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This delicious copycat Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad is topped with breaded chicken and tossed in a flavorful Asian dressing!
For a fun way to switch up your typical salad, try giving it some oriental flavor! Give this tasty Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad, Asian Ramen Salad, or Chinese Pasta Salad a try.
A copycat Salad recipe
Who here loves salad? I’m not lying when I say that I order salad 90% of the time when we go out to eat. So yummy!
I’ve noticed that I have my favorite salad at each restaurant, and my favorite from Applebee’s is their oriental chicken salad. This copycat Chinese chicken salad recipe tastes just like the real thing!!
The salad contains a bed of greens, topped with breaded chicken, almonds, rice noodles, and a delicious vinaigrette.
My favorite part of this salad is all the extra goodies in it, including almonds and the dressing. It’s so hearty and has so many great Asian style flavors in it. If you’re a salad lover you’ll definitely love it!
homemade oriental Dressing
This tasty Chinese chicken salad dressing is made with just five ingredients!
- honey
- rice vinegar
- mayo
- dijon mustard
- sesame oil
DRESSING. Simply mix the ingredients together, and refrigerate until you’re ready to pour it over the salad.
It might be a good idea to serve the oriental salad dressing on the side so that people can add as little or as much as they’d like. It will also help any leftover salad last longer in the fridge.
Make the salad
Once the dressing is made and in the fridge, it’s time to make the rest of this oriental salad!
PREP. In a large saucepan preheat oil over medium-high heat. While that is warming up, cut your chicken breast into several long thin strips. Set aside.
BREAD CHICKEN. Beat egg and milk together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, panko, salt, and pepper. Dip the strips in the egg mixture, and then into the flour, coating completely.
FRY CHICKEN. When oil is hot, carefully add chicken strips and fry for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through or golden brown. Set on a paper towel to cool. Once cool, cut into bite-size pieces.
PREPARE SALAD. Combine the romaine, red cabbage, napa cabbage, and carrots. Add chopped chicken pieces and sprinkle with almonds. Top with delicious honey oriental dressing and enjoy!
Ingredient Variations
Salads are so easy to adjust to fit your favorite flavors and this one is no different. However, with too many alterations, it may not be considered a copycat. That’s ok, as long as you love it!
Here are a few of our ideas:
- Chicken: Instead of Panko crumbs, use crushed cornflakes or Ritz crackers.
- Fruits and Veggies: Add mandarin oranges or diced bell pepper.
- Nuts: Sub the almonds for chopped roasted cashews or toasted sesame seeds.
Recipe tips
Oil. When frying food, choose an oil that has a high smoke point such as vegetable oil, canola oil, peanut oil, shortening, or even lard.
Air fry chicken. Using an air fryer is easy and a little healthier. Preheat the air fryer to 350°F. Arrange strips in the basket, making sure they are not touching.
Cook the chicken for about 12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165° F. You may need to cook the chicken in batches.
Bake chicken. Bake chicken in the oven. Preheat oven to 425° F and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Making Ahead and Storing
Make ahead of time. Make this copycat Chinese chicken salad up to a day ahead of time. Store the chicken in its own airtight container.
Place all other ingredients in the salad bowl, cover with a paper towel to help soak up excess moisture and cover with plastic wrap or a lid.
Right before serving remove the lid and paper towel, then add the chicken and dressing.
Recipe FAQ
A full serving of this salad at Applebees is 1440 cal. The ingredients listed in my recipe can be divided up into 4 filling dinner salads which would be about 819 calories each. You can save a few calories and carbohydrates by using grilled chicken on top of the salad or serving the vinaigrette on the side
Yes! You can bake or air-fry the chicken instead of frying it in oil. See the “Recipe Tips” section for more details.
For more Asian salad recipes, try:
- Asian Pasta Salad
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Asian Noodle Salad
- Asian Citrus Chicken Salad
- Chinese Pasta Salad
Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
Fried Chicken
- 2 chicken breast
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup panko
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups vegetable oil for frying
Salad
- 4 cups romaine lettuce chopped
- 1/2 cup red cabbage chopped
- 1/2 cup napa cabbage chopped
- 1 carrot shredded
- 3 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions
- Blend together all dressing ingredients and refrigerate until ready to serve.
- In a large saucepan, preheat oil over medium-high heat.
- While that is warming up, cut your chicken breast into several long thin strips. Set aside.
- Beat egg and milk together in a small bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, panko, salt, and pepper. Dip the strips in the egg mixture, and then into the flour, coating completely.
