Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s famous version, this Thai crunch salad recipe is a colorful, satisfying mix of fresh veggies and creamy peanut dressing. It’s pretty much what salad dreams are made of.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
This recipe is a nod to the popular Thai crunch salad served at California Pizza Kitchen. It’s made with crisp Napa cabbage, crunchy vegetables, and edamame, but it’s the creamy peanut dressing that makes it so good. I guarantee you’ll want to put it on everything!
Serve this salad as a light lunch or pair it with grilled chicken or steak for a more substantial meal. It also pairs nicely with chicken satay or honey, lime and sriracha chicken skewers. This is one of those recipes with a long list of ingredients but don’t let that deter you; you can use many of the prepared vegetables available at the supermarket, and the dressing is quickly puréed in a blender.
“This salad was such a big hit at dinner last night that my guest requested seconds. It’s so over-the-top delicious that it’s insane!”
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the dressing. Combine all of the dressing ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and blend until completely smooth. Chopping the garlic and ginger first prevents the dressing from being gritty or uneven, especially if your blender isn’t super powerful. Add the cilantro.
Blend for just a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. (Adding it at the end keeps the dressing a creamy, natural color instead of muddy green.)
Step 2: Combine the veggies. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, carrots, bell peppers, cucumber, edamame, scallions, and cilantro. Seeding the cucumbers is key for keeping the salad crisp and avoiding excess water that can dilute the dressing.
Step 3: Dress and serve. If you’re serving right away, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss to coat. Otherwise, store the chopped veggies and dressing separately—the veggies will keep for 2 days and the dressing for up to a week. The peanut dressing may thicken slightly as it chills, so give it a good stir (or a quick whisk) if you’ve made it ahead.
More Asian-Style Salad Recipes You May Like
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
Modeled after CPK’s Thai crunch salad, this salad has bright veggies, bold flavors, and a dressing you’ll want to eat by the spoonful.
Ingredients
For the Peanut Dressing
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 1-inch square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped (see note)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
For the Salad
- 4 cups chopped Napa cabbage or shredded coleslaw mix (I like to toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color)
- 1 cup prepared shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 1 small English cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeded and thinly sliced
- 1 cup cooked and shelled edamame
- 2 medium scallions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and process until completely smooth. Add the cilantro and blend for a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- For the salad, combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine. If serving right away, drizzle the peanut dressing over top and toss; otherwise, serve the dressing on the side so the salad doesn't get soggy.
- Here's some easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (4 servings)
- Serving size: Approximately 2 cups
- Calories: 282
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 28 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 6 g
- Protein: 7g
- Sodium: 505 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Fabulous recipe! It is indeed ‘perfected’! My family don’t like edamame beans, and it tasted fine without. Only thing I changed was the sugar amount as we’re trying to watch our intake. We found the honey enough. Just added a pinch of sugar. Very delicious salad and dressing.
Have made this several times. Love it! I generally triple the dressing to marinate pork tenderloins for the grill. Serve it for company and it’s always a hit.
When I was in college in New York City a gazillion years ago I subsisted on a steady diet of sesame noodles from a little Chinese restaurant on east 23rd St. No recipe ever came close to replicating it….until I made this dressing. Heavenly. I have a Cuisinart blender that came with a cup that is very useful for all your delicious dressings. I may try tahini next time to authenticate the sesame flavor but with peanut butter it is fabulous. Your recipes are the best!
Your recipes are always on point. I haven’t been disappointed yet. I am going to make this salad to accompany the honey lime srichacha chicken which is?. Keep up the good work.
This was delicious. My salad-hating hubby loved it. We stored the dressing separately so we could eat the rest for lunch tomorrow. I just discovered your website and everything I’ve made has been wonderful. Thank you!
I often order a Thai chicken salad when I go out to eat, and my husband and daughter think I’m crazy. I was craving it today and found this recipe. I roasted a couple of chicken breasts, and after they cooled, and I shredded them and added them to the salad. My daughter was not pleased when she came to the table and saw our dinner. But once she tried it, she said, “This recipe is a keeper!” Thank you for helping me to convert my family. I’m looking forward to trying some of your other recipes soon. This was my first time to your blog. Really good. Thank you.
I LOVE this salad! It’s become one of my go-tos. Though I generally omit the sugar and cucumber (I like it to keep, dressed, for a couple of days), and I use all kinds of cabbage (savoy, green, red). I also use a microplaner for my ginger and garlic. Having it for dinner tonight!
This salad was out of this world, it tastes yummy like no other salad, my hubby and I ate it all although it seemed much but the taste was incredible. I thought to add roasted almonds but thanks God I didn’t because it was perfect just as it is.
This dressing is so delicious. Nice and tangy, with the perfect hint of sweetness for our tastes. (Per another reviewer’s idea from below, I used Tahini instead of peanut butter as we have a nut allergy in our house.) I just prepared it and put it in the fridge for tonight’s dinner, which is also from your vault of recipes, Coconut Shrimp. Can’t wait to try that for the first time too. Thank you!
This seems like it would be quite similar to the Asian Kale Salad with Creamy Ginger Peanut Dressing (which we love). Is that right, or am I missing something?
Hi Sue, Yes, the dressing is similar, but the kale adds a very distinct flavor to the other salad.