Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
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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
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- 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.
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Amazing salad recipe!!! I’m obsessed (so is my 9-year old son!)! Only changes: I added slivered almonds + wonton wrapper strips! YUM!
Here’s another five star review. I never expected this to be as delicious as it was. I thought I’d miss the fish sauce, but I didn’t. I, too, added sliced chicken breast and some leftover pasta to this to round out this wonderful salad. Thanks, Jenn!
I love this recipe, especially the dressing. I add fried wontons, avocados, and shredded chicken to make it a full meal for my family. My two-year-old son gobbles up this meal.
This is delicious. The long list of ingredients doesn’t matter because it all blends up quickly.
Two suggestions: Double the recipe immediately. It doesn’t really make that much, so you may as well make extra. Also, I found it too thick, so I added some extra oil, and then some water when it still seemed thick. Next time, I will reduce the sugar just a bit, but the recipe is yummy as is.
Made the salad for lunch, and added rotisserie chicken, and 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. It is delicious.
I LOVE this salad – made it last week and took it in to share with the gals at my Monday volunteer gig for lunch. I was disappointed to realize I didn’t have any more fresh ginger, so I had to leave that out – but it was delicious nonetheless.
I was hesitant about the pepper flakes because I don’t like spicy, but it was wonderful to get the occasional kick of heat.
Also, I always use a cold press flax seed oil for the health benefits in all my salad dressings or cold oil recipes.
This salad is SO GOOD! – one of my two most favorite recipes on this site! I usually substitute regular green cabbage for the napa cabbage and omit the edamame (because they’re kind of expensive). It’s a big hit at potlucks and goes well with chicken or pork.
This is an amazing salad. My boyfriend is not a salad guy-loves everything but the lettuce lol but got him eating this and he loves the peanut dressing. Thinking of adding it to pork chops. thanks for the recipe.
We loved this salad! I’m a big fan of ordering Asian salads in restaurants but this one is every bit as good as my favorites. The only change I made was to add a dash of fish sauce and Sriracha to the dressing and some chopped peanuts as a garnish. Highly recommended!
good receipe