Fragrant mint, crunchy peanuts, and fresh-squeezed lime juice bring bold flavor to this Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad!
This past weekend was heaven here!
For whatever reason, we were blessed with four straight days of glorious warm weather and sunshine smack dab in the middle of April.
I did everything I could to make the most of it, including getting a nice tan and making this delicious Vietnamese Cabbage Chicken Salad, of course.
I adore simple meals which take basic ingredients and transform them into balanced perfection.
In this Vietnamese chicken salad recipe, the humble poached chicken, cabbage, carrots and scallions are transformed by a punch of tart lime juice, salty fish sauce, crunchy peanuts, and aromatic mint.
I could easily eat an entire platter of this stuff by myself.
And maybe I already did.
Make this salad on a sunny day and eat it outside. You’ll be feeling really good about life!
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Here’s the Recipe!
Vietnamese Chicken and Cabbage Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken breasts*
- 2 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage
- 3 scallions - sliced
- 2 medium carrots - grated
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons roughly chopped salted peanuts
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped mint leaves
Instructions
- Toss the chicken, cabbage, scallions, and carrots together in a large bowl.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and vinegar until the sugar is fully dissolved.
- Pour the dressing over the top of the salad and toss well to coat.
- Fold in the peanuts and mint. Serve at room temperature or slightly chilled.
NOTES

Exactly like the restaurant! Delicious! Just added cucumbers and some fresh cilantro.
Holy cow, this hit the spot on a hot summer day. Super simple. I added matchstick red peppers and followed the rest to the letter; the dressing is easy to throw together and SO savory and good—I pretty much licked the bowl. A keeper!
THANK YOU…You are the best!
Thank you for the nice recipe. Have a super Sunday and a Great Week!
This looks delicious….please give us cooking instructions for poached chicken in slow cooker…thanks
I just added it to the recipe! Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Wow this looks so fresh and delicious! Vietnamese food is the best.. I didn’t discover it until I moved to California, but now I’m obsessed. Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
OK here is the deal. I am eating my first (double) batch of this now (it’s 9am) and I feel like I have died and gone to heaven! There have been times I have driven a total of 40 miles to and from a Vietnamese restaurant just for this dish and have paid an easy $10 for it (plus gas!). But I sit here now, eating it, and it tastes JUST AS GOOD if not better than the restaurant’s version, and I made easy triple the amount for a few bucks! This first go round I left out the chicken only because mine was frozen and I’m highly impatient. All I had to get was cabbage and mint, had everything else on hand and have enough to make another double batch! SO GOOD! Now I am craving some Pho 🙂 LOVE VIETNAMESE FOOD, thanks for this recipe nom nom nom nom!!!!
I am completely obsessed with Vietnamese food, too! This is what I always order when I go to the restaurant, so it was my inspiration to make it here at home. I’m so glad you love it, too!!
I eat Vietnamese food at least once a week. This recipe is outstanding. Next time I am going to try with a little more sugar. I used a little chilie sauce in the sauce. If you have access to a Vietnamese market try a little Ru Ram in it.
Can you share a pic of what the ru ram bottle/jar looks like please?
Naomi, I think Jack is talking about Rau răm, Vietnamese coriander. It is similar to cilantro. You can learn more about it here: https://www.kimbaokitchen.com/all-recipes/rau-ram-vietnamese-coriander – Linda