Did you love the Panera Spicy Thai Salad that was discontinued? Well you can still enjoy that same delicious dish at home with this copycat version featuring the same fresh, crunchy veggies with an irresistible peanut dressing topped with juicy chicken and soft rice noodles that we all love.
Update: This post was originally published in 2022 and has been republished with new photos and updates to the recipe information.
Dreamy Spicy Salad
I originally fell in love with this salad at Nick’s Manhattan Beach. I had it in the spring of 2022 and again last month (June of 2024). Little did I know that Panera Bread also used to have a salad like this on the menu and it would become one of my favorite salads!!
After enjoying it a second time, I felt confident in the tweaks I needed to make this recipe even better! The biggest discrepancy in my memory is how spicy the salad is. There is some HEAT in the sauce and the peppers that top it. This recipe, however, doesn’t reflect that level of spice (I was googling best foods to get insane amounts of spice out of my mouth after I had it at the restaurant lol)
Best part of this Thai Chicken Salad is it’s not TOO peanut buttery (which I can appreciate) . If you want PB explosion, try my Spicy Peanut Noodles. This recipe is much more subtle and takes advantage of peanut butter’s savory nature, without it being overpowering, but rather the perfect balance of salty flavors.
Recipe Inspo
I love using exceptional restaurant dishes for recipe inspiration. I often find some of my favorite flavor combos this way. Also check out my Guacamole Steak Salad, which is another restaurant remake from my Bourbon Street Grille in Dahlonega, Georgia.
And if you love Thai food flavors, also check out these Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, this Thai Peanut Noodle Salad, this Thai Basil Beef, these Spicy Peanut Noodles or this Sweet Thai Chicken and Veggie Bowl!
Recipe Ingredients
For the salad:
- Chicken Breasts: A juicy protein to add to our Spicy Thai Salad that goes great with the spicy peanut dressing. You can use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to minimize prep time.
- Asian Sesame Dressing: We will use this to marinate our chicken and make it super flavorful.
- Noodles: Rice noodles offer some chewy texture, but are light enough to keep this recipe feeling more like a salad than a pasta dish.
- Veggies: We’re using plenty of crunchy vegetables including lettuce, basil, bell pepper, green onion, jalapeño and cabbage.
- Crunch: Bring on the texture! Add wonton strips, peanuts, and sesame seeds. – Rice noodles offer some chewy texture, but are light enough to keep this recipe feeling more like a salad than a pasta dish.
- Thai Peanut Dressing – Made from a combination of pantry ingredients including peanut butter, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, fresh lime juice, soy sauce and gochujang to make it SPICY. Adjust the amount of gochujang according to your heat tolerance.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Meat: Instead of chicken, I also think this salad would go well with Ninja Foodi Grill Steak or shrimp, too! Make it vegetarian with grilled tofu or edamame beans.
- Noodles: Feel free to use a thicker noodle like udon (or try my Curry Udon Recipe). Or lean away from noodles and try sticky rice instead.
- Herbs: To pack in more fresh flavor consider adding fresh herbs. I originally made this salad with basil and mint. Feel free to add those or I think Cilantro would make your taste buds dance, too!
How to Make This Recipe
1. 30 minutes – 1 hour prior to grilling the chicken, place raw chicken breasts in a large plastic bag and cover with ½ bottle of Asian Sesame dressing. Seal and refrigerate until ready to grill chicken.
Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a hot grill. I used my indoor Ninja Foodi. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Once cooked, dice into bite sized pieces.
2. While the chicken is grilling, cook the noodles according to box instructions. Once cooked save at least ½ cup of pasta water for the dressing, then strain and rinse with cold water. We won’t use that much, but it’s always better to have too much than too little!
3. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl until everything is combined.
4. Prep the rest of the salad vegetables. Dice jalapeño (finely!), bell pepper, green onions, cabbage & carrots (if not already shredded), and crush peanuts. In a large bowl, add arugula, cooked noodles, bell pepper, green onions, shredded cabbage and carrots.
5. Add diced chicken and toss salad together. Drizzle peanut sauce on top and toss again.
6. Top with sesame seeds, wonton strips, and crushed peanuts. Serve with a crunchy quarter of iceberg lettuce head. Enjoy!
PRO TIPS
Spend time to properly cut and prepare the vegetables. A chopped salad is much better when it’s CHOPPED and you get every flavor in each bite!
Recipe FAQs
Store your Thai Peanut Salad in the fridge for up to 3 days. Keep the iceberg lettuce separate until ready to serve to avoid sogginess. Everything else in the base of the salad should hold up decently!
