Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage – Kalyn’s Kitchen

Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage is perfect to make with leftover chicken, and I love the Asian flavors in this slightly-spicy salad!

PIN Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage to try it later!

Many years ago one of my blogging friends posted a recipe that’s no longer online that she called Vietnamese Cole Slaw, and the minute I saw the recipe, I knew I’d be making some version of it. Glenna had a Vietnamese co-worker at that time who told her that in Vietnam the dressing for this type of salad would never contain oil, and that caught my interest.

And when I turned that recipe into this Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage I fell in love with the light but highly flavored dressing that includes so many great Asian flavors like fish sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, garlic, sweetener, and Sriracha Sauce. Having good quality fish sauce makes a big difference here, and don’t be put off by the smell, fish sauce tastes amazing in small amounts. 

And since I have a hard time walking by those rotisserie chickens at Costco without having one jump into my cart, I’m always looking for salads ideas to use the leftover chicken. With the light dressing, chicken, radishes, and crunchy cabbage, I think this salad is perfect for summer.

What ingredients do you need?

What kind of fish sauce did I use?

I’m a huge fan of Red Boat Fish Sauce, which has zero carbs and is gluten-free, and Red Boat contains only fresh caught wild black anchovies and sea salt. But if you don’t find that premium fish sauce where you shop, you can’t go wrong with Three Crabs Fish Sauce, which I learned about from Lydia’s post on fish sauce. Read that if you’ve never cooked with fish sauce before.

What if you don’t like raw onion?

You can definitely use green onion in this salad to replace the red onion if you prefer. But one technique that tames down the onion a bit is to add the sliced onion to the chicken when it’s marinating, so you might want to try that if you’re not a big raw onion fan.

Why is this salad good for Weekend Food Prep?

This is a great salad idea for Weekend Food Prep! One thing I’m trying to do at my house is have salad fixings in the fridge so I’m ready for lunch, and everything about this salad (except maybe the chopped cilantro) could be prepped ahead and then tossed together when you’re ready to eat. This easy salad with Vietnamese flavors is really a keeper; hope everyone will like it!

Want more Cabbage Salad Ideas?

If you’re a big cabbage fan, check out Low-Carb and Keto Cabbage Salads to see lots more of my favorite salads with cabbage.

How to Make Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Cabbage:

(Scroll down for complete printable recipe, including nutritional information.)

1. Whisk together the Sriracha Sauce, garlic, Monkfruit Sweetener or sweetener of your choice, unseasoned rice vinegar, fresh-squeezed lime juice, fish sauce, and salt and pepper to taste to make the dressing.
2. Dice up about 5 cups of cooked chicken; I use rotisserie chicken breast from Costco for the chicken, but you can poach some chicken breasts too.
3. The chicken gets marinated in about half the dressing, which infuses the chicken with flavor. (You can also add the onions to this if you want to tame down the onion flavor a bit.)
4. Chop up enough cabbage to make about 5 cups chopped cabbage.
5. Finely chop cilantro, slice the radishes into half-moon slices, and cut red onion into slivers.
6. Toss the salad together with the desired amount of dressing and devour!

Make it a Low-Carb Meal:

I’d probably eat this as a main-dish salad, especially if I was having it for lunch. But if you wanted to make it a more substantial meal you could also serve with something like Sugar Snap Pea Salad, Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Dressing, Thai Cucumber Salad, Grilled Spicy Eggplant, or Laurel’s Jicama Salad.

More Asian Cabbage Salads to Keep You Cool:

Napa Cabbage Asian Slaw

Spicy Lime Coleslaw

Kale and Red Cabbage Slaw

Spicy Cilantro Peanut Slaw

Crunchy Low-Carb Chopped Salad

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Made with an approved sweetener, this salad would be perfect for low-carb or Keto diets or for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index  to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
My first variation of this salad was posted in 2007, when my friend Glenna posted Vietnamese Cole Slaw (a recipe that’s no longer online.) Through the years I made this regularly and changed the recipe slightly several times, but I always kept the oil-free Vietnamese dressing. The recipe was last updated with new photos and more information in 2022.

Share This: