Orange-Cashew Chicken Salad

This is fridge-clearing lunch prep at its smartest. Leftover chicken gets tossed with juicy orange segments, crisp snow peas, and strips of red bell pepper, then a clever three-ingredient dressing ties the whole thing together.

The dressing is the trick. Orange marmalade brings the sweet and fruity, soy sauce brings the savory, and Pace picante sauce brings the kick. Together they taste far more complex than the sum of the bottles.

A short chill in the fridge before serving is not skipable. The dressing needs 15 to 20 minutes to soak into the chicken and mellow the raw onion bite.

Cashews go on at the very end, not before. Tossed in early they go soft and lose their signature crunch.

Chef Tips

• Use shredded rotisserie chicken for the juiciest texture. Dry-poached leftover breast can taste stringy against the bright vegetables.
• Slice the onion rings paper-thin and soak in cold water for 10 minutes if you want to tame their sharpness.
• Cut the orange segments over a bowl and catch the juice, then whisk a teaspoon into the dressing for extra citrus pop.
• Toast the cashews in a dry skillet for 3 to 4 minutes before scattering. Lightly browned nuts smell and taste exponentially better than raw.

Variations

• Swap cashews for toasted almonds or sliced macadamia for a different nutty note.
• Replace the chicken with cooked shrimp or sliced grilled steak.
• Use mandarin oranges or grapefruit segments instead of orange for a bittersweet twist.