The main culprits of heat in this salad are the diced jalapeño and gochujang in the spicy Thai dressing. For less spice, de-seed your jalapeño or skip it completely. You can also add more or less heat by adjusting the amount of Gochujang.
Since we are cooking the noodles and chicken, those elements will be warm and the veggies will be cold and I love the contrast of temperatures. However, if you prefer to have everything cold you can definitely chill the entire salad before serving. I don’t recommend serving the entire salad warm, as the arugula and fresh herbs will get quite wilted and you’ll lose the crunch factor of this salad.
Serving suggestions
- I highly recommend serving the noodle salad WITH an iceberg wedge. There’s enough dressing that it’ll leak onto the lettuce and it’s SO refreshing.
- If you’re making this salad for dinner, these Asian Carrots make a great side dish.
More Recipes You’ll Love
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating and comment in the recipe card below. Thanks for visiting!
Spicy Thai Salad
Equipment
- freezer bag
- strainer
- Juicer
- Tongs
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Knife
- Cutting Board
- small pot
- Whisk
- Ninja Foodi Grill
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 bottle Asian Sesame Dressing
Salad
- 1 cup arugula
- 4 oz brown rice noodles
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1 cup shredded cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 avocado
- 1/4 cup green onion, chopped
- 1 small jalapeño, finely diced
- 1/2 cup wonton strips
- 2 tbsp crushed peanuts
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1 head iceberg lettuce, quartered
Dressing
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
- 1 lime, juiced
- 3 tbsp pasta water
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsp gochujang
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Make Chicken
- 30 minutes – 1 hour prior to grilling the chicken, place raw chicken breasts in a large plastic bag and cover with ½ bottle of Asian Sesame dressing. Seal and refrigerate until ready to grill chicken.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade and place on a hot grill. I used my indoor Ninja Foodi. Cook until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Once cooked, dice into bite sized pieces.
Prep Salad
- While the chicken is grilling, cook the noodles according to box instructions. Once cooked save at least ½ cup of pasta water for the dressing, then strain and rinse with cold water. We won’t use that much, but it's always better to have too much than too little!
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a liquid measuring cup or small bowl until everything is combined.
- Prep the rest of the salad vegetables. Dice jalapeño (finely!), bell pepper, green onions, cabbage & carrots (if not already shredded), and crush peanuts.
- Next, prepare all of the vegetables. Wash and dry then finely dice basil, cut green onion into ¼” thickness, finely chop red pepper, and green and purple cabbage.
Assemble
- In a large bowl, add arugula, cooked noodles, bell pepper, green onions, shredded cabbage and carrots.
- Add diced chicken and toss salad together. Drizzle peanut sauce on top and toss again.
- Top with sesame seeds, wonton strips, and crushed peanuts. Serve with a crunchy quarter of iceberg lettuce head. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find SPICY THAI SALAD calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
This salad is really restaurant quality! I could eat it daily I love it so much.
omg!!! the Panera Thai salad was my FAV, but this is arguably way better
Holy cow, this is just amazing. I loved having it for dinner and then breakfast the next morning- yes it’s just that good!
This was such a fantastic salad to bring to our family get-together. This salad differs from the traditional salads you see at large gatherings, and it was a crowd-pleaser. The flavor and texture of this dish are just immaculate.
PROTEIN! It’s hard to find a good-tasting salad with great macros, but this salad does just that! I really enjoyed the texture of the noodles combined with the flavor of the dressing.
This is so so good!!! Adding the noodles is so delicious 🙂 easy to make and very flavorful!
I’ve made this dressing a few times now and it’s SO good. Now my go-to for any type of Thai dish or veggie bowl!!
Hi Courtney, this looks amazing and I’m looking forward to making it! Can you tell me what you are referring to when you say Thai Chili Paste? Can you tell me which brand you use? Thanks.
Hi Londa, sure thing! I used this brand: https://www.target.com/p/huy-fong-chili-paste-8oz/-/A-13478690
I found it in the near the Soy Sauce and Udon Noodles at the grocery store. Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks so much!
The perfect salad for spring or summer! So many great flavors with the basil, lime, and spicy peanut dressing – a great option to add more flavor and heartiness your salad game!
I’ve made this recipe 5+ times since the very first day the recipe was posted. SO MUCH FLAVOR. Textures are amazing. I meal prep it for the week and crave it all the time.
I even make my own Asian sesame dressing for the chicken to marinate in because I have all of the ingredients bought for the peanut sauce! Yum. If I could give it 10 stars I would. 🤩
LOVE to hear this! Thanks for the kind words, Keely!