

• Cucumber – Cut one large cucumber into thin slices provides the refreshing crunch.
• Chicken – Use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken from the store. If needed you can also poach a couple of chicken breasts easily enough.
• Spring Onion – Slice your green onions into thin slices from root to tip.
• Cilantro – If you absolutely can’t stand cilantro and think it tastes like soap (sad) you try this with parsley instead.
• Peanuts – Salted peanuts are the way to go to balance out the other sweet and savory flavors.
• Red Chili Flakes – For a light kick of spice, sprinkle in a pinch or two of red chili flakes.

Poach Your Own Chicken Breast

Even if you don’t already have precooked chicken ready to use, this is still a super easy salad to make!

In a pinch, you can poach your own chicken in less than 30 minutes.

1. Lay 2 chicken breasts at the bottom of a medium sized sauce pan. Cover with at least 2 inches of cold water.
2. Bring to a simmer over a medium heat. Cover with a fitted lid and reduce the temperature to medium-low heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
3. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes to cook internally. Time will vary depending on how thick the pieces are. Use a meat thermometer to get an accurate read (165°F/74°C)
4. Remove from the water let the chicken rest and cool a couple of minutes.
5. Use a couple of forks to shred the chicken into small pieces.

Final notes & Tips

• To extend the fridge life a bit, use seedless cucumber (English cucumbers) or scoop out the watery seeds before use.
• If you poach your own chicken for this salad, try poaching it in chicken stock to infuse a little more flavor into the meat.

Enjoy

If you do try thisPeanut Cucumber Chicken Salad, don’t forget to rate and leave a comment below. I always appreciate the feedback and recipe adaptations!

It also helps future readers who are thinking of making the recipe!

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Recipe

Creamy Peanut Cucumber Chicken Salad

Yield: 3-4 servings Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 15 minutes

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Made with sliced cucumber, spring onion and shredded chicken with fresh cilantro and salted peanuts coated in a creamy peanut lime, satay inspired dressing.

Ingredients

Peanut Lime Dressing

• 2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter (32 g)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice or rice vinegar (15 ml)
• 1 tablespoon gluten free soy sauce or tamari (15 ml)
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (15 ml)
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey (20 g)

Salad

• 1 large cucumber, sliced
• 3 cups (450g) cooked chicken, shredded or chopped into bite size pieces
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/4 cup salted peanuts (38g)
• handful fresh cilantro, chopped

Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.

Instructions

Peanut Lime Dressing

1. Add the dressing ingredients to a small cup or jar and whisk until combined. Taste and season as you see fit. If it's too salty, add a a bit more maple or honey. If it's too sweet add more soy sauce or tamari. If you want a brighter dressing, add a bit more lime juice.
2. Set aside as you prepare the salad ingredients.

Salad

1. Prepare the salad ingredients as needed: shred chicken, chop cilantro, slice cucumbers and spring onions.
2. Combine chicken, cucumber slices, spring onions, peanuts, chili flakes and cilantro in a large bowl.
3. Pour the prepared dressing over the chicken salad mixture.
4. Toss the salad in dressing until everything is well coated in the peanut sauce.
5. Serve immediately. Salad is best enjoyed as fresh as possible but can keep 1-2 days in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes

Make It Low FODMAP

• Only use the dark green tops of the spring onions (not the firm, white bottoms).
• Use maple syrup (not honey)

General Substitutes:

• Use coconut aminos in place of soy sauce/tamari for a soy free option.
• Use rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar instead of lime juice.
• Use 1-2 tablespoons white sugar instead of maple/honey.

Nutrition Information

Yield: 4 Calories: 256Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 2gSugar: 5gProtein: 21g

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© A Saucy Kitchen, Sarah Nevins

Course: Salads Cuisine: Asian

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