It’s no secret that I adore color.
I love colorful food! And colorful artwork. And colorful sunsets. And colorful scarves. And colorful gardens. And colorful farmers market.
The only place where I have decided that I do not like bright colors? On my walls.
Oh man. I bought my first house when I was 23, and quickly discovered in that first year how easy (and cheap!) it was to buy a can of paint and completely transform a room. So I took a house whose interior was 100% gray and transformed it over the course of that first month into a veritable rainbow of colors. The living room was butter yellow, the dining room was “asparagus” green, the kitchen periwinkle, my bedroom teal, my bathroom yellow, and on and on. I thought it was the coolest thing. I mean, all of my favorite colors? In one house? What could be better??
The only problem was that it was a small 1920’s bungalow, and each of the rooms were connected and about thiiiis big. So it basically felt like a kaleidoscope walking in. Although instead of being pretty bright colors on tiny paint chips, the rooms began to feel like very bright colors the size of 1000 paint chips. Yes, I learned that there was such a thing as too much color.
So I swallowed my pride and traipsed back to Home Depot and eventually began neutralizing the house with the very creams and grays and whites that I used to think were oh-so-cliche about decorating. And then when I moved into my loft, I went for 100% light grey to go with my white kitchen and brick walls, and I could not be happier. To each his and her own, for sure. Some people rock out super-colorful houses. But for me, I prefer to go neutral with the paint colors, and let vivid food provide the “pop” of color in my kitchen.
Like this rainbow Thai chicken salad, of course.
I have been a Thai chicken salad lover for years, with Panera’s version actually being one of my favs. But whenever I make it at home, I love seeing how many different colors — er, ingredients — I can cram into it to make it all the prettier and tastier.
This version?
As you can see, we hit nearly every color of the rainbow. We have:
- Red: bell peppers
- Orange: carrots (and you could also throw in orange bell peppers)
- Yellow: fresh mango (don’t use frozen)
- Green: avocado, green onions, cabbage, fresh cilantro and fresh limes
- Purple: cabbage
Plus chicken and thai peanut dressing and chopped cashews or peanuts. I still have yet to find an awesome blue veggie for rainbow recipes. Alas, maybe someday.
Anyway, this salad is super simple to make. The hardest part is just chopping all of that fresh produce. But if you pop on some tunes and have a little kitchen dance party while you chop, I guarantee the time will fly right by…
…and you’ll have a delicious salad ready to go in no time!
I also chose to just drizzle my salads with the peanut vinaigrette so that my friends could see and appreciate the rainbow-ness of the salad. But you can also toss it all together if you’d rather.
Either way, it’s a fabulous way to taste the rainbow. And oh man, is it a tasty one too. Enjoy!
Rainbow Thai Chicken Salad
Ingredients
Thai Chicken Salad Ingredients:
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup shredded green cabbage
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
- 1 (large) carrot, julienned or shredded
- 1 red pepper, cored and julienned (or diced)
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup chopped green onions
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews or peanuts
Peanut Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 2-3 tablespoons hot water
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (if you are gluten-free, use GF soy sauce or tamari)
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- juice of 1 lime
- pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions
To Make The Salad:
- Toss all salad ingredients together until combined. Drizzle with dressing or toss to combine, then serve immediately.
To Make The Dressing:
- Whisk all ingredients together until combined. If the dressing is too thick, add hot water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you desire.
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
We made this for dinner tonight and it was a HUGE hit. So glad we made extra so I can take it for lunch tomorrow. Thank you for this wonderful recipe! The dressing really made the salad, too.
Thanks for sharing, Amber, we’re so glad to hear that! :)
Blue? Think blueberries! ?
I just made this salad for dinner and LOVE IT!!! Could I substitute the peanut butter in the dressing for PB2 Powder?
Awesome, so glad you liked it! And I actually haven’t worked with PB2 powder, so I’m not quite sure… (I hear great things about it, though!)
I was wondering if you could throw all of this into a wok and heat it? Have you ever tried? I need to make softer meals for my 1 year old who seems to have a gluten intolerance, as well as the family.
thanks!
Hi Carolyn! We haven’t tried that, but we think that would be yummy and should work fine! We just wouldn’t add the cilantro and avocado until the end. We hope you enjoy!
This recipe looks amazing! I’m going to make it for a large group this weekend, but I’m wondering if I can make the dressing a day in advance so that I can just toss it all together and go. Ali, do you think the dressing will keep for 24 hours?
Hi Carrie! Yes, the dressing should be fine made a day ahead (just refrigerate). We hope you enjoy! :)
This recipe is different from what we are used to but it is great. We did an experiment on our blog to find the top ten easy to make, budget friendly, gluten free recipes and this made our list. We especially loved the fact that you can use fresh ingredients which makes it even more budget friendly.
Thanks for sharing, we hope you enjoy it! :)
I made this recipe for a small party at my house and it was a huge hit!! Thank you for the beautiful, yummy recipe. It’s super easy to adjust based on what produce is available or in your pantry. Big thumbs up : )
That’s wonderful Sherri, thank you for sharing with us — we’re happy it was a hit! :)
That’s wonderful Sherri, we’re so happy to hear that! :)
Made this last night. Absolutely, hands down, to die for delish!! Not only is it gorgeous to look at, it is incredibly good! this will definitely be on a regular rotation this summer!
I added a thai chili to the dressing for a little bit of zing.
Thank you, Elaine, this is so nice to hear! : )
Hi, I am planning to make this for my girlfriend for dinner. What other sides would you recommend that will complement with the salad? Noodles? Excited about trying the salad!
Hi! I think these sesame noodles would be a great accompaniment: : )
Thank you SO much for sharing this. It has all of my favorite stuff in it although I think I’m going to substitute tofu for the chicken. The colors inspired me to think of something blue to add to it – so I decided that some blueberries will have to go in!
:)
Thanks for checking it out Jamie! Tofu would work great, and blueberries would be a lovely addition! I hope you enjoy it!