This Thai peanut salad recipe is so tasty with fresh shredded cabbage, peanuts, chopped veggies, and tossed with a delicious Thai peanut dressing. Eat this healthy salad as a side dish or main dish by adding chopped cooked chicken. Bonus: it's a gluten-free, low carb, and keto salad too!
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You Will Love This Salad!
It's Addicting
Warning! This Thai peanut salad recipe is addicting. 🙂 I tested multiple versions of this recipe, and we gobbled up every bit of it. The combination of the fresh chopped veggies, peanuts, and the slightly spicy, salty, sweet peanut dressing is what makes this so good. It's got some crunch from the peanuts and cabbage, so it is just so satisfying and GOOD.
Easy To Make
Simply shred/chop your veggies and toss them with the salad ingredients. Make this a Thai chicken salad by adding 12 to 16 ounces of chopped cooked chicken.
Healthy
Using coconut aminos and a sugar substitute like monk fruit or erythritol, this Thai salad with peanut dressing is a perfect low-carb, sugar-free, and keto salad recipe. It has so much flavor - it's filling and satisfying - all of which will help you stay on track!
If you want to lower the carbs even further, you could use half the peanuts and green onions. It will reduce the net carbs a couple of grams per serving and shouldn't compromise the taste too much.
Thai Salad with Peanut Dressing Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make Thai Peanut Salad:
Salad
- Cabbage
- Cucumber
- Green Onions
- Salted Peanuts
- Red Bell Pepper
- Optional: make it a full meal by adding 12 ounces diced cooked chicken
Dressing
- Peanut Butter - use all-natural peanut butter and adjust the quantity if needed (every peanut butter is different)
- Olive Oil
- Rice Vinegar - you can also you regular white vinegar
- Coconut Aminos, Soy Sauce, or Tamari Sauce - use the appropriate "soy" product for your dietary needs.
- Sweetener - granulated sugar substitute or regular sugar
- Garlic
- Ginger Paste - use can also use finely minced ginger
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt and Pepper
- Optional: Fresh Cilantro for garnish
Thai Salad Cabbage Variations
- Make it a Thai Peanut Chicken Salad! Yum. Just add about 12 oz of chopped cooked chicken. 🙂 Now it's a full meal and the perfect lunch recipe!
- Adjust seasoning to your liking. Add a little spice if you enjoy the heat.
- Feel free to add fresh cilantro or even a squeeze of lemon or lime to give it a little brightness.
More peanut-packed recipes to love.
If you're as peanut-obsessed as I am, you'll want to check out these other reader favorites featuring peanuts and peanut butter: Try my creamy Thai peanut dressing, or this delicious cold soba noodle bowl with tofu, these no-bake chocolate peanut butter protein bars, or my sweet and simple sugar free crockpot chocolate peanut clusters. Now, if you have carnivores in your house (like I do), I can guarantee they will appreciate these peanut butter burgers with bacon.
How To Make Thai Peanut Salad
Make Salad
- In a large bowl, add cabbage, cucumber, green onions, peanuts, pepper, and chicken (if you're using it).
Make Dressing
- In a small bowl, whisk together all of the peanut salad dressing ingredients - peanut butter, olive oil, vinegar, coconut aminos, sweetener, garlic, ginger paste, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
Toss
- Pour salad dressing over the salad and toss until well coated.
Serve
- Adjust salt and pepper, and any other seasoning to your liking. Enjoy!
How To Serve It
- Serve this salad on its own or with cooked diced chicken. Garnish with cilantro or chives.
It pairs well with jasmine rice or riced cauliflower. - For a pretty presentation, serve it on a plate in a leaf of cabbage or lettuce.
How To Store It
Transfer leftovers to an airtight container and eat within 1 day. Because the dressing will start to break down and soften the vegetables, it does not keep well for very long. For best results, make only what you think you can eat.
Kori's Top Tips
- If using tamari or soy sauce, increase the sugar (or sugar substitute) by a ½ teaspoon, for a total of 1½ teaspoons. Coconut aminos was used in this recipe, and it is sweeter than tamari or soy.
- Every peanut butter brand is different. All-natural peanut butter that has not been refrigerated can be quite runny. This is what we used in this recipe. You may need to adjust the quantity of peanut butter or add a little liquid to accommodate any differences.
