Paleo Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing

Total time55 min

Prep time25 min

Cook time20 min

Paleo Vietnamese Chicken Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing

This vibrant salad is a serious crowd-pleaser — layers of crisp green and red cabbage, julienned carrots, and a generous pile of fresh mint, cilantro, and basil all tossed with tender poached chicken and finished with crunchy cashews. The ginger-lime dressing is where the magic happens: coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce to keep things grain-free, while raw honey, fresh ginger, garlic, and a splash of fish sauce build that bright, punchy Southeast Asian flavor without any off-limits ingredients. It's the kind of dish that proves eating this way doesn't mean sacrificing bold, complex taste. Poaching the chicken low and slow keeps it incredibly juicy, and shredding it into thin strips means every forkful picks up plenty of dressing. One of the trickier parts of following a grain-free lifestyle is finding Asian-inspired recipes that don't rely on soy sauce or sugar-laden bottled dressings — this one solves that problem entirely from scratch. The cabbage base holds up beautifully, so it's a great make-ahead option for lunches or a dinner that needs to travel. Fresh, satisfying, and genuinely exciting to eat.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the chicken

For the salad

4 cups green cabbage, thinly shredded
1 cup red cabbage, thinly shredded
2 medium carrots, julienned or coarsely grated
4 scallions, thinly sliced (green tops only)
1 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly torn
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
½ cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
⅓ cup dry-roasted cashews, roughly chopped

For the dressing

3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
2 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp raw honey
1 tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
2 cloves garlic, finely grated or minced
½ tsp fish sauce (optional)
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

1
Place the chicken breasts in a large pot and cover with cold water by about 2 inches. Add 1 tsp salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for 15–18 minutes, until the thickest part of each breast registers 165°F (74°C) on an instant-read thermometer.
2
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 10 minutes. Using two forks or your fingers, shred the chicken into thin, bite-sized strips.

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