Thai Crunch Salad loaded up with shredded summer veggies, fresh mint, basil and scallions and tossed in a light Peanut Dressing- vegan and gluten-free!
This Thai Crunch Salad ( or slaw) is made with fresh summer vegetables- cabbage, bell pepper, carrots, radishes, cucumbers- with fresh mint, Thai basil and scallions, and tossed in a very light citrus-infused Peanut Dressing –simple healthy ingredients and full of flavor.
What I love about this Thai Crunch Salad, is its versatility. It’s a great way to use up all the stray farmers’ market veggies we have in our refrigerator drawers. I make this solely with vegetables, using shredded cabbage as the base, but it could easily be made with rice or soba noodles if you wanted to bulk it up.
The peanut dressing is not overly thick, sitting very lightly on the vegetables. It’s a salad that keeps well and tastes great for several days
Ingredients in Thai Crunch Salad
- Shredded Cabbage ( green, purple or napa)
- Shredded Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Yellow bell pepper
- Addional veggies: your choice of cucumber, radish, matchstick kohlrabi, matchstick jicama, snap peas, grated turnips, or shredded green papaya, or sliced mango.
- Chopped fresh herbs- mint, basil, or cilantro (a combo is nice)
- Scallions
- Crushed roasted peanuts (or cashews)
Peanut Dressing
- an orange
- a lime
- honey, maple, agave or brown sugar
- garlic cloves
- fresh ginger
- olive oil
- sesame oil
- soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (GF)
- rice vinegar
- sambal (red chile paste) or sriracha sauce
- peanut butter (or roasted peanuts)
- salt and pepper
Depending on how many veggies you add to the bowl, you may not need all the dressing. So add gradually, then toss.
What to serve with Thai Crunch Salad
- Indonesian Grilled Sambal Chicken
- Asian-Style Baked Tofu
- Thai Chicken ( or Tofu) Satay (Vegan-adaptable!)
- Instant Pot Thai Curry Chicken
- Thai Basil Chicken
- Thai Turkey Burger Recipe w/ Asian Slaw
- Thai Turkey Meatballs
Platter the salad and scatter fresh herbs, scallions, chives and crushed roasted peanuts over top.
Crunchy, flavorful, healthy and delicious!
TIPS
- If meal-prepping, keep the dressing separate and add it as needed. Salad will keep 4 days in the fridge.
- You can also use the veggie-base as a stir-fry – as a very helpful reader shared with me in the comments below! Love this idea!!!
Other Slaws you may enjoy:
- Thai Noodle Salad with the BEST EVER Peanut Sauce
- Easy Crunchy Asian Slaw
- Lebanese Slaw (Salatet Malfouf)
- Mexican Slaw with Cilantro and Lime
- Everyday Kale Slaw (Vegan)
- Sesame Cabbage Noodle Salad
- Asian Cucumber Salad
Hope you enjoy this salad- tell us what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
Print
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing (Vegan!)
- Prep Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Salad, vegan, gluten-free
- Method: Tossed
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
Thai Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing is loaded up with healthy veggies, herbs and scallions. EASY, Vegan and gluten free!
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded Cabbage ( green, purple or napa)
- 1 cup shredded (or matchstick) Carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1–2 cups veggies of your choice- sliced cucumber, radish, matchstick kohlrabi, matchstick jicama, snap peas, grated turnips, or shredded green papaya, or sliced mango.
- 1 cup chopped fresh herbs- mint, basil, or cilantro ( a combo is nice)
- 1/2 cup-3/4 cup sliced scallions ( or chives) sliced on the diagonal ( or sub thinly sliced red onion)
- 1/2 cup crushed roasted peanuts (or cashews)
- 1 orange, both zest and juice (1 tablespoon zest, 1/3 cup-1/2 cup juice)
- 1 lime, juice (1/4 cup)
- 3 tablespoons honey, maple, agave or brown sugar
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 thin sliced disks of ginger (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Amino Acids (GF)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1/2– 1 teaspoon sambal (red chile paste) or sriracha sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste.
- 1/4 cup peanut butter (or roasted peanuts)
Instructions
- Place cabbage, veggies, scallions and herbs ( save a tablespoon for garnish) in a large bowl. Add peanuts, saving some for the top (or add right before serving).
- Make dressing: Zest the orange and place in a blender, then squeeze the orange juice into the blender. Add the lime juice, honey, garlic, sliced ginger, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sambal, and salt and all the rest of the ingredients except the peanuts (or peanut butter) into a blender. Blend until smooth. Finally add peanut butter (or peanuts) blend again, adding more to desired thickness. Taste, adjust salt, adding more if you like.
