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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Excellent recipe! Would use only 1/2-2/3 of the dressing next time, and serve it optional on the side. Found it to be a tad too runny.
Hi Jenn,
We love, love , love this dressing! I make it in double batches for everything. How long will the dressing keep on it’s own? Thanks for always amazing recipes!
Robin
Glad you like it, Robin! The dressing should keep nicely for up to a week.
Jenn, making this tomorrow, hate to put dressing in that huge blender, could I do it in my 4 cp Quizinart
Sure, Carol – that should work. Enjoy!
HELP! I can’t stop making this salad! Every time we have people over to the house, I make it and they go nuts. This salad is really preventing me from discovering other salads, which is a problem but not a problem.
That dressing tho. It’s sublime! I cut waaaay back on the sweetness by omitting the sugar, and I use 1/2 tsp. of sriracha instead of red pepper flakes, but that’s just my own preference – I’m sure the recipe as written would be perfection for others.
The colour combination is the best! I’d never even bought red cabbage before, and now it’s a weekly buy.
Jenn, you are a superstar. You recipes ALWAYS amaze. I’m so grateful for your thorough testing, your clear instructions, your perfect results. Thank you for turning every dish into a feast.
❤️
This comment is so true! This dressing is addicting! As is everything else Jenn creates! I also omitted the sugar for dietary reasons and couldn’t imagine this dressing being any better. Thank you again Jenn for another delicious recipe!
This turned out delicious! I added a little more garlic to suit my taste. I didn’t have peanut butter, so ground some peanuts to a paste along with other ingredients. Still tasted great! I love that you show pictures of the steps. In two days I’ve tried two of your recipes. Can’t wait to try out more!
What can I substitute for cilantro?
My husband does not enjoy the flavor.
Thanks
Hi Gail, It’s fine to just omit the cilantro. You could also try basil. Hope you enjoy it!
Delicious and very satisfying without added animal protein. We’re trying to each more plant-based meals and this got a big thumbs-up from my husband!
followed receipe…dressing is way too thick.
The dressing is outstanding! We haven’t had the salad but will tonight with a piece of fresh salmon. My husband loves the dressing. I forgot to buy the red pepper and the Edamame but added a radish and some steam green beans from the garden.
I’m thinking that this dressing would make an excellent vegetable dip. It is certainly thick enough.
I will be making this again.
So good! And, so simple and quick. I used crunchy peanut butter as that is what I had, and I did not have cilantro. Otherwise I followed the recipe. I used it on a bagged, kale chopped salad mix, added some blanched broccoli, leftover chicken from a stir fry and sunflower seeds because I love them. It was delicious and I thought the texture was lovely. Plan to get a cucumber to add tomorrow. Crunchy noodles sound good too. Thank you, Jenn.
Forgot the 5 stars!