This Thai cabbage salad is chock-full of colorful, hearty veggies and drizzled with a sweet-and-spicy Thai-inspired dressing. It is so quick and easy to throw together and lasts for days in the fridge, making it a great meal-prep salad.
Many adaptations of Thai salad dressings in the West tend to use peanut butter, and this mason jar salad does include it, but for this salad, I chose a lighter, more authentic dressing to Thai cuisine.
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As I began adding more recipes to the blog, I realized I needed more salad recipes.
Being Pakistani, many of the early recipes on here were my everyday meals, but South Asian cuisine doesn’t boast very many salads. Apart from the kachumbar, raita, and achaar like these pickled carrots, we don’t really eat much raw veggies. In fact, the only leafy greens you’ll see are the Palak (spinach) and Sarson (mustard greens).
But I do remember my mom making a most delicious Thai salad, so what better way to start the collection than with one inspired, in part, by my childhood and, in part, by the yum, a salad with a sweet-and-spicy dressing most commonly eaten in Thailand. I decided to recreate it with a few minor tweaks. I used the same vegetables as ammi, but I also leaned into authentic Thai flavors. Plus, you guessed it, I made it gluten-free and without the refined sugar.
If you, like me, like Asian-inspired salads, you have to try some of the others on the blog, like this healthy cucumber salad (it tastes just like a deconstructed California roll without the rice!) and this Cucumber Carrot Salad.
A Quick Look at the Recipe
⏲️Ready In: 20 minutes.
👪Serves: 6.
🍽 Calories and Protein: 78 kcal.
📋 Main Ingredients: Cabbage, carrots, radish, green onions, cilantro
📖 Dietary Notes: Gluten-free, vegan.
⭐ Why You’ll Love This Thai salad:
- It’s meal prep-friendly. Make a batch of this salad and store it to enjoy throughout the week. Because the veggies are hearty, they last for at least 5-6 days in the fridge. You can store the dressing separately in a jar, or store the salad as I have in my Mason Jar Salad post.
- It’s vibrant & colorful. True to its name, this Rainbow Thai Salad has (most of) the colors of the rainbow. After all, we eat with our eyes!
- It has accessible ingredients. All the ingredients in this salad are easy to find, and I’ve given alternatives below as well.
- It’s a great way to get your veggies in. I could seriously eat this salad all day, every day! I sometimes add leftover chicken or beef, and it makes the perfect entree salad for lunch.
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” This salad was absolutely beautiful! I added crispy fried onions before serving 😋 thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.” Harriet
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Thai Salad Ingredient Notes
Cabbage: Both green and red cabbage for added color. You can easily leave the red cabbage out if you can’t find it, and even use Napa cabbage, as many Thai salad recipes do.
Carrot: No Thai salad is complete without carrots. I like to julienne mine since it is so easy with a Julienne Y-peeler (affiliate link). But you can matchstick them or even make carrot ribbons with a regular vegetable peeler.
Radish: I decided to use radish for two reasons; it’s hearty and will retain its crunch for a couple of days in the dressing (if there are leftovers), and for its red color. I don’t use red bell peppers anymore because we don’t enjoy raw bell peppers, but they would work wonderfully here if you do.
Green onions: just the green part, sliced thin. Feel free to add the onion whites as well.
Herbs: Cilantro and mint pair well with this salad. Use a pair of scissors to snip the leaves, as chopping them will bruise the herbs.
Nuts: I have used sliced almonds because of a peanut allergy in the family, but you can use peanuts or even cashews. Chop them so you get some in every bite!
Ingredients for Thai Salad Dressing
The four components of authentic Thai salad dressing are fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, and chiles. Below are my ingredient tweaks to make it easy to make, gluten-free, and refined-sugar-free.
- Coconut Aminos: Although authentic Thai dressings include fish sauce, I wanted to make the dressing with easily accessible pantry staples, so I am using coconut aminos instead. This will keep the dressing gluten-free. You can also use soy sauce or even tamari.
- Lime juice: The acid in the dressing.
- Coconut sugar and honey: I use both because coconut sugar adds depth of flavor to the dressing, and honey makes it runnier and stickier.
- Red pepper flakes: Authentic Thai recipes use fresh green or red chili peppers, crushed in a mortar and pestle along with the other ingredients. I have used crushed red pepper flakes instead.
Variations
- Use other veggies. Feel free to use other hearty veggies like bell peppers in place of or in addition to the ones above. You can also use red onions and kale for a leafy green addition.
- Make it a meal. You can throw in some protein. Beef, chicken, shrimp, and chickpeas are all great choices.
- Swap out the ingredients. There are a lot of options when it comes to dressing as well. Soy sauce can easily be used in place of coconut aminos if you’re not gluten-sensitive. Want to make it vegan? Just use coconut sugar in place of honey. Doing Keto, use monk fruit sweetener or stevia. Use vinegar in place of lime juice.
How to Make Thai Salad
Step 1: Make the dressing and set it aside.
Step 2: Use a mandolin to slice the cabbage and julienne the carrots. Slice the green onions and destem the cilantro. You can leave them whole or chop them.
Step 3: Drizzle the dressing on top, add the almonds for crunch, and toss the salad till everything is coated.
Step 4: Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge.
Pro Tips
Here are a few tips, e.g., how to cut cabbage, what to use in a pinch, etc., to make this Thai salad extra special.
- Use hearty vegetables to prolong the life of this salad. Cabbage, carrots, and radish all last longer than most veggies. Water-rich and delicate veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce would spoil much faster, and so I have intentionally left them out.
- Use the right tools to speed up the prep and for the best results. Use a mandolin (affiliate link) for the perfect shredded cabbage. It is the perfect bite, not too thin, not too thick. Plus, it’s so much faster, too! And a julienne peeler is a game-changer for carrots! You could use the mandolin for all the veggies, but I used both to make it more visually appealing and easier to eat.
- Ideally, add herbs and dressing just before serving the salad.
- Don’t overdress the salad. This salad only needs a thin coating of the dressing. It is best not to drown it in the dressing. Of course, this is based on your preference.
- If you absolutely don’t have any time to prep the veggies on a weeknight, simply grab a bag of coleslaw veggies and just make the dressing!
Serving Suggestions
I often serve Beef Khao Suey with this salad because they share a similar flavor profile. Or serve it with my Gluten-Free Chicken Teriyaki and Caulifower Fried Rice for a complete, healthy, low-carb, Asian-Inspired meal.
Thai Salad FAQs
Yes, Thai salad can be made ahead, especially since it uses heartier veggies like cabbage and carrots. Make sure to keep the veggies, herbs, and dressing separately, in airtight containers in the fridge till ready to eat.
If you have dressed salad leftovers, they will still keep for a day or two.
Yes, Thai salad is healthy, as it is chock-full of fresh veggies, herbs, and a light dressing. They are often naturally gluten-free and can be adapted for low-carb or vegan diets.
You can keep the crunch in the Thai salad by storing the dressing, veggies, and herbs separately, then dressing the salad and adding the almonds just before serving.
In Thai cuisine, Thai salads are called Yam. Popular versions include papaya salad (som tam), glass noodle salad, and herb-based salads with lime and fish sauce dressing.
If you tried this Thai salad recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments. I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Pinterest or subscribe to our newsletter to get more deliciousness straight to your inbox!
Thai Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 cups green cabbage shredded
- 2 cups red cabbage shredded
- 2 carrots julienned
- 5 radishes halved and thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, chopped use just the green part
- 1/4 cup cilantro leaves
For the dressing
- 4 tablespoons coconut aminos or Tamari
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoon honey
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Garnish
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds toasted (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Use a mandolin to shred the cabbages. Julienne the carrots and cut and chop the rest of the veggies. Rough chop the almonds or buy the sliced ones from the store. Set aside.
- Add all the dressing ingredients in a bowl of measuring cup and whisk till combined. Set aside.
- Add all the veggies to a large salad bowl, drizzle just enough dressing to coat the veggies without drenching them and garnish with almonds and herbs. Enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- Dress the salad just before serving. Although most vegetables are hearty and won’t wilt quickly, it is best not to store them with the dressing for too long, as they will lose their “crunch”.
- Use hearty vegetables to prolong the life of this salad. Cabbage, carrots, and radish all last longer than most veggies. Water-rich and delicate veggies like tomatoes, cucumbers, and lettuce would spoil much faster, and so I have intentionally left them out.
- Ideally, add herbs and dressing just before serving the salad.
- Don’t overdress the salad. This salad only needs a thin coating of the dressing. It is best not to drown it in the dressing. Of course, this is based on your preference.
- Use the right tools to speed up the prep and for the best results. Use a mandolin for perfectly shredded cabbage. And a julienne peeler is a game-changer for carrots! You could use the mandolin for all the veggies, but I used both to make it more visually appealing and easier to eat.
Harriet says
This salad was absolutely beautiful! I added crispy fried onions before serving 😋 thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
Zeeshan says
Aww, I am so glad you loved it! Thank you so much for leaving a review Harriet!