- When oil is hot, carefully add chicken strips and fry for 3-4 minutes or until cooked through or golden brown. Set on a paper towel to cool. Once cool, cut into bite-size pieces.
- To prepare your salad, combine the romaine, red cabbage, napa cabbage, and carrots. Add chopped chicken pieces and sprinkle with almonds. Top with delicious honey oriental dressing and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Sounds delicious. I will get the ingredients & try it. Thanks
Is the nutrition information for one serving or for the whole recipe?
It would be for the full recipe.
I’m sorry I see it now in the printed recipe. Stupid me I was just looking at the first set of ingredients. Should of looked at the whole recipe.
No worries! Glad you were able to find the full recipe. Hope you enjoyed the salad!
Love this salad. In the dressing recipe there is no specific amount for each ingredient. Do you just add equal parts to each? Thanks
Where’s the VIDEO??
Very Good!
Excellent!
I love love love Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad and dressing. Thank you.
You’re welcome!
Please add noodles to recipe
Thanks for the feedback.
I love this salad. I order it every time I go there (which isnt often enough). I was thrilled when I found this, as I have enjoyed every other recipe of yours that I have tried. I actually buzzed by and bought a cup of their dressing to do a side by side comparison. I will admit, I doubled the sesame oil of the dressing for a bit more flavor and it comes out BETTER than theirs!
Even better than the original! We love this for a fast dinner! I love all the textures.
What is your opinion of using prepackaged Cole slaw mix in place of the cabbage and carrots? Going to make this tomorrow for lunch.
You could certainly try it! I haven’t substituted with that before, but it may work just great. You’ll have to let us know.
I made this for dinner tonight since it is hotter than blazes here in St. Louis today! It was a nice refreshing meal. I did cheat a bit and bought a prepackaged salad mix that had all the cabbage, lettuce and carrots.
Everyone loved it! Now I don’t have to go to Applebees to get it! Thanks so much for another great recipe!
I have made this several times. YUMMY.
So glad to hear that!!
WAY to many calories…I would grill the breast and not deep fry it.
You can totally do that too! I’m sure grilled chicken would taste fabulous on this!
My husband and I loved this. Taste very similar to Applebee’s salad which I love. I just grill the chicken an not fry it. Great recipe! Will definitely mak3 this again
Yay!! So glad you enjoyed the salad. Grilled chicken is a great option too. I think Applebee’s has a version of this with grilled chicken, too? Anyway, I’m so happy to hear you liked it!
Unless you include the Chinese noodles, this is a failed recipe. . .
Sorry to hear this wasn’t a winner for you. You can certainly add the Chinese noodles if you enjoy/prefer them!
I love the dressing. but the recipe needs to be corrected.
The description of the recipe says “This delicious Copycat Oriental Chicken Salad from Applebees is made with breaded chicken, cabbage, romaine, sliced almonds, cucumber, and crunchy chow mein, tossed in a flavorful asian dressing!” However when you look at the recipe ingredients there is no mention of cucumber of chow mein.
Thanks so much for the feedback!! We’ll take care of that. 🙂
I lighten this recipe up by making my own breadcrumb w/low cal 647 bread & then doing my chicken in the air fryer. I also use light mayo & it’s perfectly delicious!
Love it!! Way to tweak and adjust to what you prefer. So glad to hear you enjoyed the salad!
This was delicious! I moved overseas and have been missing all of my restaurant faves. The dressing was bang-on. I couldn’t get the chow mein noodles so subbed out sesame snaps.
It was so good, my husband ate my second serving! ☹️
Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed the salad. And also happy to hear you could make something similar to what you love and miss back home!
Great salad and dressing, but I won’t bake the chicken next time. It was bland and was not crispy or brown much at all.
I’m sorry the chicken didn’t turn out as you had hoped. Thanks so much for trying it! I’m glad you liked the salad and dressing.
I make this with air fryer chicken to cut some calories & make it a tad bit healthier! It’s perfection!!!
Ooh that’s a great idea! Thanks for sharing!
Made this yesterday and it’s DELISH! The dressing is THE BOMB!
Thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed the salad… and the dressing. 😉
I don’t see chow mein noodles listed in the recipe. What kind of noodles do you use?
Thank you!
