This Chicken & Cucumber Salad is a delightfully delicious and nutritious dish that will make you enjoy your fitness journey more.
My goal for this recipe is very simple: Finish out my leftover chicken breast, and it’s a must that I will enjoy it. This Chicken & Cucumber Salad did not disappoint—it’s light, savory, creamy, filling, and oh-so-refreshing.
I have been loving shredding my veggies just like in my High Protein Cucumber Noodle and Spicy Cucumber Noodle because it psychs my mind as though I’m eating actual noodles. For this dish, the noodle-shaped veggies are fresh, crunchy, and really complement the boring meat.
Honestly though, the best part is the sauce. The medley of the yogurt, peanut butter, and Asian pantry staples created a concoction that levels up the very simple veggie and chicken combo. I thoroughly enjoyed this meal; I couldn’t even finish filming because I kept on eating it–it was that good! Lol!
The texture combo is fire, the sauce is fire, but you wouldn’t believe how quick and easy it is to make this. If you loved this, you can easily multiply it to eat throughout the week. I’m sure this is something you will look forward to adding to your rotation.
Ingredients You’ll Need
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I used alternatives for some ingredients to make the sauce lower in calories; nevertheless, the sauce still turned out delicious.
- Chicken Breast – If you’re trying to eat low-calorie, high-protein chicken breast is the way to go. But you can also swap this with other cuts or even rotisserie chicken.
- Cucumber & Carrot – The veggies are a refreshing and crunchy combo to use in the salad. English or Asian Cucumbers are the best for this recipe as they have less of the watery seeds.
- Salt – This will be used to draw out excess moisture from the cucumber to keep the salad from getting watered down and soggy.
- Soy Sauce & Fish Sauce – For the savor and umami flavor to the sauce
- Vinegar – For acidity
- Allulose – For the sweet component that will balance the other sauces, making it more well-rounded. I used allulose to keep the calories low, but you can use sugar or other alternative sweeteners you prefer.
- Greek Yogurt – Instead of mayo, this is a great high-protein and lighter alternative to make the sauce creamy and slightly thick to help the sauce stick to the salad.
- Peanut Butter Powder – To make the sauce nutty and rich. It complements the savor and adds sweetness to the sauce. I used peanut butter powder to make it low-calorie, but regular peanut butter is also ok.
- Sesame Oil – For an earthy and nutty complement to the sauces used above
- Salt and Pepper – To taste
- Sesame Seeds – For garnish
How to Make Chicken & Cucumber Salad?
Slice the cucumber and carrots using a mandolin or julienne peeler. Do this carefully to make it long noodle strands. Do not include the seeds of the cucumber.
Place the veggies in a bowl, add salt, and mix it well. Leave this for 5-10 minutes, then drain well.
Shred the chicken into chunks, then add them to the veggies.
In a saucer, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, allulose, Greek yogurt, and peanut butter powder. Mix this well.
Add the sauce into the salad mixture, season with sesame oil, then mix it well using a gloved hand. Taste and adjust using salt and pepper. Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, and serve chilled.
Recipe Tips:
- The key to this recipe is to ensure that your chicken is well seasoned and juicy. They can be leftovers or from meal prep, as long as they are cooked right.
- Cucumbers are naturally watery, so it’s important to salt them to draw out as much water before dressing them. This keeps the salad crunchy and prevents it from turning soggy.
- I recommend mixing the salad using a gloved hand so it can be done carefully and the sauce is spread out evenly.
Serving and Storage
You can make this recipe in advance, but store the salad and sauce separately, then add 10-15 minutes before serving to keep it from getting soggy. This will allow the salad to soak in all that delicious sauce.
This dish is already great to be served on its own because it already contains fiber and protein, enough to make you full. I honestly enjoyed it that way, especially because of the noodle-shaped veggies. Whether you turn this into a full meal or side dish, I’m sure you will enjoy this thoroughly.
I highly recommend finishing the salad right away, but in case of leftovers, you can store this in the fridge for up to 2 days. The salad will taste even better as it sits, but the texture might be different as the veggies will continue to water down.
Other dishes that helped with my fitness journey:
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Korean Fresh Spring Rolls
- Egg Tteokbokki
- Shirataki Noodle Salad
- Shirataki Noodles Stir Fry
Make sure to leave a rating, a comment, or tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Tiktok when you chop them up! Yeobosayo!
Creamy Chicken & Cucumber Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pc Chicken Breast
- 1 pc Cucumber
- 1/2 of Whole Carrot
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 50 grams Onion Optional
- 3 tbsp Greek Yogurt
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1/2 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp Vinegar
- 1 tbsp Allulose
- 1 tbsp Peanut Butter Powder
- 1/4 tbsp Sesame Oil
- Salt and Pepper To taste
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Slice the cucumber and carrots with a mandolin or julienne peeler. Do not include the watery seeds.
- Salt the sliced vegetables and let them sit for 5-10 minutes. Drain this well afterwards.
- Slice the onion, soak in water for 5-10 minutes, then drain this well afterwards.
- Shred the chicken, then combine it with the sliced vegetables.
- Combine Greek yogurt, soy sauce, vinegar, allulose, peanut butter powder, and sesame oil, then mix this well.
- Add the sauce to the salad, mix it well, and taste and adjust with salt and pepper.
- Plate, garnish with sesame seeds, serve cold, and enjoy!
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