Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad (Copycat)

6 Servings
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad with an Asian Balsamic Vinaigrette, crunchy wonton sheets, vegetables and macadamia nuts, this recipe is a perfect copycat!

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad with an Asian Balsamic Vinaigrette, crunchy wonton sheets, vegetables and macadamia nuts, this recipe is a perfect copycat!Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad copycat made its way onto the blog because we LOVED ordering it in the restaurant before it was taken off the menu. It is actually my parents’ favorite entree to order and split.

This post is one of a series of sponsored posts with Mountain Rose Herbs whose Sesame Oil, White Sesame Seeds and Black Sesame Seeds were used in the recipe.

Since it was taken off the menu I’ve wanted to re-make a version of it at home only to find that The Cheesecake Factory had actually released the recipe!

Yes, this recipe has quite a lot of ingredients. BUT, they’re all very easy to bring together and the salad itself is a total showstopper. You can even prepare parts of this recipe ahead of time like the dressing, the wonton crisp, the chicken, or the vegetable prep.

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad is the PERFECT COPYCAT!

We’ve made this salad before for company and while it looks fussy, it is relatively easy to prepare.  It is a whole lot of things thrown into a large bowl, piled high then layered with the wonton crisps. The added height gives it such a dramatic presentation and your guests will love it!

Tips for this Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad:

  • When frying the wonton crisps take them out when they’re two shades lighter than you want them to end up. If you take them out at the right color they keep cooking a few seconds and get too dark.
  • Mix up the dressing ahead of time.  This will not only save time during prep, it will also help the flavors meld together better.
  • Use a store-bought rotisserie chicken instead of buying and grilling your own.
  • Adding the cut green onions to cold/ice water helps them curl for a beautiful topper.

Now you can still enjoy the Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad even though it is off the menu!

Tools Used in the making of this Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad:
Balsamic Vinaigrette: Love this one, it is all natural and delicious and naturally lower in calories than most of the other versions at the stores.
Sesame Oil: This is not an ingredient to skip, I know it is just a teaspoon, but there is a TON of flavor in that teaspoon.
Rice Vinegar: This adds a sweet vinegar flavor to the dressing. Substitutions are not good for this ingredient either, but if you have to, the best option would be apple cider vinegar.
Sweet and Sour Sauce: I highly recommend the easy homemade version, but if you are going to buy pre-made I highly suggest this one.

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Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad

Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad with an Asian Balsamic Vinaigrette, crunchy wonton sheets, vegetables and macadamia nuts, this recipe is a perfect copycat!
Yield 6 Servings
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Course Salad
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients
 

SALAD:

  • 3 chicken breasts , grilled & sliced into thin strips
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice Powder
  • 6 cups mixed greens
  • 1 red bell peppers , sliced into thin strips
  • 1 yellow bell peppers , sliced into thin strips
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh green beans , blanched, cut into 3? pieces
  • 1 fresh mango , cut into small pieces
  • 1 red onion , cut into small pieces
  • 1 cup cucumber slices

DRESSING:

GARNISHES:

  • 1 ounce green onions , sliced into 1-inch thin strips
  • 4 ounces sweet and sour sauce
  • 4 ounce macadamia nuts , toasted and chopped
  • 4 ounce carrots , peeled, sliced into 1-inch thin strips
  • 2 teaspoons white sesame seeds
  • 2 teaspoons black sesame seeds
  • 8 6-inch egg roll wrappers , fried crisp

Instructions

  • Toss the chicken with the five spice powder.
  • Place the mixed greens, cucumber slices, chicken, bell peppers, green beans, red onion, and mango, into a large mixing bowl. Season the greens with salt and pepper.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together the seasoned rice vinegar, your choice of balsamic vinaigrette, seasoned rice vinegar, sesame oil and granulated sugar.
  • Drizzle the dressing over bowl with the salad ingredients, and toss together gently.
  • Brush a small amount of sweet and sour sauce onto each crispy egg roll wrapper.
  • In individual serving bowls, place a layer of dressed salad, top with an egg roll wrapper, and alternate finishing with a layer of salad. Then, top with the remaining garnishes.

