Thai Mango Chicken Salad (Printable)

Juicy mango, tender chicken, fresh herbs, and crisp vegetables combine for a vibrant and flavorful dish.

# What You Need:

→ Chicken

01 - 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 10.6 oz)
02 - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
03 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
04 - 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

→ Salad

05 - 2 large ripe mangoes, peeled, pitted, and sliced
06 - 3.5 oz mixed salad greens (romaine, arugula, spinach)
07 - 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
08 - 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
09 - 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
10 - 1 medium carrot, julienned
11 - 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
12 - 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
13 - 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)

→ Lime-Chili Dressing

14 - 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
15 - 2 tablespoons fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegetarian)
16 - 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
17 - 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
18 - 1-2 teaspoons Thai red chili, finely chopped (to taste)
19 - 1 clove garlic, minced

# How To Make It:

01 - Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken 4–5 minutes each side until golden and fully cooked. Transfer to plate, rest for 5 minutes, then slice thinly.
02 - In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, fish sauce, brown sugar, vegetable oil, chopped chili, and minced garlic until sugar dissolves and dressing is well combined.
03 - Combine salad greens, mango slices, cucumber, red bell pepper, red onion, carrot, cilantro, and mint in a large bowl.
04 - Add sliced chicken to the salad and gently toss all ingredients with lime-chili dressing until evenly coated.
05 - Top salad with roasted peanuts if desired and serve immediately.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It comes together in under 30 minutes, which means weeknight dinners suddenly feel less like a chore and more like a treat.
  • The combination of sweet, spicy, salty, and tangy hits every note your taste buds are craving, with fresh herbs that smell incredible as you chop them.
  • You can swap the chicken for tofu or shrimp and the salad adapts beautifully, making it perfect whether you're cooking for yourself or feeding a crowd with different preferences.
02 -
  • Fish sauce smells pungent and funky in the bottle, but it dissolves into the dressing and becomes something wonderful—trust it, because it's the ingredient that makes this taste authentically Thai rather than like a random fruit salad.
  • If you assemble this more than 15 minutes before serving, the dressing will wilt the greens and the whole thing loses its vitality; timing your assembly is worth the effort.
  • Mango ripeness matters enormously—an underripe one tastes starchy and disappoints, while an overripe one turns to mush in the dressing, so choose ones that yield just slightly to pressure.
03 -
  • Slice your chicken slightly thicker than you think you should, because it'll stay juicier; thin chicken dries out faster, especially if you cook it a minute too long.
  • If you don't have fresh Thai chili, a pinch of cayenne or red pepper flakes works in a pinch, though the flavor won't be quite as bright and fruity as fresh.
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