Be sure to save this pin to Pinterest for later! 🙂
FAQs
Yes, you can lower the carbs slightly by using ¼ cup of peanuts instead of ½ cup. To make your peanuts "go farther," chop them before adding them to the salad. This will save approximately 1 net carb per serving. Reducing green onion to ¼ cup will also save 1 net carb per serving.
Yes, you can substitute broccoli slaw in place of the cabbage.
Yes, definitely! You can use a pre-shredded cabbage salad mix instead of shredding your own cabbage.
Coconut aminos is a gluten-free, msg-free, sugar-free soy alternative. It's a salty and sweet sauce that tastes very similar to soy sauce. It's very popular as in low-carb, gluten-free, keto, and paleo diets. It is made with coconut palm and sea salt.
If substituting coconut aminos for soy, keep in mind that it is sweeter than soy sauce. If a recipe calls for sugar (or sugar substitute), lower the amount of sugar added. Do a taste test and adjust as needed.
Both satay and peanut sauce are similar. However, satay sauce typically contains a blend of spices like turmeric, garlic, and chili, as well as peanuts and coconut milk. On the other hand, peanut sauce is made with ground peanuts, a mild chili pepper, garlic, and other spices. The variations in the ingredients and the spiciness of the sauce are what make them distinct. While both sauces are delicious and versatile, satay sauce is more likely to be found served with grilled proteins, while peanut sauce is commonly served with stir fry dishes like noodles and vegetables, or as a dressing for salads.
Yes, you can eat raw cabbage salad. It's quite delicious. Try not to shred your cabbage too thick, thinner is better. The ingredients contained in cabbage salad will often break down and soften cabbage as well.
Can I ask you a favor?
If you tried this recipe, let me know! I'd love for you to come back and give the recipe a 5 star rating and leave a review in the comments! 🙂 Let's stay connected, so please follow me on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest! Subscribe to my newsletter to get healthy fresh recipe ideas every week!
📖 The recipe.
Thai Peanut Salad
Ingredients
To make the salad
- 4 cups cabbage (shredded)
- ½ cup cucumber (peeled and chopped)
- ½ cup green onions (sliced)
- ½ cup salted peanuts
- ½ cup red bell pepper (if you want spice use ¼ cup hot red pepper, diced)
- optional: make it a full meal by adding 12 ounces diced cooked chicken
To make the dressing:
- ⅓ cup peanut butter (use all natural peanut butter)
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar or regular vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (tamari, or regular soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar substitute (or regular sugar)
- 1 teaspoon garlic (minced)
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste (or finely minced ginger)
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large bowl add cabbage, cucumber, green onions, peanuts, pepper, and chicken (if you're using it).
- In a small bowl mix the Thai peanut salad dressing ingredients.
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Video
Kori's Tips
- If using tamari or soy sauce, increase the sugar (or sugar substitute) by a ½ teaspoon, for a total of 1½ teaspoons. Coconut aminos was used in this recipe and it is sweeter than tamari or soy sauce.
Nutrition
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Thai peanut salad is packed full of your favorite Asian flavors! This Thai salad recipe has everything - a creamy Thai peanut sauce, crunchy cabbage and peanuts, sweet and a little spice. Add cooked chicken to make a perfect Thai peanut chicken salad for lunch or dinner. A low carb and keto salad recipe that everyone will go "peanuts" over.
Sallyjojo
Fabulous!!!! Served with Air Fryer Chicken Satay. Added Lime juice and a little Sesame oil to sauce and skipped the Olive oil accidently. Fresh lime over the top before serving. added lettuce. Also did with leftover ribs. sauteed ribs and onion and stirred in noodles for a couple minutes with lots of veggies in the salad and always add a handful of cilantro. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kori
I love hearing creative takes like this! Your twists — lime juice, a touch of sesame oil, and fresh lime on top — sound absolutely delicious. Using air fryer chicken satay or even sautéed ribs and veggies with the noodles is such a fun, flavorful way to make it a full meal. And cilantro always makes everything better. Thank you so much for sharing how you made it your own!
Brenda
Super yummy and easy. Added chopped carrots and lots of cilantro. Served w grilled salmon and it was a huge hit. Thank you!
Kori
That sounds fantastic. I love the addition of chopped carrots and extra cilantro — such a fresh, colorful boost. And serving it with grilled salmon? That’s a perfect pairing. I’m so glad it was a huge hit!