Nutrition

Calories: 512kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 74mg | Sodium: 837mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 4855IU | Vitamin C: 90mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 3mg
Keyword: Cheesecake Factory luau salad, Cheesecake Factory recipes, Hawaiian salad
Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad with an Asian Balsamic Vinaigrette, crunchy wonton sheets, vegetables and macadamia nuts, this recipe is a perfect copycat!
Cheesecake Factory Luau Salad with an Asian Balsamic Vinaigrette, crunchy wonton sheets, vegetables and macadamia nuts, this recipe is a perfect copycat!

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. Thank you for this recipe. I made a resolution in the Fall that I would learn to make all my favorite dishes and this was on my list along with Pad Thai, Korean BeBimBap, Thai Beef curry with green beans, and a pizza. So far pizza has proved the most challenging which surprised me. You made this dish much easier. I had forgotten that green beans were even in this salad till I read this recipe.

    The only real difference I found was that on the Cheesecake Factory wrappers the nuts and seeds seemed almost encrusted into the wrappers. So I experimented with different ways to make the macadamia nuts stick to the wrappers. First I tried brushing them with egg and coating them with the nuts prior to cooking. Most of the nuts stuck but they are so expensive it killed me to lose any. Then I tried crushing them a bit and sprinkling them on the wrappers right after putting on the sweet and sour sauce and letting them kind of dry out a bit. That worked the best.
    Years ago I took a Chinese cooking class and we made Chinese Chicken Salad from a master Chinese chef. He taught us to toss the chicken strips (I sous vide back then we poached them) with the salad dressing and sprinkling sesame seeds on them prior to assembling the salad. It ensures that each bite of chicken is full of flavor. Other than those two small changes I pretty much made the recipe as written. I can’t thank you enough.

  2. CAN THIS BE MADE AHEAD TO TAKE TO A PICNIC? CONCERNED ABOUT THE WONTONS-ALSO CANTHE CHICKEN BE LEFT OUT? IS THERE A VEGAN REPLACEMENT?

    1. This would still work. You could always add a bowl of ice underneath the salad bowl to help keep it cool. Also, add the wontons in right before putting the salad out or leave on the side for people to sprinkle on their individual portion. Enjoy!

  3. Do you use both the rice vinegar and balsamic? I’m confused by instructions when it says your choice of? But then it also says add rice vinegar before that?

    1. Yes. You’ll be adding your choice of balsamic vinaigrette (whichever brand you prefer) in with the rice vinegar, sesame oil and granulated sugar. Hopefully this helps clear things up.

  4. Such a great copycat version. So sad the original if off the menu now but glad I can make my own version at home. This will be in our standard dinner rotation this summer for sure!

    1. I’m looking at these fabulous, yummy and easy to prepare recipes.
      I try once a week to make a new dish . I can’t wait to make the Chinese recipes. Keep sending and I’ll keep making.

  5. Is this cheese cake factory luau salads actual recipe? I haven’t been there in so long just to find out it’s off the menu now! 🙁

    1. It’s as spot on a copycat as I’ve ever tried. It was a well loved dish by my parents and they love this version. Let me know if you try it!

  6. Made this salad and we really enjoyed it. However the five seasons spice that is on the ingredients list wasn’t mentioned in the directions so I didn’t know how to apply it to the recipe. Can you give me an update on where it is used?

    Thank you – great share!

    1. So sorry about that! You’ll want to toss the chicken with the spices. I’ve edited to read correctly now. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂

    2. I just made this salad today and we really enjoyed it .. Thank you for sharing this delicious recipe ?

  7. Love the macadamia nuts and fried eggroll wrappers as your garnish! Overall, this salad looks amazing!!