Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s recipe, this Thai crunch salad with peanut dressing always satisfies.
Photo by Alexandra Grablewski (Chronicle Books, 2018)
This recipe was inspired by 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’s excellent with my 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!”
What You’ll Need To Make Thai Crunch Salad With Peanut Dressing
What You’ll Need To Make The Peanut Dressing
- Creamy Peanut Butter: Provides the rich, nutty base essential for the dressing’s flavor and texture.
- Unseasoned Rice Vinegar: Adds tanginess and helps balance the richness of the peanut butter.
- Fresh Lime Juice: Introduces a zesty citrus note and a bit of tang, enhancing the overall freshness of the dressing.
- Vegetable Oil: Helps emulsify the ingredients and provides a smooth consistency.
- Soy Sauce: Contributes savory depth and a touch of umami flavor.
- Honey and Sugar: Sweeten the dressing, balancing out the acidity and saltiness.
- Garlic Cloves and Fresh Ginger: Infuse aromatic and pungent notes, adding complexity to the flavor profile.
- Salt: Enhances other flavors and helps balance the sweetness.
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: Provide a subtle heat and depth of flavor.
- Fresh Cilantro: Adds a bright, herbaceous flavor and a pop of color to the dressing.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
What You’ll Need To Make The Salad
- Chopped Napa Cabbage or Shredded Coleslaw Mix: Forms the base of the salad, providing crunch and freshness. (I like to toss in a little shredded red cabbage for color.)
- Shredded Carrots: Add sweetness and color, enhancing the visual appeal of the salad. Buying the bagged shredded carrots at the supermarket saves time!
- Red Bell Pepper: Contributes vibrant color and a crisp texture.
- English Cucumber: Also known as hothouse cucumbers, offer a refreshing and crunchy element to the salad.
- Cooked and Shelled Edamame: Provides plant-based protein, a subtle nutty flavor, and adds substance to the salad.
- Scallions: Impart a mild onion flavor and a pop of green color, enhancing the overall freshness.
- Fresh Cilantro: Adds a fragrant and herbaceous note, elevating the flavor profile of the salad.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by making the dressing. Simply combine all of the ingredients except for the cilantro in a blender and process until completely smooth. It’s best to roughly chop the garlic and ginger beforehand, as most blenders aren’t able to process large pieces.
Add the cilantro and process for a few seconds until the cilantro is finely chopped. (If you add it in the beginning, it will completely blend into the dressing and give it a greenish hue.)
It will look like this.
Next, make the salad. I typically use a blend of Napa cabbage, cucumbers, red bell peppers, shredded carrots, shredded purple cabbage and edamame, but you can use any crunchy vegetables that you like.
If you use cucumbers, be sure to remove the seeds, as they can make the salad watery.
Combine all of the vegetables in a bowl along with the chopped spring onions and cilantro, and toss to combine.
If you’re serving the salad right away, drizzle the peanut dressing overtop and toss; otherwise serve the dressing on the side so the salad doesn’t get soggy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Definitely! The dressing keeps nicely refrigerated in an airtight container for up to a week.
While you can make the dressing and prepare the veggies ahead (the veggies can be prepped up to 2 days in advance), wait until you’re ready to serve the salad to toss everything together.
Sure, you can use almond butter in place of peanut butter.
You can replace the cilantro with flat-leaf parsley. The salad and dressing will still be delicious!
You May Also Like
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
Inspired by California Pizza Kitchen’s recipe, this Thai crunch salad with peanut dressing always satisfies.
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.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I have made this recipe from vegetables out of my garden three times in the last month. Talk about delicious! I could eat the dressing with a spoon and my 22 month old daughter loves it too. I have served this for lunch to friends and several people have asked me for the recipe.
A couple of years ago when we had our youngest daughter my husband and I agreed it would be best for me to stay at home and raise our daughter. So I resigned from my nurse manager position and focused on being a mother and wife. I must say that although rewarding my new job was not as easy as I expected it to be. My idea of being a good wife included making wonderful…amazing meals. I sadly admit that I have fallen short in this area until I found your site. I don’t have the pallet (yet) to be able to alter recipes based on the taste. And while I have tried many recipes for many sites I’ve never had so many recipes that were so consistently delicious. In the past two weeks I have primarily made only recipes from your site. A couple of nights ago after making your grilled flank steak recipe, my husband asked, “Where did you get this recipe”? I replied, “From my girl Jen. The same site that I’ve been getting the recipes to cook dinner for the past two weeks”. He then said, “We should send her a thank you note”!
This has to be one of my all time favorite recipe reviews. Thank you! I love sharing my recipes and am so happy your family is enjoying them.
This was delicious! I did make a couple substitutions (such as bottled minced garlic, bottled minced ginger) to save time. I think it would have been better with fresh ginger and garlic, as in the recipe. I love peanuts and I love crunch, so I also garnished with chopped peanuts and with crunchy chow mein noodles. I made it with Romaine lettuce, because my family doesn’t like cabbage, but I would have preferred the cabbage as stated in the recipe. All in all, a wonderful salad experience!
I loved the crunch and dressing during the summer. It was so refreshing and our whole family asked for it again.
Very good salad, made this for lunch yesterday. The peanut sauce was right on, not too rich and the right amount of spice and sweetness. Would also enjoy it over chicken or pork. Used coleslaw instead of napa cabbage and did not have edamme beans on hand, that also worked. Very happy to finally have such a good peanut sauce recipe on hand have been looking for one for a while. I like the possibilities for using with salad or a meat, definitely one I would be making again.
MY FAMILY LOVES THIS SALAD! I MADE IT SEVERAL TIMES THIS SUMMER! WE ENJOYED IT WITH THE CHICKEN KABOBS ON THIS SITE AS WELL AS WITH OTHER GRILLED MEATS. THANKS, JENN! ANOTHER WINNER!!
I made this salad and both my husband and daughter loved it. The dressing is very flavorful.
Made this salad for dinner the other night. She wasn’t kidding when she said you would want to put the sauce on everything. Excellent dinner or side dish and wonderful, tasty peanut sauce.
We’ve enjoyed this salad so many times this summer. I love that all the ingredients are sturdy enough to stand being prepped ahead, and then combined just before serving. I’ve served it many times with Jenn’s “Tequila Lime Chicken Breasts” and the fresh flavours of both dishes are amazing!
Excellent taste. I used regular cucumbers and cashew butter, and the recipe was still excellent.
Right on the money! Tasted just like the CPK version. I added peanuts and chicken and the whole family was very satisfied. The recipe was easy to pull together too!