This fragrant Thai basil chicken salad is creamy and aromatic and delivers just the right amount of zippy punchiness.
A creamy, spicy take on a classic chicken salad recipe
Chicken salad is one of my favorite quick lunches. Whether I stuff it in a wrap or serve it on a thick slice of sourdough, I just love making a big batch for my lunches.
I can’t get enough of this variation, which is based on my Vegan Thai Basil Chickpea Salad. It’s loaded with lime juice, plenty of herbs, and spice from jalapeño peppers.
How to make this Thai basil chicken salad
The best part? It comes together in a flash! You don’t need too many ingredients, and I’ve listed some substitutions below.
What you need
- Cooked Chicken: I used store-bought rotisserie chicken, but you can use canned chicken instead. Alternatively, if you have leftover homemade roasted chicken, you can also use that. You can also make this with diced or shredded turkey. You could also poach two chicken breasts and dice them up.
- Veggies and herbs: I load this up with grated carrots, red onion, scallions, cilantro, Thai basil, and jalapeño. You can add classic chicken salad ingredients like minced celery or red bell peppers. Minced Daikon or red radishes would add a nice flair to this salad. If you don’t have Thai basil, you can replace it with a few Italian basil leaves and a few mint leaves.
- Hard-boiled eggs: I love hard-boiled eggs in my chicken salad, so I add two of them here. The yolks mix with the dressing to help thicken it up, so I recommend not skipping them!
- Dressing: The dressing is a blend of mayonnaise, lime juice, lime zest, and honey. It creates a beautifully bright, sweet, tangy dressing that works so well with the rest of the salad ingredients!
How to make it
- Step 1: Prep! Make sure everything is ready to go. Chop or shred the chicken, cook the hard-boiled eggs, and prepare all the herbs and veggies. To save time, I use store-bought grated carrots.
- Step 2: Layer! Begin layering the ingredients together. In a large bowl, combine the chicken, scallions, egg, carrots, cilantro, and red onion. Add a big pinch of salt.
- Step 3: Dressing! Whisk together all the ingredients for the dressing and pour it over the salad.
- Step 4: Finish the salad! Add the Thai basil to the salad and gently mix to combine the ingredients and to ensure that everything is well-coated with the dressing.
Now you’re ready to serve it up! I love to pile this Thai basil chicken salad on toasted bread. I finish it with more Thai basil leaves, extra jalapeño pepper slices, and a sprinkle of crispy shallots. Our independent tester, Vy, mentioned that she added a little sriracha which works perfectly to counter the creaminess of this salad. Delish!
Community-tested and community-approved. Here’s what Tasters are saying about this recipe.
“I made the Thai Basil Chicken Salad recipe tonight, and it was so much fun!”
It was very straightforward and easy to follow. I ended up adding a bit of Sriracha to cut through the creaminess of the salad.
–Vy B., Independent Recipe Tester
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Thai Basil Chicken Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cooked chicken (diced)
- 2 ounces red onion (peeled and minced; about ½ cup total)
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- 3 scallions (trimmed and minced)
- ½ cup cilantro (loosely packed; minced)
- 1 jalapeño (trimmed and minced)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (diced)
- ½ cup Thai basil leaves (finely chopped; about ½ ounce total)
- Salt and pepper
Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 tablespoon honey
For serving, optional:
- Toasted bread
- Crispy shallots
- Lime wedges
- Jalapeño slices
- Sriracha
- Thai basil, sliced scallions, or minced cilantro sprinkled on top
Instructions
Start the salad:
- Combine the chicken, red onion, carrots, scallions, cilantro, jalapeño, and eggs in a large bowl and stir to mix together. Season with a big pinch of salt and pepper. Set aside.
Make the dressing:
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice, zest, and honey until smooth. Taste and add more honey if you like a sweeter dressing.
Finish the salad:
- Pour the dressing over the chicken and stir to combine. Fold in the Thai basil. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your preference. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
To serve:
- Spoon the salad onto toasted bread and finish with garnishes of your choice, such as crispy shallots, Thai basil leaves, and minced scallions. Serve with a lime wedge on the side. Enjoy!