- Dress the salad with some or half of the dressing- you may not need all – tossing as you go, adding more if necessary.
- Refrigerate the salad –it likes to be nice and cold.
- Garnish with remaining herbs and peanuts. Serve with the optional Sambal Chicken or Baked Ginger Sesame Tofu
Notes
Click on the Peanut Dressing link in the recipe for the nutritional info the dressing only.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 181
- Sugar: 9.2 g
- Sodium: 96.1 mg
- Fat: 11.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.8 g
- Fiber: 3.7 g
- Protein: 4.8 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This is special becase of the multiple layers of flavor;
tart lime, sweet honey, bright orange zest, spicy sambal. what a way to go!
THANKYOU Sylvia!
thanks Megan!
I have made this recipe several times for vegan and non-vegan guests, and everyone loves it! The flavors are delicious, everyone loves the crunch from the peanuts, and the vegetables that you include are flexible. A perfect summer recipe!
Thanks so much Rebecca!
Once again thank you for the great recipe. I made this salad
For potluck everyone loved it. Just yummy 🤤.
Great to hear!
This Thai Crunch Salad was delicious! Thank you so much for these great recipes.
Thanks, Elizabeth! Glad you enjoyed this!
Delicious salad, very flexible, and makes enough dressing for several salads for 6, in my opinion. Very colorful! It did take quite a while to chop up all the veggies and fruit, even using a food processor for some, so allow ample time. All the tips and suggested alternatives were very helpful. The perfect summer salad!
Great to hear Karen!
OMG, I made the peanut dressing tonight, just a trial, thought I’d make the salad and chicken for lunch on Sunday, but I’d better give the dressing a run in case it’s not what I was expecting. Honestly I could have sat down with a spoon and eaten the lot with no salad. It’s spectacular. Thanks so much. Really looking forward to the meal on Sunday now. Marie, Melbourne, Australia
Thanks Marie! Glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve made a similar salad with napa cabbage. Does it matter what kind of cabbage used in this recipe?
Plan on trying this tonight.
Thanks, Karen
Hi Karen, Any cabbage will work here!
Very tasty, and absolutely gorgeous! Eat the rainbow!!
This salad is EPIC ! I am trying a lot of raw vegan recipes and this salad has been a staple, I’ve made it for lunch with friends and for myself over and over. The flavor of the sauce is unbeatable !
This is delicious! Quick question – how long do you think the dressing lasts in the fridge?
4-5 days.
Thank you!
Thank you for including the nutritional facts for this recipe. I was wondering how much dressing is included in these calculations or if any?
I included all the dressing.
Super flavorful and yummy. Loved the combination of the chicken and salad.
I made this today and it was delicious! I have never commented on any other food blog prior to finding this one, and this is my second comment. I love your recipes! For this recipe I used soba noodles as a base, but I think cabbage would have been fine. I left out the mango, but decided the salad was asking for it, so bought one on my way home. I used dried mint from my summer garden, and it was fine, along with cilantro. The dressing is so good. I’ll make this again.
I’m so happy you are enjoying the Blog!
This salad is an absolute winner!
I love this salad, and I love that it keeps well. I like to make a big batch and then use it for lunches for a couple of days. I do like to add just a splash of rice vinegar to the peanut dressing for extra tang.
Thanks so much for the rating and comment Katy!
I am a great fan of your recipes and this is one of my favourites!. I prepare the vegetables and store in the frig and eat from it all week. One day it is a salad with baked tofu and peanut sauce, the next a stir fry with chicken, and the next another salad with a different one of your dressings!
Versatile, tasty, and stays fresh for a few days. Quite a winner. I have made it with and without the mango, have added avocado, apple, broccoli,or grapes …what a wonderful base! Thanks so much for your great recipes.
Thanks so much Bonnie! Love how you are using it and adapting it to your needs. Thanks so much for sharing and showing others how they can use it too!!! Love it!
i made this the other night. Guilt free dressing:)
This Is an excellent recipe. Grilled a chicken breast basting while on the grill with the dressing. Everyone loved it!
Thanks Teri, that’s a great idea…I’ll have to try it!
Love it! Thanks for recipe! These look incredible…
Yum!! This looks so fresh and flavorful! I’m a big fan of anything with peanut sauce.
Thanks..it’s a good one for summer!
yumm looks amazing!! I love to eat food with so much color 🙂
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