Name: Asian Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
Prep time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (room temperature); 2 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar; Juice of 1 lime (1 1/2 tablespoons); 2 tablespoons low sodium tamari or soy sauce; 2 cloves garlic (finely minced or use garlic press); 1 teaspoon grated ginger; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil; 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil; 1 teaspoon Huy Fong Chili Paste or 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more depending on preference); 1 head romaine (washed/dried, cut into 1 inch sections (about 4 cups)); 1 cup shredded purple cabbage; 1 cup shredded green cabbage; 1/2 cup matchstick carrots; 1/2 cup edamame beans (prepared according to package); 1/3 cup cashews (roughly chopped); 1/4 cup cilantro (roughly chopped); 1/3 cup crispy chow mein noodles

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This Asian salad with homemade spicy peanut dressing is going to be your new addiction! This asian salad recipe with edamame, carrots, cashews, and crunchy chow mein noodles is the perfect lunch or dinner salad. The spicy peanut dressing will have you putting it on everything!

Peanut dressing ingredients

What is salad without delicious salad dressing? A pile of leaves that I will not want to eat. Have you ever had the Thai chicken salad from Panera Bread? The only reason I like that salad is because of how good that dressing is, which is what inspired me to make this spicy peanut dressing at home.

an overhead shot of a bowl with tamari, crushed ginger and garlic. A pyrex measuring cup with creamy peanut butter and spoon inserted

At first I crushed garlic using a garlic press and grated ginger. A great ginger hack is to use a spoon to quickly/easily peel the skin off. You can finely mince it, but I used a microplane to grate the ginger so it would be more cohesive in the sauce.

overhead shot of a bowl with tamari, minced garlic, minced ginger, and creamy peanut butter

Then there is the star of the dressing, the peanut butter. I know people are either Team Creamy or Team Crunchy, but for this recipe creamy works best. Trader Joe’s creamy no-stir peanut butter is my favorite. If you keep it in the fridge, put it in a microwave safe dish and melt it a few seconds. Make sure it isn’t too melted though.

overhead shot of creamy spicy peanut dressing in a bowl mixed together

Other elements that were added to the spicy peanut dressing are: rice wine vinegar, reduced sodium tamari (or soy sauce), lime juice, sesame oil, avocado oil (or olive), honey, and then I added some Huy Fong Chili paste for heat. If you don’t have the chili paste, add some red pepper flakes for the heat. Because the soy sauce and chili paste have sodium, I don’t add extra salt, but you can taste and adjust if needed.

Salad elements

Now assembling! For the Asian salad I used: fresh romaine, shredded purple cabbage, shredded green cabbage, carrots, edamame beans, cashews, cilantro, and crispy chow mein noodles.

romain, cabbage, carrots, chow mein noodles in a bowl with peanut dressing on the side

Mix it all together and then drizzle the spicy peanut dressing over the top! Another great addition would be grilled chicken or shrimp. Enjoy!

bowl with sectioned edamame, cabbage, carrots, peanuts, and peanut dressing on the side

This dressing can be stored in an air tight container for up to 1 week. Natural separation may occur, shake or re-blend before serving. If sauce is too thick, you can thin it out with a tbsp of water.

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