Crunchy Thai Salad With Spicy Cashew Dressing

Crunchy Thai Salad with Spicy Cashew Dressing is one of the best, most simple, healthy, and easy-to-make salad recipes packed with flavor, crunch, and color that can be prepared in 15 minutes. 

While you are here, check out some of the easy summer dinner recipe ideas.

About Thai Salad Recipe

• This satisfying cold summer salad recipe includes crunchy carrots and cabbage, cool cucumber, green bell pepper (capsicum) with roasted cashews, and healthy and spicy Thai salad dressing with cashews.
• The chopped Thai salad recipe is a vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free salad.
• Thai-style Salad can be served as a light summer meal or as a side for your lunch or dinner with grilled chicken or any meat you choose. I had a Thai meal with Thai Fried Rice and this easy Thai Salad.
• Also one of the best recipes for the 4th of July party, summer potlucks, and picnics.

If you love Thai dishes, then check out the following recipes from our blog - Tofu Stir-Fry with Red Curry Paste,  restaurant-style Thai Fried Rice or Khao Phat, Simple Thai Fried Rice with Mango or Pineapple, delicious Thai Popcorn for your next movie night, popular Thai stir-fry called Pad Kra Pao,  and for dessert don't miss Thai Sticky Rice with Mangoes, etc.

I was amazed by the variety of salad recipes in the United States. I never knew you could even make fresh veggies taste fantastic and make any picky eater also love salads. Yes, salad can be delicious, a wholesome meal by itself.

Thanks to food chains like Subway, Panera, Chipotle, Taco Bell, etc., for introducing tasty salads all over the world 🙂 If you love to prepare your own salads at home, use the following recipes as inspiration and customize them to your liking.

• Easy & Delicious Chickpea and Potato Salad
• Refreshing and Creamy Cucumber and Dill Salad
• Delicious and Healthy Arugula Salad with White Beans and Lemon Dressing
• Refreshing and Cooling Greek Style Salad.

Ingredients

For the cashew salad dressing: You will need roasted cashews, freshly squeezed lemon juice, coconut oil, soy sauce, honey, garlic cloves, ginger, salt, and red pepper flakes.

For the Thai Salad: Use shredded or sliced summer vegetables that have a crunchy texture, like cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, and some cashews or peanuts, along with fresh herbs like cilantro or basil.

See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Step-by-step instructions

Make cashew dressing

• Add all the ingredients for the Cashew salad dressing (cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper flakes) and blend it to a fine smooth paste. Check for the taste and adjust accordingly.
• You can roughly chop garlic, and ginger, as some blenders cannot process whole pieces.
• You may add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water while blending.
• Refrigerate till you are ready to serve. 

Make Thai salad

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. If serving right away, drizzle the dressing as needed and toss. Otherwise, serve the dressing as a side so your salad remains crunchy and doesn't get soggy.

Tips to make the best crunchy salad

• Instead of cashews, you can even use cashew butter.
• You can add 1 tablespoon of unseasoned rice vinegar for dressing if desired.
• Remove the seeds from the cucumber as they make salad watery.
• Feel free to use any crunchy vegetables of your choice. To make a rainbow salad for more colors add purple cabbage, red or yellow bell pepper.
• To make dressing spicier you can add black peppercorn or Thai bird chilies if desired.
• Only pour some of the salad dressing at a time. Add it as per your liking. Leftover dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

Peanut Salad Dressing or Almond Salad Dressing

• To make peanut salad dressing, substitute cashews with peanuts or peanut butter in the recipe.
• Substitute cashews with almond or almond butter to make Almond salad dressing.

Salad in a Jar

If you are a fan of mason jars, you can also make a salad in a jar. Just pour the dressing first, followed by veggies (cabbage followed by carrots, bell pepper, and cucumber). Pour in a plate during lunchtime, toss, and enjoy. Alternatively, you can give the jar a good shake and eat directly from the jar.

Make ahead instructions

Any salad tastes the best when served fresh. But if you plan to make it ahead, chop and assemble all the ingredients and keep the dressing separately. If you mix the veggies and sauce before serving time, the veggies will soften. So to keep it crisp and fresh, keep the dressing separately and mix before serving.

Recipe FAQS

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Recipe card

Crunchy Thai Salad with Spicy Cashew Dressing

Kushi

Crunchy Thai Salad with Spicy Cashew Dressing is one of the best, most simple, healthy, and easy-to-make salad recipes packed with flavor, crunch, and color that can be prepared in less than 15 minutes. 

5 from 8 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Dinner, Lunch, Side Dish

Cuisine American, Asian, Thai

Servings 3

Calories 246 kcal

Equipment

• ▢
  Bowl
• ▢
  Cutting board
• ▢
  Blender

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For The Cashew Salad Dressing

• ▢ ¼ cup Cashews (check tips for substitute)
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Coconut oil or any preferred oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon Honey or Sugar
• ▢ 2 clove Garlic
• ▢ 1 inch Ginger
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Salt (or adjust to taste)
• ▢ ½ to 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes (or 1 red chile)

For the Salad

• ▢ 2 cups Cabbage , shredded
• ▢ 1 medium Carrot , shredded
• ▢ 1 Green bell pepper , shredded
• ▢ 1 Cucumber , sliced
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Cashews , chopped
• ▢ 2 tablespoon Cilantro or Basil leaves

Instructions

 

Make The Spicy Cashew Dressing for Salad

• Add all the ingredients for the Cashew salad dressing (cashews, lemon juice, coconut oil, honey, soy sauce, garlic cloves, salt, and pepper flakes) and blend it to a fine smooth paste. Check for the taste and adjust accordingly.
  ¼ cup Cashews, 1 ½ tablespoon Lemon juice, 2 tablespoon Coconut oil, 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce, 1 tablespoon Honey, 2 clove Garlic, 1 inch Ginger, ½ teaspoon Salt, ½ to 1 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
• You can roughly chop garlic, ginger as some blenders cannot process whole pieces.
• You may add 1 or 2 tablespoon of water while blending.
• Refrigerate till you are ready to serve.

For the Thai Salad

• Combine all the veggies, roasted cashews, or peanuts and herbs in a large bowl. If serving right away, drizzle the dressing as needed and toss. Otherwise, serve the dressing as a side so your salad remains crunchy and doesn't get soggy.
  2 cups Cabbage, 1 medium Carrot, 1 Green bell pepper, 1 Cucumber, 2 tablespoon Cashews, 2 tablespoon Cilantro

Notes

• Instead of cashews, you can even use cashew butter.
• You can add 1 tablespoon of unseasoned rice vinegar for dressing if desired.
• Remove the seeds from the cucumber as they make salad watery.
• Feel free to use any crunchy vegetables of your choice. To make a rainbow salad for more colors add purple cabbage, red or yellow bell pepper.
• To make dressing spicier you can add black peppercorn or Thai bird chilies if desired.
• Only pour some of the salad dressing at a time. Add it as per your liking. Leftover dressing can be stored in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcalCarbohydrates: 22gProtein: 6gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 757mgPotassium: 515mgFiber: 4gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 3779IUVitamin C: 57mgCalcium: 57mgIron: 2mg

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