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.
Actually I need a Thai salad for trade taste. Can you suggest some other Thai salads?
Hi Daya, you could try this Thai Cucumber Salad or this Thai Quinoa Salad. Hope you find something you enjoy!
This salad, and especially the dressing, is AMAZING! Even my three teenagers (and picky husband) loved it!!! I have passed it along to all of my friends and family!
This is a fantastic salad! I could eat it every day! It’s beautiful to look at, healthy to eat, and full of crunch and flavor. It makes a huge batch, so I pull out what we will use for the meal and put the rest of the undressed salad in a ziplock bag for later. I also only add the cuke to the portion we are eating so it doesn’t get soggy. The dressing is so delicious I could eat it by itself! 🙂 It has become my house dressing. The salad is really perfect as is, but since I love the cilantro, ginger, and lime in the dressing so much, I confess that I go a litte more heavy-handed with it while shaving off some of the sugar. I also have added a splash of fish sauce sometimes. Finally, frozen edamame seem to work just fine thrown in and allowed to thaw naturally. We live in Alaska and eat lots of salmon, and this salad goes wonderfully with it!!
I made this for a potluck and my host promptly asked me for the recipe, requested by her 7 yr old who said, “its the best salad I’ve ever had!” Love that it has so many colorful veggies and the peanut flavor with a kick of spice is just perfect.
Thanks Jenn!
This salad is wonderfully tasty and refreshing. I have made it often for friends, family, and when visiting family in Europe. Every one of the has loved and asked for this recipe. After living in Thailand for couple years I’ve been looking for a great peanut dressing. This one is the best hands down!! Thank you for creating such amazing recipes!
We made this for our brother over the weekend as he is a vegetarian. Delicious meal and rave reviews from him. Great blend and mix of ingredients and crunch!
My husband and I enjoyed this salad immensely. I made this exactly as written except I used only the 2T of honey and omitted the additional sugar. It was sweet enough for our tastes. Next time, if I’m only serving adults, I would add another pinch or two of the red pepper flakes. It’s a delicious dressing that I think would work as a dipping sauce for so many things!
This is absolutely wonderful. Easy, nutritious, and a salad I can’t stop eating. I have never made a single recipe of yours that disappointed me. Always go to your web site when I don’t know what to do with meat or veggies
Thai Crunch Salad was beyond Delish!!
It. Is simply made and super quick to prepare.
My daughter who is an awesome cook asked for the recipe. Now that is a compliment.
I have tried a number of your recipes and have never been disappointed
This was a huge hit at my weekly family dinner! My nephew loved it – especially the dressing. I caught him dipping his bread into the ‘sauce’ as he called it and gobbling it up. This is now a ‘must’ for any of our get together’s. The only change I made was to exclude cilantro as we’re not fans. Still tasted most scrumptious.