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Fresh and crunchy with a dangerously addicting dressing, this Thai chopped salad with the best peanut dressing is everything you could want and beyond in a salad.
I think we need a salad revolution. Enough with that boring spring mix with cherry tomato and red onion. That’s great for a side salad and has its time and place, sure. But there are so many opportunities for incredible, rich, and flavorful salads (like this one, tortellini salad, beet salad, antipasto salad…) that we all should be trying! They get a bad reputation for not being filling enough or interesting enough, but all you need is this Thai chopped salad with the best peanut dressing in your life to change your mind. I promise.
It’s truly everything you could want in a salad (or just a meal). Not only is it just pretty to look at, but it’s also fresh, crunchy, salty (thanks to a handful of peanuts or cashews), and has the most crave-able peanut dressing that’s equally nutty and tart and just so, so good!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Long Lasting: If you store the veggies separate from the nuts and dressing, it lasts for, like, EVER. Seriously. I’ve gotten a good 7 to 10 days out of this salad! If that’s not a win, I don’t know what is!
- Delicious Texture: The combination of cabbage, peanuts, carrots, and peppers with the creamy dressing is dreamy.
- The Peanut Dressing: This stuff is the star of the show. You’ll probably find yourself making excuses to make a batch so you can eat it on everything.
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- Angel Hair Chopped Cabbage: If you don’t want to buy the package, you can always slice your own with a knife, food processor, or mandolin.
- Green Onions
- Large Red Bell Pepper
- Large Yellow Bell Pepper
- Carrots: You’ll want to use the big guys for this, not baby carrots. (Or in a pinch, buy a package of the pre-shredded carrots.)
- Dry Roasted Salted Peanuts or Cashews
- Chopped Cilantro or Cucumber, optional: Use one, both, or none – your choice.
For the Dressing:
- Creamy Peanut Butter
- Unseasoned Rice Vinegar
- Fresh Lime Juice: fresh is definitely the way to go. Bottled just isn’t the same.
- Vegetable Oil: or use any other mild tasting oil like canola oil that you have on hand.
- Soy Sauce: for those with allergies, feel free to use a soy free option or something like coconut aminos
- Honey: Use sugar if you don’t like the flavor of honey, but you probably won’t notice it here with all the other strong flavors
- Garlic
- Fresh Ginger
- Salt
- Crushed Red Pepper Flakes: optional but delicious if you like a little heat
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Thai Chopped Salad with Peanut Dressing
Step #1. Toss all the vegetables together in a large bowl.
Step #3. Serve the salad mixture with the dressing on the side. For a completely meal, add cooked shrimp, chicken, or tufu.
Step #2. Put all the dressing ingredients into a blender and blend til smooth. Add a little water if it is too thick.
Step #4. Store the vegetable mixture separately from the dressing in airtight containers in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
I use green cabbage that’s already been cut into angel hair pieces (it comes in a bag in the produce section at the store). You could also use a head of green cabbage or use Napa cabbage and finely chop it yourself!
For the salad itself, you can use roasted, salted cashews (or even sliced almonds) instead of peanuts. And for the dressing, I’d just recommend using another type of nut butter that’s mild but nutty, like cashew or almond butter.
You can! It’s fairly filling on its own, and the peanut butter and peanuts do add a bit of protein, but to get a more solid serving of protein, simply add some chicken, shrimp, tofu, or even a hard boiled egg.
Expert Tips
- You can boost the amount of veggies in the salad by adding things like edamame, bean sprouts, snap peas, or even shredded kale that go well with the other ingredients.
- You can really bulk up the salad into a whole meal by adding some cooked and cooled noodles. Soba noodles, brown rice noodles, pad Thai noodles, or even linguine would work well. (And it would be a great way to use up leftovers!)
- Toast the nuts to bring out the flavor and make them extra crunchy – heat a dry skillet over medium heat, add the peanuts or cashews, and toast them for a few minutes until fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning. (Allow them to cool before adding them to the salad.)
- This recipe doubles really well so you can make it once and have lunch ready all week!
More Salad Recipes to Consider
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Thai Chopped Salad with the best Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 1 package angel hair chopped cabbage, about 4 cups
- 5 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 large yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2-3 carrots, peeled and grated
- 1 cup dry roasted salted peanuts or cashews
- Chopped cilantro or cucumber, optional
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from one lime
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce, use gluten-free if needed
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1- inch square piece fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional if you like a little heat
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients for the salad to a bowl, and toss to combine.
- To make the dressing, toss everything in the blender (peanut butter through crushed red pepper), and blend until smooth. If it is really thick, you can add a little water to get the consistency that you like. This recipe also doubles well.
- Serve the salad with the dressing on the side so that you can add as much or as little as you like.
- To make this a meal, you can add something like grilled chicken, shrimp, or tofu.
- Store dressing and mixed salad separately in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
- I loved the super finely chopped cabbage in a bag. I don’t get the one with added things like carrots or red cabbage, just the “angel hair” that’s super chopped. You can also buy cabbage or Napa cabbage and finely chop it yourself.
- I LOVE to make this salad with everything BUT the nuts and keep it in the fridge (and keep the dressing separate). It lasts for SO long in the fridge, like 7 to 10 days. It’s a great thing to have on hand and fill in meals or make a lunch out of.
- The dressing is fabulous. It’s even great to dip veggies in.
- To make this into a meal, add some cooked shrimp, chicken, or tofu OR some cooked noodles. OR BOTH. Yum!
I just made this salad and dressing as a fish taco filling. So good!!!
I just made this and oh my, it is so delicious! My whole family loves it, which is rare. I will make this again and again!