Fresh and crunchy with a dangerously addicting dressing, thisThai chopped salad with the best peanut dressingis 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!

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

What kind of cabbage do you use in Thai chopped salad?

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!

What if you have a peanut allergy?

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.

Can you make Thai chopped salad into a meal?

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 canboost the amount of veggiesin 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 wellso you can make it once and have lunch ready all week!