Name: Wonton Chicken Taco Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Total time: 38 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix; 1 cup shredded carrots; 1 bunch green onions, sliced; 1/2 cup chopped cilantro; 1/3 cup Asian toasted sesame salad dressing; 1 (4 ounce) bag wonton strips; 2 limes, quartered; 1/3 cup soy sauce; 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce; 1/3 cup Asian toasted sesame salad dressing; 3 Tablespoons light brown sugar; 2.5 pounds chicken, diced into bite sized pieces

Jump to Recipe

Have you ever tried to make Wonton Chicken Tacos at home? Kind of a pain, isn’t it? And also, pretty messy trying to fry all those wontons into taco shells.

Enter the Wonton Chicken Taco Salad. Tastes like Wonton Chicken Tacos, but a fraction of the work needed.

A close up image that shows the components of the finished Wonton Chicken Taco Salad.

Last year we didn’t really get to eat at our favorite restaurants much, so I decided to take some of my favorite restaurant appetizers and make them into easy main dish recipes. So far, I’ve done a Southwestern Chicken Eggroll Bake, based on Southwestern Eggrolls and now this one based on Wonton Tacos.

Here’s how this Wonton Chicken Tacos Salad recipe goes:

A bowl of chopped chicken soaking in the marinade.

First you mix up a simple marinade and let your chicken breasts marinate. The marinade is soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sesame dressing, and brown sugar. You need a minimum of 20-30 minutes to marinate.

A bowl full of coleslaw mix, shredded carrots, chopped cilantro and green onions.

Meanwhile you can get all the veggies ready for the salad. You’ll need shredded carrots, sliced green onions, chopped fresh cilantro, and lime wedges. The main component of the salad is bagged coleslaw mix. Everything but the lime wedges are tossed with sesame dressing.

The marinated chicken gets browned in a skillet or saute pan, with any excess liquid drained off.

The wonton chicken taco salad is assembled with the salad on the bottom, then the chicken, and lastly the wonton strips.

And then it all goes together on a serving platter if you want it to look pretty like mine. Or individually in bowls if you have picky eaters who don’t like part of the ingredients. Then topped with the best part! The crunchy wonton strips!

A bowl of wonton chicken taco salad with a fork in it and two slices of lime on the side.

Squeeze a fresh lime over each serving before eating. It’s so good.

Make it ahead of time:

We love this easy main dish recipe because it’s so quick to prepare, but it also can be prepped ahead of time. Get the chicken ready in the morning, and then it’s good to go that night. You can even mix up the marinade and chicken in a freezer bag and freeze it until you’re ready to use it.

Here are a few more of my favorite busy weeknight dinner recipes:

Wonton Chicken Taco Salad

Yield: 6- 8 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Additional Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 38 minutes

Wonton Chicken Taco Salad. Tastes like Wonton Chicken Tacos, but a fraction of the work needed.

Ingredients

For the Marinated Chicken

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup Asian toasted sesame salad dressing
3 Tablespoons light brown sugar
2.5 pounds chicken, diced into bite sized pieces

For the Salad

1 (16 ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup Asian toasted sesame salad dressing
1 (4 ounce) bag wonton strips
2 limes, quartered

Instructions

In a medium sized bowl, or gallon sized ziploc bag, add the marinade ingredients and diced chicken. Toss to make sure the chicken is evenly coated and place in the fridge to marinate at least 20-30 minutes.*
After the chicken is marinated and when you are ready to prepare the salad, prep the veggies and toss with 1/3 cup toasted sesame dressing.
Heat a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet or saute pan over medium high heat. Discard the extra marinade and brown the marinated chicken until it is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the pan.
Layer the salad, chicken and then wonton strips on a large serving platter or toss it all together in a large salad bowl.
Serve with lime wedges.

Notes

The chicken and marinade can be prepped ahead of time. Get the chicken ready in the morning, and then it’s good to go that night. You can even mix up the marinade and chicken in a freezer bag and freeze it until you’re ready to use. Just thaw completely before browning the chicken.