Healthy Chicken Salad with SunButter Dressing (Nut Free)

Healthy Chicken Salad with SunButter Dressing is packed with protein, healthy fats, and veggies for a satisfying and delicious meal that takes only minutes to make for a healthy lunch idea or weeknight dinner recipe to try! Creamy salad dressings can 100% fit in a well-balanced healthy diet

Nut Free, Grain Free, Egg Free, Soy Free option, Gluten Free option, Sesame Free

Disclaimer: This recipe is sponsored by SunButter, but all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that make the Chelsey Amer Nutrition blog possible!

It’s December… and I’m sharing a SALAD! Yes, I’m sharing a salad because we need to eat all year round and tis the season to make veggies delicious!

While you may not crave cold foods as much during the winter months, this salad is actually SO SATISFYING and full of flavor – I couldn’t NOT share!

This Nut Free and Healthy Chicken Salad with SunButter Dressing is…

• Easy to make in minutes
• Packed with protein, healthy fats, and nutrients
• Food allergy friendly
• Absolutely delicious
• Perfect for an easy lunch and dinner

If you learn one thing from this post, I want you to know that veggies should taste good.

While I do recommend filling half of your plate vegetables, that doesn’t mean you need to choke back steamed broccoli or raw celery sticks. You can prepare vegetables in a way that actually tastes good so you’re SATISFIED from the meals that you eat… vegetables included!

If that means adding a delicious creamy dressing to your veggies, then that’s the way to do it!

And that’s why I created this Chinese Chicken Salad recipe. This satisfying salad is full of crunchy veggies, sweet mandarin orange pieces, and earthy sunflower seed kernels, lathered with a creamy SunButter dressing that is out of this world!

You only need 12 ingredients total to make this recipe, including the dressing. But luckily a lot of these ingredients are pantry staples!

SunButter Dressing Ingredients & How to Make It

You’ll need 6 ingredients to make this nut free and sesame free SunButter dressing:

1. No Added Sugar SunButter
2. Low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos
3. Garlic
4. Ground ginger
5. Olive oil
6. Orange zest

While most Asian-inspired salad dressings use sesame oil or peanut butter to add tons of flavor, this nut-free salad dressing uses neither of those things… BUT it’s packed with flavor thanks to SunButter, soy sauce (or coconut aminos), garlic, ground ginger, and orange zest. Trust me on the orange zest – it adds an extra layer of bright flavor that you’re going to LOVE!

To make the dressing, mix all of these ingredients together and thin it with water. I used about ¼ cup of water, but if you’d like it thinner you can add more.

Yes, this is a very creamy dressing and yes, it will make your vegetables taste infinitely better! There’s nothing quite like a crunchy slaw in a creamy dressing, you know what I mean?!

Healthy Chicken Salad Ingredients

This Chicken Salad only requires 7 ingredients that are crunchy, a tad grassy, juicy, and sweet…

1. Red cabbage
2. Broccoli slaw
3. Shredded carrots
4. Scallions
5. Orange segments
6. Sunflower seed kernels
7. Cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken

Red cabbage and broccoli slaw are the base of this recipe. If you’re trying to cut down on groceries you could just choose cabbage or broccoli slaw. Of course, you can swap in any cabbage variety (napa, green, etc.) you’d like!

Shredded carrots add some sweetness among the cruciferous veggies. Don’t leave this one out!

Scallions are a must for their mild onion-like flavor and grassy notes. I could totally tell when I left them out of a batch!

Orange segments add a sweet juicy burst of flavor in most bites. I used several mandarin oranges I had, but you can also use canned mandarin orange segments or chop up a whole orange.

Sunflower seed kernels add a different type of crunch and earthy flavor to the salad. Plus, they are packed with healthy fats, vitamins and minerals to boost your nutrition.

Cooked chicken adds a protein punch to this salad, making it a great well-rounded meal on its own.

Quick Shortcuts to Make a Healthy Chicken Salad in MINUTES

This recipe has so many great shortcuts to take if you’re in a time crunch!

Here are some top tips you can apply to this recipe and many others:

Use pre-cooked chicken, like rotisserie chicken, for a protein punch.

Protein is the most satiating nutrient, so it’s essential to eat enough protein throughout the day. Plus, eating enough protein helps keep sugar cravings at bay!

Use canned mandarin oranges packed in water.

Skip the peeling and segmenting a fresh orange and use canned mandarin orange segments in water. They have no added sugar and are just as delicious as fresh!

Use pre-shredded coleslaw mix.

Instead of shredding cabbage and carrots yourself, use a pre-shredded bag of coleslaw instead of the cabbage + broccoli slaw in the recipe. You’ll shave a couple of minutes off the prep time!

Can I meal prep this Healthy Chicken Salad with SunButter Dressing?

OK, this is a must-make for these busy holiday weeks! The best part about using a sturdy base like cabbage and broccoli slaw is that you can make once and it will stay fresh for days! I’m pretty sure my husband ate this salad for 4 days straight he loved it so much (and it makes A LOT!)

I didn’t use all of the dressing at first, so I stored the extra dressing in an airtight container in the fridge and then had to add some additional water to thin it out throughout the week.

I can’t wait to hear what you think of this recipe! Tag me on Instagram in your pictures – @chelseyamernutrition

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Looking for more SunButter recipes?!

Check out this blog post with over 25 recipes made with SunButter!

XO