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This Thai crunch salad is crisp, colorful, and tossed in a creamy peanut dressing that’s so good, you’ll want to drizzle it on everything.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
If you’ve ever had the Thai Crunch Salad at California Pizza Kitchen, you know how good that combination of crisp vegetables and creamy peanut dressing can be. This recipe is my take on that restaurant favorite, with crunchy Napa cabbage, colorful vegetables, edamame, and a peanut dressing that’s so good, you’ll want to put it on everything!
Don’t be put off by the long ingredient list. You can save time by using pre-shredded carrots and other prepared vegetables from the supermarket, and the dressing comes together in minutes in a blender. The salad makes a wonderful light lunch, and it’s easy to turn into a more substantial meal, too.
“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!”
How to Make Thai Crunch Salad
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.)
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.
Dress and serve: When you’re ready to eat, pour the peanut dressing over the vegetables and toss until everything is nicely coated. That’s it! The salad is best served right away, while all those vegetables are still crisp and crunchy.
Make-Ahead and Storage Instructions
This salad is great for making ahead, as long as you keep the vegetables and dressing separate until you’re ready to eat. You can chop and combine the vegetables up to 2 days in advance and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The peanut dressing can be made up to 1 week ahead and refrigerated separately.
When you’re ready to serve, give the dressing a good stir or whisk, as it may thicken slightly in the fridge. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving to keep everything nice and crunchy. Once dressed, the salad is best eaten right away.
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
For the Peanut Dressing
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2½ tablespoons sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- (1-in) square piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 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
- 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, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ½ cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Prepare 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.
- Prepare the salad: Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and toss to combine.
- Dress and serve: Just before serving, drizzle the peanut dressing over the salad and toss well to coat. If you're not serving the salad right away, keep the dressing separate so the vegetables stay crisp.
Nutrition Information
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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What to Serve with Thai Crunch Salad
This salad is satisfying enough for a light lunch, but you can easily turn it into dinner by adding sliced grilled chicken, shrimp, or steak. It’s also delicious alongside chicken satay or honey, lime, and sriracha chicken skewers for a fun, Asian-inspired dinner. And if you’re bringing it to a potluck or cookout, it’s a nice change of pace from the usual slaw.
More Asian-Style Salad Recipes You May Like
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Love this recipe just as is. I add any veggies I have but love to always use edamame and sprouts. I’m curious if there’s a way to use PB powder (as a lower-fat alternative) as a dressing ingredient?
Hi Lauren, so glad you like this! I’ve never worked with peanut butter powder so I can’t say for sure how it would impact the dressing but I suspect it would work. I’d love to hear how it comes out if you end up trying it!
I could take a bath in this dressing! It is so beloved amongst my family, and neighbors that I’m asked to make it for them at parties, since they only know limited English. I’ve also doubled the recipe with great success.
So glad I made this for lunch today – it was perfectly delicious, and has definitely made its way onto my MA (make again) list. Thank you!
This is simply delicious. One of my top 5 favorite salads. My husband loves it too. He generally isn’t overly enthusiastic about salads…he likes them okay but isn’t blow away by them and he said this one is REALLY GOOD. My mom asked for the recipe and makes it now too. Family favorite!
My go-to Asian style dressing. Quick, easy and perfectly balanced. Thank you for sharing, Jenn!!
I live alone. I made this salad last night for dinner. It is delicious – 5 stars. The peanut dressing is perfect. I liked the tiny bit of heat on my palate, but the next time I make it I might add an additional 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. The ingredients of each item in the salad were perfect for me – loved them all.
I’m embarrassed to say it was the first time I ever purchased Napa cabbage. I have enough cabbage left to make another batch of this recipe in a few days.
I have your cookbook, Once Upon a Chef, and have purchased the ingredients to make the Creamy Wild Mushroom soup. Looking forward to another delicious meal.
Thank you,
Paige Marshall
LaPorte, IN
My husband avoids salads, UNTIL NOW! He LOVES this salad and so do I. I cannot wait to serve it to guests and have already notified friends who love to cook and eat well that they should make this recipe(and visit your site for others) because it can be prepped ahead for a quick to serve meal that is wonderful! I had it with salmon, my husband with chicken, and the extra dressing spooned over the meat was a real treat!
Time to order your cookbooks. I have time to try out LOTS of recipes, and hope to give copies to several friends next Christmas if all goes as I expect it will. Thank you so much for such tasty, healthy, and simple to prepare recipes so carefully presented.
Sooooooooo Good!!! I could not find edamame at my local grocery store, but I did find a bag of frozen mukimame (precooked and shelled edamame) so I decided to give it a try. I was doubtful using defrosted, previously frozen beans would taste alright in this salad, but I was pleasantly surprised. Plus all the work of cooking and shelling the beans, was already done for me – bonus!! I added chicken to make this a delicious lunch (or dinner). Definitely a keeper – thanks for sharing!!
We LOVE this recipe. We leave out the cucumber and sprinkle roasted peanuts on the top at the end as a garnish. We also add rotisserie chicken if we have it to make a hearty meal.
Also, we often use bagged coleslaw mix to make super quick prep.
Another winner! The dressing is the bomb and came together very quickly. I used my food processor. For the salad, I used a bag of shredded cabbage, then added the green onions, chopped up mini cucumbers, edamame, and chopped red peppers. I added some grilled chicken breast and it was out of this world! Love the blend of flavors.
This salad is so delicious. I’ve made it four times lately for company and it’s been enjoyed by all. I would cut down on the sugar next time. I add chopped snap peas instead of the edamame beans. So good and crisp.
Thanks Jenn for this great idea for a refreshing healthy salad.
delicious!
added a dash of fish sauce to the dressing… it’s just not thai without a little bit o that wonderful funk!