Yes I use chow mein noodles in this recipe. I include it in the directions but not in the ingredient list. Thanks for catching that! I will make the change. 🙂
Just mixed up this dressing. It is delicious! Can’t wait to have it for dinner tonight.I didn’t have sesame oil on hand so I used olive oil and sprinkled in some sesame seeds. I always make my chicken with corn flake crumb breading, it’s always so crispy. Thanks for the dressing recipe!
The crispy chicken sounds like a perfect addition for this salad. Thanks for sharing what you do!
Can I reuse the oil after frying the chicken? Please send answer to my inbox using my email address .
I just sent an email to your inbox. 🙂
If the oil is not burnt. I save it.Which means it has to be clear. I strain it and put it in a jar and put it in the fridge until the next time I need to fry chicken. I’ve done this for many years and my mother did it and so far we’ve had no problems .
Hi,, Kristyn! I love, love this salad and haven’t made it in some time (but don’t know why???) It’s amazing! Your sweet family looks so cute and loving. You certainly have your hands full. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe! That will be our dinner tonight bc I have one lonely chicken breast in the ref that I had to think of something for dinner to make with it. Have a wonderful spring and summer!
Awe, thank you so much for your kind words. You are so sweet! That makes my day! I hope you enjoyed this salad for dinner and I hope you have a wonderful spring and summer season as well!
This is one of my favorite salads! We eat it all the time!! Especially in the Summer!!😋
Love Love Love this dressing!Thanks for sharing.
Glad to share! Thank you so much!!
The best. Calorie count for a medium salad please
Just made the dressing. Its missing something….maybe some sugar or less rice vinegar?
You could definitely add what you like 🙂 For us, we love it.
Tried this without chicKen and it was still sooo yummy! Its probably a long-shot but does anyone have ideas for what I could sUb Instead of mayo? Thanks 🙂
I am glad you still liked it! You could try Greek yogurt. That’s usually the best option. Hope that helps!
Your ingredient list does not mention the cucumber or the chow mein noodles listed in directions. Glad I read directions before headed to store! Making for girls lunch tomorrow.
Oh, sorry..I will have to add them as an optional topping 🙂 Hope you like it!
Amazing!! I fried up wonton strips and used Tyson chicken strips (feeling lazy) bit it was Wow!!
Mmm..making me hungry! Thank you for sharing that!!
I made this. EVERYTHING WAS GOOD. THE DRESSING WAS A BIT OFF COMPARED TO THE ACTUAL APPLEEBEES SALAD DRESSING. I added toasted sesame oil so i dont know if that was the problem.
Thank you for trying it. It’s hard to get it exactly, but yes, you can totally add more ingredients to get it more like it 🙂
Hi I am looking forward to trying this recipe. I want to cut the meat in bite size pieces and then fry them. how long do you think i have to fry them for?
It should take anywhere from 5-8 minutes to fry the chicken. I always cook mine longer, because I am so scared of uncooked chicken, but if you cut into it & it’s white, not pink, it’s done.
You left the chow mEin noodles from the list of ingredients.
Those are just an option, but you can add how much you like.
Made this for a friends potluck and it was a hit!
I love this salad!! It has such a yummy taste! So happy I can make it at home!
Oh, this dressing is amazing…we’ll the whole salad actually! It’s just like the one at Applebee’s.
I LOVE this chicken salad recipe, its made with the best dressing that is so easy to make.
You will love this copycat version of oriental salad from Applebees. It taste so good and authentic. I like anything I can duplicate at home!
This is my favorite thing to eat at Applebee’s!! This one tastes just like the restaurants! I love that I can make it at home!
This is a really yummy version of the original. The honey mustard dressing really makes the recipe!
Absolutely my very favorite meal at Applebees! I could drink the dressing! YuM!
Question – did you add cucumber to your recipe, bc none of the restaurants that I’ve gotten the Oriental Chicken Salad, never has had cucumbers. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, I love cucs… I’m going to try your dressing recipe, bc it is much easier than others that I’ve found online. The others have a hundred ingredients. I’ll update my rating once I make this dressing. Thanks so much for sharing!
I did not, but it’s optional. I could drink the dressing, too! Hope you like this one!
I just tried this Applebee’s copycat recipe with a few modifications (I’m not super big on cucumber and I didn’t want to spend money on almonds… and I couldn’t find rice wine vinegar so I just got rice vinegar, but anyway) and it was SUPERB!! I had been craving Applebee’s, but honestly, I’m happier with this. Goodness knows it costs a lot less! Thank you so much for sharing!
I agree!! This is one of my favorites & I love that I can have it anytime now! Thank you so much!!
