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.
This is so delicious. I have made this salad dressing twice already. I added a little bit of water and more lime juice to reduce the thickness. I didn’t add the cilantro and reduced the sugar. I wanted something a bit hot so increased the pepper flakes. I ate it with everything; rice, sandwich, salads, grilled chicken etc. Thanks for sharing your recipes with us. Bless you.
This is so delicious. I added a little bit of water and more lime juice to make it a bit lighter. I also reduced the sugar and added more pepper flakes. I ate it with every food during the week; rice, chicken, bread, pasta etc. So yummy, thank you for the simple but delicious recipes.
Believe it or not, your recipe is on epicurious and attributed to Once Upon A Chef…I made it last night and LOVED it! Threw in shredded rotisserie chicken and garnished with cashews…terrific. We sat out on the balcony with good white wine and bread sticks…life doesn’t get any better than that. Questions: my dressing was thick, maybe I used too much peanut butter, and I wasn’t certain what to thin it out with as I did not want to dilute the flavor. Wound up using all the dressing for about three quarters of the salad. Also, would a stick blender work instead of my big one. Am busy telling everyone to try this fabulous salad.
Carol
I made this today…pretty much according to recipe except that I skipped the edamame. I made the dressing last night. Since I was taking this to a friends for lunch today I made dressing for them as is and I made a Keto friendly version for me.
I subbed out the rice vinegar for apple cider vinegar in mine, I did a bit more of the lime juice and more of the hot pepper flakes and I used a Keto approved sweetener called Pyure.
Insanely good. Literally I was so excited I was laying in bed thinking maybe I would have to have a salad for breakfast so I could have some of that dressing.
I just finished the last of it with some assorted kale, chard, spinach and some Romaine lettuce and that dressing is just soooo good. I even put some on my beef patty that I had at lunch. My friend loved the original version as well and asked me for the recipe so I shared the link.
Thank you…just outstanding and it’s great on any greens.
I’ve been making this salad for about a year now, and it WOWS everyone. The last 2 times I added some coconut milk (I found it a bit thick), and it’s even better. This salad is incredible (and I made it for dinner tonight!)
I too found it a bit thick…will get some coconut milk for next time. Carol
This is absolutely yummy. Have made it several times, so easy. Even my picky husband likes it (and he isn’t fond of oriental/Asian cuisine).
Thanks, Jen, you are awesome.
Seriously, amazingly good salad. It was a hit! Are you on Instagram, I’d like to tag you in a post.
Absolutely fabulous. I halved the sugar, as we don’t go for sweet stuff that much. It was great poured over stir-fried veggies and pork with rice. Will be making it often. Thank you!
Yummy! I had my doubts mixing up the salad part but once the dressing was on- it was delish!! We ate it with chicken. My husband loved it too and asked if the salad dressing was store bought. When I told him it had pb in it he was amazed. Thanks for all of the great recipes!
Jenn, I have to say,
absolutely every recipe of yours that I have tried was a huge success. Whenever I am looking for a new recipe your site is the first one I look at.
I did read you were recently in Israel. We will be in Jerusalem & Haifia (Acre) in early October. I am hoping you might be able to recommend a good restaurant(s) in both cities.
Many thanks and a big thank you for all the fabulous recipes.
Chris
Hi Chris, So glad you’re enjoying the recipes! We had dinner at some wonderful restaurants in Jerusalem (unfortunately, we didn’t make it to Haifa). Here are my faves:
Mamilla Rooftop Café – amazing view of the city, great atmosphere, food good (not great) but it’s really all about the view
Hasadna Culinary Institute (not a real culinary school) – hip and trendy, off the beaten path, great food
Satya – quaint spot with delicious food near King David Hotel
Chakra – great food, fun atmosphere