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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.
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!