We have this salad several times a week during summer, it's one of my favorite recipes to prepare when it's too hot to turn on the oven!
You can enjoy it as a light lunch, fresh side dish, or make it a main meal by adding rice noodles or vegan protein like tofu, tempeh, or edamame beans.
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this crunchy Thai salad. Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredient Notes
- Natural Peanut Butter: Either crunchy or creamy peanut butter work, make sure you use one without added sugar or oils for the best flavor.
- Sriracha Sauce: Adds heat and depth to the dressing. The amount in the recipe creates a fairly spicy kick, so feel free to cut it in half if you're sensitive to spice, or swap it with sweet chilli sauce for a milder, slightly sweeter version (you can skip the added sweetener in this case).
- Maple Syrup: Homemade vegan honey or agave syrup also works beautifully!
- Fresh Ginger: This adds a nice kick to salad dressings. You can also add a clove of minced fresh garlic if you enjoy the flavor.
- Fresh Lime Juice: You can use rice vinegar as an alternative if you don't have fresh limes handy.
- Roasted Unsalted Peanuts: Make sure you use unsalted if possible, we're using soy sauce which adds plenty of salt to the dressing.
- Fresh Herbs: I totally get that cilantro (coriander) is not for everyone, so feel free to use fresh mint or parsley instead.
- Fresh Vegetables: Crunchy vegetables like carrots, red cabbage, and cucumbers work really well in this salad. That said, feel free to experiment with any seasonal produce you have available. I sometimes add zucchini ribbons, green cabbage, yellow bell peppers, sugar snap peas, or edamame beans, depending on what's in the fridge.
🔪 Instructions
Here's a visual overview showing how to make this easy crunch salad with delicious peanut dressing. Please refer to the detailed recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions. You can also hit the jump to recipe button at the very top of this page to skip to the printable recipe card.
The Thai peanut salad dressing is so easy to make and seriously drinkable! Just toss all the dressing ingredients into a large mixing bowl and whisk until smooth.
While I suggest waiting to dress the salad until just before serving since the high water content in the veggies can make them soggy, you can absolutely make a double or even quadruple batch of the sauce. Store it in an airtight container or sealed jar and refrigerate for up to a week, ready to drizzle over salads, grain bowls, roasted veggies, or stir-fries.
Add in the red onion, pepper, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, fresh herbs, and half of the peanuts. Use salad tongs or large spoons to toss everything together until the vegetables are well coated in the creamy peanut dressing.
Just before serving, sprinkle over the green onions and remaining peanuts. For extra flavor and texture, feel free to garnish with sliced fresh chili, red pepper flakes, crispy onions, lime wedges, or sesame seeds.
💬 FAQs
Yes, it does! Just be sure to keep the dressing separate until you're ready to serve. This helps prevent the salad from going soggy. You can prep the vegetables up to 2 days in advance and the Thai peanut dressing up to 5 days ahead. Store both in separate airtight containers in the fridge.
If you're planning a little meal prep, you can also make individual mason jar salads: layer the dressing at the bottom, followed by the veggies. When ready to eat, either shake the jar or pour everything out onto a plate.
🍎 More Summer Recipes
📖 Recipe
Thai-Inspired Crunchy Salad with Peanut Butter Ginger Sauce
Ingredients
Peanut Ginger Sauce
- 4 tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons sriracha (half the amount for less spice) *note 1
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari *note 2
- Juice of 1 fresh lime *note 3
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or vegan honey, or agave
- 1 inch fresh ginger minced
Salad
- ½ red onion finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 2 medium carrots peeled into ribbons
- 1 large cucumber peeled into ribbons
- ¼ of a red cabbage shredded
- 15 g (¼ cup) fresh cilantro and/or mint shredded
- 70 g (½ cup) roasted unsalted peanuts chopped
- 1 spring onion sliced
Instructions
- Prep sauce: To a large mixing bowl, add all the sauce ingredients and whisk until smooth.
- Add veg: Toss in the red onion, pepper, carrots, cucumber, red cabbage, fresh herbs, and half of the peanuts. Mix the ingredients well with a salad tongs or two large spoons until the vegetables are evenly coated in dressing. Top with the remaining peanuts and spring onion and serve immediately.
Notes
- Sriracha: The amount makes a spicy sauce, so if needed, reduce by half or swap for sweet chilli sauce for a mild version.
- Soy Sauce: Swap for tamari for a gluten-free option.
- Fresh Lime: Swap for rice vinegar if needed.
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Love all the ingredients. Raw and different salad, so good
Hi Ana,
So glad you enjoyed it!