This crunchy Thai salad is loaded with fresh fruit and vegetables, shredded chicken and tossed in a luscious peanut dressing. Its packs in beautiful flavors and vibrant colors, so it is the perfect salad to welcome summer. Enjoy this Thai peanut salad has as a main course for dinner, as a side salad or meal prep for lunches!

This crunchy Thai salad with peanut dressing has everything you need and love in a salad!

Before I continue, there is something you should know about me. I hate boring salads. It is probably because I grew up eating them a lot and disdained the idea of ‘healthy eating’ because I thought it just meant eating boring and bland salads.

I have since learned that that is not the case when it comes to eating healthy. I have also learned that salads do not have to be boring. Now I am on a mission to find and share as many delicious and exciting salads as I can. Team #noboringsalads!

And this salad is far from boring! It is jammed pack with crunchy veggies, fresh mango, plenty of cilantro and toasty peanuts. I personally love cilantro, so I pack a ton of that in as well. However, if you have an aversion to cilantro, you can simply omit it!

This recipe also calls for chicken for some added protein, but you could easily substitute it for shrimp, tofu or simply omit it for a delicious vegetarian salad.

Peanut Dressing

Now let me tell you about the star of the show. That’s right, the creamy peanut dressing!

I am not exaggerating when I say I could eat this dressing by the spoonful! It is the right balance of salty and sweet and compliments and coats the vegetables perfectly.

I’ve made this dressing a bunch to toss with noodles, to create both warm and cold Thai peanut noodles. I was so excited to incorporate it into a salad. If you are someone that loves to drench their salad in dressing (guilty), then feel free to double the dressing recipe.

Thai peanut dressing ingredients — Ingredients for the peanut dressing

Instructions

The first step to this recipe is to make the dressing. Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, honey, sambal, rice wine, sesame oil, lime juice and water.

Next, assemble the salad. In a large bowl, toss together the cruciferous crunch (or cabbage blend) with the bok choy, carrots, cilantro and scallions.

Top tossed greens with bell pepper, carrots, mango, cucumber, edamame and chicken, if using. Garnish with extra cilantro and toasted peanuts.

When you are ready to serve, toss everything with the peanut dressing.

Storage

Because the greens used in this salad are very hearty, this Thai peanut salad is great for meal prep! This salad can be stored in the fridge, with or without dressing, for up to 3 days.

Substitutions

Protein: Sub chicken with shrimp, steak or tofu
Vegetarian: Sub chicken with grilled tofu or tempe, or omit
Vegan: Sub chicken with tofu or omit and sub honey in the dressing with maple syrup or agave
Gluten free: Sub soy sauce with coconut aminos
Sambal: Sambal is a chili paste that can be found in the Asian section of the grocery store. If you do not have sambal, you can use sriracha, or omit it for no heat.

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If you make this Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad, be sure to tag me on Instagram and leave me a comment below. I love seeing your creations!

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