Panera Thai Chicken Salad (copycat)

I love the spicy Panera Thai chicken salad (from Panera Bread restaurant), so I decided to try to replicate a copycat version at home.  Let me tell you, I think it's fabulous!

A great dinner salad that's full of flavors. Lettuce, chicken, bell pepper, edamame, carrots, cilantro, slivered almonds, and a wonderful peanut dressing with a little bit of spice.

Takes only about 30 minutes from start to finish, and you have a hearty, healthy, delicious meal your whole family will love!

What You'll Need

1 Tablespoon oil

½ cup carrots, chopped

½ cup red bell pepper, chopped

½ cup edamame (I used frozen - no need to thaw)

1 large chicken breast (about 1-½ cups sliced or chopped)

6 cups Romaine lettuce, chopped

¼ cup slivered almonds

¼ cup fresh cilantro

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon black pepper

For the Dressing

¼ cup peanut butter

1 Tablespoon soy sauce (I used low sodium)

1 Tablespoon lime juice

2 Tablespoons rice vinegar

2 Tablespoons sesame oil

How to Make Panera Thai Chicken Salad

Preheat a heavy skillet on medium heat on the stove top. Add oil, chicken, salt, and black pepper and cook until juices run clear and meat is done.

While the chicken is cooking, prepare your carrots, bell pepper, lettuce, and cilantro.

When chicken is done, add carrots, bell pepper, and edamame and cook for 10 minutes (stirring often).

While cooking, prepare the dressing by adding all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and mixing with a whisk.

In a large bowl add chopped lettuce, almonds, and cilantro and combine.

Once chicken and vegetables are done, remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes before adding to salad.

Add chicken and vegetables to lettuce mixture and combine.

Serve in separate bowls and add dressing in desired quantity.

You may not need all the dressing, but it keeps well in the refrigerator and goes well on any type of salad.

Tips

You can use any color of bell pepper, but the red gives the salad nice color variation since there's already green and orange with the lettuce and carrots.

For the edamame, there's no need to thaw them. They thaw quickly when cooking and don't need much cook time to be perfect in the salad.

For the lettuce, you can use other lettuce besides Romaine. Leaf or head lettuce should work just fine, but Romaine is sturdy and flavorful and duplicates the original recipe.

Leaf lettuce may get wilty faster, and head lettuce won't be as flavorful. But use what you have, and it should turn out delicious.

I hope you love this Panera Bread spicy Thai salad as much as we do! Please let me know what you think in the comments below!

Great served with your choice of bread. Try my quick & easy Cheese Toast recipe.

Other salads you may love:

Mediterranean Cucumber Salad with creamy lemon dressing

Broccoli Bacon Salad (easy & tasty)

Carrot Raisin Salad (quick & delicious)

Simple Potato Salad (with Bacon)

Other Chicken Meals to Enjoy:

Slow Cooked Chicken and Corn Soup

Chicken Divan Crock Pot Recipe

Fruited Chicken Salad with Grapes & Cashews

Garlic Butter Chicken Pasta (browned & full of flavor)

Recipe