Made this tonight for my family. Loved it! Definitely reminded me of this favorite salad. My hubby says next time I should add in some mandarin oranges. Thanks for sharing.
How many people does your “Applebee’s” oriental chicken salad serve?
Found the answer!
I had to laugh as I read your comment about always ordering the same thing over and over. From the time Applebee’s opened I ordered their Asian chicken salad. I’d taste what my sons
ordered but it just didn’t do anything for me. The last time we went when the server came for our orders they rolled their eyes and said she wants the Asian chicken salad that’s all she ever eats here!! Then they said “it makes mom happy”.
Judy
Haha!!! Glad I’m not the only one!! Thanks for sharing!
This one right here is one of my all time favorites 🙂
Tried that salad for first time Applebee’s. Wow. Incredible
Isn’t it so good?! Love it! Glad you liked it!
I love Oriental Salad! Sadly the dressing tastes nothing like it’s supposed to. I mostly just tasted honey. I did find another recipe with a perfect tasting salad dressing. I’m sure some may love this dressing but for me it was definitely not a copy cat of the real thing. 🙂
Thanks for trying it. It might not to everyone 🙂
Staceyn – Will you please share the other oriental dressing recipe? That’s my fave! Thanks so much!
Can you share the good recipe you found? Im still trYing to find Something close to the original.
Eaten this salad over the years but have never had cucumbers in it. Love the salad though.
I love this salad, too!! Thanks for stopping by!
How many servings is this?
Sure looks yummy!
It just depends on how big the portions are. It could feed 2 or it could feed maybe 4-6? Hope that helps! Enjoy!
This is one of my favorite salads thanks for sharing!
Mine too!! You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by!
Didn’t the salad also come with some spring rolls?
I don’t remember a roll..maybe once upon a time it did.
Just made this salad tonite and it was really good. The dressing was spot on!
This is one of my favorites!!! Thanks for giving it a try and for letting me know!
I eat this salad all of the time and I love it. However, I don’t believe that it has cucumber.
I eat this salad all of the time and I love it. However, I don’t think it has cucumber.
This is one of my favorites!! I guess, it could be an option 🙂 Thank you!!
Nice salads and I haven’t had them before. Thanks Kristyn.
Ing lists states panko but directions state corn flake crumbs. Which one is it?
Earlier she said she used panko crumbs, but she said you could use either. Hope I helped!
Thanks Dawn..yes, you could use either:)
You could use either:) Whatever you have on hand.
LOVE this salad! and love it even more that I can make it at home! thanks so much for sharing this recipe!!
I suppose somebody has mentioned that Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad has 1,380 calories, not exactly a “healthy” option unfortunately. It’s my favorite, too, but with its calorie count equal to a day’s worth of calories, I’ve learned to find other options.
If you ask for the dressing on the side and add just enough to taste it, it’s still delicious and better for you. I also get it with grilled chicken vs. fried.
Yes, I do the same so I don’t feel so guilty eating it. 😉
Just FYI the calorie count Elaine posted is for the salad WITHOUT dressing. The dressing adds another 500 calories. I waited tables at an Applebee’s for 4 years. The Oriental Salad is the most calorie-packed item on the menu. (Or was when I worked there)
Thanks for sharing! Uh oh, it’s my favorite..I’ll just pretend I didn’t see how many calories the dressing adds;)
A big part of those calories is caused by the chicken fat in the actual oriental dressing….
Who cares if you don’t want the calories then don’t eat it
We air fry the chicken instead of deep frying it in oil. cuts fat and calories.
Panco or cornflakes for the oriental chicken ?
I think you can use either, but we used Panko. 😉
Thanks Kristyn for the nice salads. Have a wonderful weekend!
Thnx for Applebee’s oriental salad recipe..Can’t wait to try it. It’s what I always order when I get the chance. But like you, we have no Applebee’s near our town and would love to be able to make it at home.
But I am confused by one thing. – In the ingredients section, you list PANKO, but in the directions section you refer to CORNFLAKES CRUMBS. Please clarify…I can’t wait to try this recipe, and want to make sure I use the correct ingredient.
Thnx,
Donna
Love this salad!
Same, Amy! It’s the best! ;D
I also order salads nearly everywhere I go and my friends laugh at me! Thanks for this recipe though I may cheat and use prepared frozen chicken strips to save myself the frying.
Love all the salads. Thank you Kristyn and have a great Tuesday.
Was your heat high enough? Glad you liked the dressing 🙂 Thank you!