This Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad is made with a cabbage and quinoa base, packed with nutritious veggies and plenty of crunch, and tossed in a creamy peanut dressing. It's fresh, bright, and vibrant, making it a perfect colorful side or light lunch. This is the kind of salad you’ll find yourself craving on repeat.
The three things that were most important to me when creating this recipe were: 1) to pick a base that was SUPER crunchy, 2) to use enough veggies that the salad itself would be beautifully colorful, and 3) to make my own oil-free dressing from scratch. All of these things were accomplished, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- A sweet & savory peanut dressing that gives this crunchy salad a bold peanut flavor.
- Great for easy meal prep and packed lunches.
- Light but satisfying enough to be a full meal!
- Naturally vegan and made with wholesome ingredients.
Ingredients
This easy recipe is essentially a crunchy quinoa and cabbage slaw salad tossed in a creamy peanut dressing. Let's go over the ingredients that are going to create this!
- Quinoa: I wanted to include some sort of grain, and after a few tests I decided that quinoa was the way to go! It soaks up the flavor of our peanut dressing and adds a fun texture to our salad.
- Red cabbage: this is one of the main components of our salad, and it provides SO. MUCH. CRUNCH. I tried a couple different options here, but red cabbage was by far the superior choice.
- Carrot, cilantro, green onion, and edamame: these are adding more nutrients, more textures, more flavors, and more colors! I especially love the addition of the cilantro, it really brings all the flavors together for me.
- Peanuts: we are topping our salad with roasted peanuts for even more crunch, and even more peanut flavor! We already get some peanut flavor from our dressing, but the roasted peanuts add an even deeper flavor that is absolutely scrumptious.
- Thai Peanut Dressing: peanut butter, tamari, maple syrup, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and lime juice all come together to create a sweet but savory peanut sauce.
How to Make Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad
Full recipe down below, but here are the basics. The steps for this one are pretty simple, so I know you're going to love it!
- Roast your peanuts in the oven & thaw your edamame.
- Blend your peanut dressing and thin with lime juice or water if needed.
- Toss all other salad ingredients together.
- Toss your salad with the peanut dressing.
- Sprinkle your roasted peanuts on top.
- Enjoy!
Tips for the best Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad
- Want to make this recipe a bit quicker? I provide instructions on how to roast your own peanuts in step one of the recipe, but if you'd like to speed things along you can buy roasted peanuts so that you don't have to do this yourself!
- If you aren't serving the salad right away, store the dressing and salad separately in the fridge. Combine just before serving. This keeps your thai salad crunchy!
- Looking for more peanut-forward recipes? Check out my Vegetable Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce or my Hit the Trail Mix next!
Variations & Substitutions
- Toss in some greens if desired. Stick to mild flavored greens such as spinach so that the peanut flavor can really shine. I would also suggest chopping up any greens you add so that they mix nicely into the salad and don't take away from the crunch of the cabbage!
- Napa cabbage makes a great sub for red cabbage.
- For even more crunch, toss in some cucumber, bell pepper, or snap peas!
Serving Suggestions
- This salad can be enjoyed as a light lunch on its own for a fresh and crunchy meal.
- Top this salad with Crispy Baked Tofu for extra protein.
- Pair this with Vegetable Summer Rolls for a fresh, no-cook meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep Thai peanut salad from getting soggy, store the dressing separately until just before serving. This keeps the vegetables crisp and the salad crunchy.
Yes, you can make this Thai peanut salad and its dressing ahead of time. For best texture, store the vegetables and peanut dressing separately, and combine just before eating. The dressing may thicken a bit in the fridge, just add a bit of water or lime juice to thin it out.
This Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad is stuffed with protein-packed quinoa and edamame, fresh veggies such as carrots and cabbage, and a wholesome peanut dressing. It's also naturally vegan!
Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad
Ingredients
Crunchy Thai Peanut Salad:
- ½ cup raw, unsalted peanuts
- ½ cup shelled edamame beans (NOT in a pod, fresh or frozen will work)
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa - cooled to room temp (or refrigerated)
- ¼ head red cabbage - grated or thinly sliced (thinly sliced gives more of a crunch)
- 1 medium carrot - grated
- ⅓ cup cilantro - finely chopped
- 1 green onion - thinly sliced
Peanut Dressing
- 2 tablespoon natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoon tamari
- ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Roast your peanuts: Preheat the oven to 350F. Prepare a baking tray by lining it with aluminum foil. Spread the raw peanuts on the baking tray and bake for 6 minutes. Remove from oven, give them a stir, and return to oven for another 4-8 minutes (or until they have darkened a bit and are fragrant). Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes, then roughly chop the peanuts. While your peanuts cook and cool, you can move on to steps 2-4 of the recipe.
- Prepare your edamame: if you are using frozen edamame, follow the package directions to thaw.
- Make your Peanut Dressing: Add all ingredient for the Peanut Dressing into a high powered blender. Blend until very smooth.
- Prepare your salad: Toss together the thawed shelled edamame, cooled quinoa, red cabbage, carrot, cilantro, and green onion.
- Finishing touches: pour your dressing onto your salad and toss to coat everything evenly. Serve and sprinkle with the chopped roasted peanuts. Enjoy!
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your salad-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
Anonymous says
I made this and it tasted great! Thanks for the recipe 😀
Delaney Marie says
So glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Zarina says
My whole family loves this salad
Delaney Marie says
Love hearing this! Thank you for sharing!
Anne says
This salad is absolutely delicious. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you so much for posting this recipe, Delaney.
Delaney Marie says
I'm so glad you loved it! This comment made my day 🙂