Asian Chopped Salad Recipe with Crispy Chow Mein Noodles
by Crunchy alert! Asian Chopped Salad recipe with gluten-free Crispy Chow Mein Noodles and chopped bok choy is a bowl of crunchy deliciousness. With bok choy, carrots, toasted almonds, and crispy noodles, this easy chopped Asian salad is perfect for a potluck, family dinner, and your holiday table! Get ready for a whole lot of crunch and yum!
Crunch 100% – Asian Chopped Salad with Crispy Chow Mein Noodles (paleo, gluten-free)
Which one do you like more? Crispy noodles or crisp-tender chopped salad? I almost had a hard time deciding which ingredient should be the star of today’s dish – crunchy chopped baby bok choy and sweet carrots or crispy chow mein noodles?
As you eat your way through the bowl, you get that fantastic combo of tender-crisp chopped veggies, toasted almonds, and the best part…all the crispy chow mein noodle bits, all tossed in a creamy roasted Japanese-inspired sesame dressing.
It’s crazy good!!!
Best of all, this easy chopped Asian salad can be served on the table in 20 minutes!
What is a chopped salad?
A chopped salad can come in all shapes and forms with various ingredients. Crisp and crunchy texture is a must in a chopped salad. Think julienned carrots, celery, chopped bok choy, napa cabbage, shredded green or purple cabbage, Romaine lettuce, and with toasted nuts. The possibilities are endless but the crunch is a must!
To keep the recipe simple, I only selected 5 main components in my salad today.
Ingredients for my Asian-inspired chopped salad
- Baby bok choy
- Carrots
- Sliced almonds
- Crispy chow mein noodles (paleo, gluten-free…found online)
- Homemade Japanese roasted sesame dressing
See? I told you this recipe is super easy and because it’s quick to assemble, I can totally see it goes well with practically anything!
How to make Asian Chopped Salad
Tip No. 1 – Don’t get the bagged salad kits! Most of the time, store-bought chopped salad kits aren’t fresh. Making an Asian chopped salad is super easy. Follow these simple steps:
- Chopped the baby bok choy. Rinse and set aside to drain.
- Julienne the carrots.
- Toss the almonds and chow mein noodles in a saute pan with little olive oil until golden toasty
- Toss them together with a creamy dressing. I recommend my roasted sesame dressing and season with salt to taste.
- Serve and enjoy a load of crunch!
Best Dressings for Chopped Salad Recipe
Because the veggies are heartier and with a firmer texture, a creamy dressing will be the best pairing. To keep it Asian-inspired, I use toasted sesame dressing. You can also use my Asian peanut sauce, or Thai peanut sauce, all made with almond butter.
Whole30 ranch yogurt dressing, creamy caper chive, or herbed tahini from my Whole30 salad dressings collection will bring out a different flavor profile to the chopped salad. They are all fantastic choices!
Salad Variations and Swap Suggestions
- Add cooked proteins to make the salad heartier and turn it into a main dish. Grilled chicken, beef, pork, or seafood are all fabulous.
- Use napa cabbage, and shredded green and purple cabbage, if you can’t find bok choy.
- Add chopped celery for more crunch.
- If you can’t have almonds, try seeds. Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and sesame seeds.
Tips for the best crunch! Make ahead and storage
Remember your number 1 goal is to keep the salad crunch and fresh!
The idea of this salad is that with every bite you get a big spoonful of crisp-tender veggies and a whole lot of crunch from the chow mein noodles and toasted almonds, so only combine the two – veggies and the noodles – with the dressing right before serving.
What I like to do is to 1) chop the veggies first and store them in an airtight container. 2) Store the dressing separately. 3) Only toast the almonds and the noodles before you are about to serve. 4) When you combine them, toss the dressing with the veggies first then sprinkle in the noodles and the almonds then toss again and serve right away.
Pairing suggestions
This wonderful salad goes well with so many things! Here are some of my favorites –
- Keto Pan Fried Potstickers
- Cabbage shumai
- Gluten-free Har Gow Dumplings
- low carb Chinese egg rolls
- Keto Scallion Pancakes
- Keto Chicken Lo Mein
- Crispy sesame tofu (made with eggs)
- Air fry Taiwanese chicken cutlets
- Asian chicken noodle soup
- Cantonese baked beef chow mein
More Bok Choy Recipes
- Bok Choy Soup
- Bok Choy Salad
- Thai Bok Choy Salad
- Stir-fried Bok Choy Recipe
- Bok Choy Dim Sum
- Bok Choy Soup with chicken and noodles
So are you ready for loads of crunch and freshness? This Asian Chopped Salad recipe with crispy chow mein noodles is seriously my new favorite! It’s like a grown-up version of ramen noodle salad and with more crunch, more freshness, and a whole lot healthier. So grab some crunchy veggies on your way home, chop chop chop, and toss! I guarantee you’ll love the crunch and freshness of every single bite!
Asian Chopped Salad Recipe with Crispy Chow Mein Noodles
Ingredients
For the roasted sesame dressing (makes ½ cup. Double the quantity to make 1 cup) :
- 1 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 4 tbsp Paleo mayonnaise
- 1.5 tbsp rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp coconut aminos
- ½ to 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tsp tahini
For the Asian Chopped Salad:
- 8 oz. baby bok choy, chopped, rinsed, and drained
- 5 oz. Julienned carrots
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1-1.5 cups gluten-free chow mein noodles
- 1 cup sliced almonds
- Takii’s shiitake mushroom powder , or Coarse sea salt, to taste
Instructions
For the sesame dressing:
- Follow this recipe (https://iheartumami.com/creamy-roasted-sesame-dressing) instructions. Set the dressing aside and ready to use.
For the chopped salad:
- Dice the bok choy to smaller bite sizes. Rinse and drain well.
- Julienne the carrots. Add the bok choy and carrots to a large mixing bowl.
- Warm-up a medium-size skillet, add the olive oil. Add the chow mein noodles and almonds. Gently toss over low heat for about 5 minutes or until you can smell a light roasted almond aroma. Take care not to burn the nuts. Season with 2 small pinch of salt or the mushroom seasoning.
To Serve:
- Toss the veggies with the dressing. Season with salt to taste. Right before serving, sprinkle-in the noodles and almonds. Toss the whole salad bowl again and divide it into individual serving bowls/plates. Enjoy it right away!
Notes
Nutrition
This hand down one of my favorite salad recipes. It’s so fresh and crunchy, and adaptable.
Super easy and soooo delicious!! Even my picky husband went back for seconds!
It’s easy to measure & save half the recipe if you’re only feeding two people. I stored half the bok choy mix in a bag in the fridge along with half the dressing in a jar. Measured out the almonds & crispy noodles to heat up right before I serve it again.
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing your tips with us!
The combo of greens, crispy noodles, toasted nuts and tangy dressing can’t be beat. Even my 6 year old devoured this meal! I served this with some oven baked spring rolls (not Paleo) on the side. Delish!
I love a good salad, and this is the best! The crispy noodles and all of the delicious flavors make it such a treat!
Amazing, love that noodle and almond crunch . . plus the dressing, so good.
So delicious and satisfying! I love the crispy noodles!
Thanks so much for this recipe! I had no idea the crispy noodles had such good ingredients. We love this fun dinner and the amazing dressing!
Those gluten-free crisps noodles you got look very interesting. This is a great salad idea, goes well with just about anything! I can’t wait to try it.
So flavorful and refreshing! Love the crunch from the almonds.