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 recipe! The Peanut Dressing is the most authentic I’ve found yet. Total hit with the family
That salad dressing! Because of you, I WANT to eat salad. Because of you, I want to lick the spoon that spoon the salad dressing. Because of you, I want to drink that salad dressing. Because of you I want to do so many unusual things 😂. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes Jenn. I want to say I love you but I don’t be want to be weird 😄
🙂
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing
This salad was simple to put together and tasted amazing!
This salad is amazing! I want to find reasons just to have the dressing…. by the way, do yourself a favor and at least double the dressing. I did add only half the sugar, and I added mandarin oranges, which I think compliments everything really well. Next time, I’d like to add a crunchy noodle topping. But, truly unless someone doesn’t like peanut butter, I can’t imagine this not being a winner.
Usualy it’s quite rare for me to leave comment.
Most of your recipes are amazing and easy to follow, but this one is excellent !!!
Love love love it
God this was good. Spouse and friends ate ALL OF IT. Veggies down the hatch! Thanks for another winner- I dream of this peanut sauce.
How long can you keep the dressing in the fridge before using it? Thanks so much and I apologize if this has been asked before.
Yes, Kelli, the dressing will keep nicely for about a week in the fridge. Enjoy!
Love this – it’s absolutely delicious, although it was a bit sweet for me the first time I made it, so I cut back on the sugar, and it’s amazing. I’ve been asked for the recipe after serving it to guests. thank you!!
I’ve been eating this for 4 days straight (it does make a lot but I’m also the only one that eats veggies like this in my house). It is the perfect recipe when you are just craving some crunchy veggies. I used a bag of prepared cole slaw mix (with red cabbage in it), a red pepper, cucumber, and I had some lonely looking brussel sprouts in my fridge so I sliced those up thin and tossed them in as well. I kept the dressing in a small jar in my fridge and keeping them separate kept the veggies crunchy even 4 days later. I did make it as written Day 1 though I did use less sugar. Then Day 2, I tossed some chopped up hard boiled egg I had in the fridge and tossed that on top for some protein. Day 3 I actually added it to a wheat wrap with some chicken breast and the dressing. The one thing I recommend is if you have a little toasted walnut oil or similar “finishing oil” around, drizzle a tiny bit on the portion you are eating with the dressing. The toasted walnut gave it a little something that I thought made it even better.