Thai Chicken Salad with Cashew Dressing

I’m finally back home after two birthday parties, a graduation party and a family reunion. Whew! That’s a lot of family to see.

Here’s a recipe I made right before I left that I think you’ll enjoy.

Most recipes are easy to “paleo-ize” and this one was no exception. Not only was it easy but it was quite delicious as well. Originally I was going to make this recipe for my husband’s lunch but I kept forgetting so we had it for dinner instead. The ingredients are simple enough to purchase.

And, of course, the chicken.

I prepared the vegetables which consisted of shredding the carrots and slicing the celery.

Next I cleaned and shredded the lettuce then tossed it in a bowl.

I used three boneless skinless chicken breasts and prepared them by grilling them on the stovetop then cutting them into bite size pieces. Then I seasoned them with a little bit of black ground pepper.

The original recipe calls for peanuts but I used raw cashews that I chopped up.

The coconut dressing is a combination of light coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and a tad of red pepper flakes.

So far, so good? Take a peek at the recipe …

Ingredients

• 4-6 cups romaine lettuce (cut up)
• 2-3 skinless boneless chicken breasts, grilled and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup celery, sliced
• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons almond butter
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons coconut amino
• Red Pepper flakes (just a dash)
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped raw unsalted cashews

Directions

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
2. In a separate medium sized bowl, add the coconut milk, maple syrup, almond butter, lime juice, coconut amino and the red pepper flakes (or use ground pepper if you prefer) then stir everything together.
3. Transfer the coconut mixture to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Stir to make sure everything is well combined.
4. Remove the coconut mixture from the heat and let it cool for a couple of minutes.
5. Pour the coconut mixture over the lettuce mixture and sprinkle with the cashews.

And here is the final result. Easy and delicious!

Adapted from Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut Dressing.

For a list of paleo recipes, click here.