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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We loved the salad but couldn’t taste the peanut flavour – or any other flavour- in the dressing as they were overpowered by the ginger. I used fresh ginger root, 1″ square, but manoman, the dressing just tasted like ginger! Will try again but with just a tiny bit of ginger. Also added a bag of broccoli slaw available in our grocery store- super crunchy and great taste.
This salad was soooo yummy! I put in snap peas from the garden in place of edamame. The dressing, too, was fantastic; my boyfriend and I used the leftover for dipping veggies. 🙂
This is incredible! I made a few changes, namely using all red cabbage and substituted papaya for the edamame.It was like eating a rainbow. So colorful and delicious!
I made this for dinner tonight. I added grilled chicken to the salad and it was a huge hit. Even my picky, picky little girls loved it. Thanks for sharing it!
I also thought adding chicken would be a great way to make this a complete meal!!
My family LOVED this salad. It will be a regular around here!
Thanks for the great site and recipes!
Sharon
I made the Thai salad last evening and it exceeded my expectations. Love the dressing! So much so, I am going to make another batch of the dressing tonight.
Yesterday morning-My mom discovers your site.
Yesterday lunch- We make delicious Black Bean and Corn Salad.
Yesterday dinner- I make amazing Baja Fish Tacos.
Today’s Lunch- continues the trend and we make this wonderful Thai salad.
Can’t wait to try more of your recipes!
I can totally relate – we’ve tried three recipes in three days and are hooked! Lol
We loved this. I only added a tiny bit of red pepper flakes because some of us don’t like much spice and there was a kick from the ginger already, We all had a very generous fist serving and a more modest second serving. We also had some leftover cold steak from the night before.
Wonderful dinner!
I have made the Thai Crunch salad many times for parties and it is always the first dish to empty. I always make a large salad, using a full napa cabbage and adjust the other ingredients for the larger salad. The dressing is phenomenal, such wonderful flavors.
I did not have Edamane this last time so I replaced them with some blanced snow peas, cut them into 1″ pieces (cut at an angle) and it was still wonderful. This recipe will stay in my permanant recipe file.
Thanks for all the great recipes! My partner and I really enjoyed your French lentil soup tonight.
I am keen to make this salad but have a serious allergy for peanuts (and all nuts in fact).
Can you recommend an alternative dressing that would suit the salad?
Thanks 🙂
Emma from Melbourne, Australia
Hi Emma, So glad you guys are enjoying the recipes! Unfortunately, there’s really no good substitute for the peanut dressing, but what about the classic Japanese carrot ginger dressing instead? Here’s a link to a recipe (omit the sesame oil if necessary): http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Ginger-Dressing-233572
Hope that helps!
Sunflower butter!