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This Family-Style Thai Crunch Salad is the kind of salad that is made for passing around, piling onto your plate or going back for a little more. Whether you’re meal prepping or making a dish for a dinner with friends, this Thai crunch bowl will fill everyone’s plate or leave you with some leftovers.
Shredded purple cabbage, crisp red peppers, shredded carrots, cucumbers, edamame and cilantro are tossed in a creamy peanut vinaigrette. It’s then topped with glazed peanut chicken, peanuts, chow mein noodles, sesame seeds, fresh herbs and chopped green onions. Each bite of this Thai-inspired salad is fresh, savory, sweet and nutty. It’s the kind of dinner that will have you cleaning your plate in minutes and coming back for seconds.
Perfect for serving for a family-style dinner with family or friends, meal prepping for a week of lunches or dinners or anytime you want a meal that can be customized. Either set the whole bowl in the middle of the table and let everyone scoop and customize their own bowls.
Why You’ll Love This Family-Style Thai Crunch Bowl
- It’s just as flavorful as it is colorful. This salad is tossed with lots of colorful, crunchy veggies but the blend of the dressing with the peanut chicken and crunchy toppings is a deliciously savory, nutty and super nourishing.
- Super filling! The best part about this salad is that the salad is the meal. No needs for sides (unless you want!) because this salad has everything you need – a lot of veggies and protein. The combination of vegetables and chicken makes this salad super filling.
- Makes a very large batch. This salad is great for meal prepping or if you’re planning to serve for a family dinner or dinner party with friends.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Salad Mix-ins
- Chicken thighs
- Thai peanut sauce
- Olive oil
- Purple cabbage
- Red bell peppers
- Shredded carrots
- Cucumber
- Shelled edamame
- Scallions
- Sesame seeds
- Cilantro
- Chow mein noodles
- Roasted peanuts
Peanut Salad dressing
- Rice vinegar
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Creamy peanut butter
- Sesame oil
- Lime juice
- Salt and pepper to season
How to Make This Thai Crunch Bowl, Step by Step
Step 1. Marinate chicken tenders in peanut sauce and cook on skillet.
Start by heating a skillet over medium heat. Add oil to the pan to heat as the pan heats up. While the pan is warming up, slice the chicken tenders into pieces and toss them in store-bought peanut sauce until it’s evenly coated.
Add the chopped chicken to the hot skillet and cook the chicken for 4-5 minutes on each side until the internal temperature reaches 165°F. Once the chicken is cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and scoop the cooked peanut chicken to a bowl and set aside until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
Step 2. Make the thai peanut dressing.
This homemade peanut dressing is nutty, tangy and slightly sweet. It’s made with rice vinegar, honey, soy sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil and lime juice. It’s the perfect pairing with the fresh veggies and glazed peanut chicken and just takes about 5 minutes to make.
Add all the dressing ingredients to a high powered blender – like Ninja Nutribullet or a Beast Blender. Blend the mixture until smooth and emulsified and set to the side while you chop the veggies for the salad.
Tip: If you don’t have a small high-powered blender, you can add the ingredients to a mason jar, seal the lid, and give it a good shake.
Step 3. Chop vegetables and herbs. Measure out the other salad toppings.
This salad is like a chopped-salad, so the base of this salad is not just greens, it’s a mixture of chopped vegetables and herbs. The salad is made with thinly sliced red cabbage, shredded carrots, chopped bell peppers and cucumber, sliced green onions and fresh cilantro.
Step 4. Toss salad in a large bowl and serve with chicken, chow mein noodles and roasted peanuts.
Add the chopped vegetables and herbs along with edamame to a large mixing bowl. Pour the salad dressing over the salad mixture and use salad tongs to toss the salad mixture together until it’s evenly coated.
Top the salad with peanut glazed chicken, peanuts and chow mein noodles. Enjoy!
Tips for Making a Family-Style Thai Crunch Bowl
- Prep all of your vegetables beforehand for quick assembly. This recipe has a lot of mix-ins. It’s similar to a chopped salad. So having everything sliced and chopped ahead of time makes assembly quick and easy.
- Use a blender to make the dressing super smooth. Blending the dressing in a high powered blender will help emulsify the dressing and smoothly blend the peanut butter into a consistency that is easy to drizzle and toss.
- Add crunchy toppings right before serving. The chow mein noodles will soak up moisture in the salad and will become soggy. So adding them towards the end will ensure they stay crisp.
- Serve family-style or let everyone serve themselves. This salad makes A LOT! Which makes it great for meal prepping or serving a group. We recommend either serving on a large serving bowl or platter or serve with dressings and toppings on the side so everyone can add what they want.
Recipe FAQ
How to Store this Thai Crunch Bowl Salad
Prep the chicken, vegetables and peanut dressing ahead of time. Store them in the fridge separately for 3-4 days. Assemble the salad just before serving for the freshest flavor and texture.
More weeknight dinners to try:
Family-Style Thai Crunch Bowl
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 8–10 servings 1x
Description
This Thai crunch salad is packed with purple cabbage, edamame, bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, and herbs, tossed in a creamy peanut dressing and topped with peanut-glazed chicken, peanuts, chow mein noodles, and sesame seeds. A colorful family-style dinner salad that’s a meal all on its own.
Ingredients
Peanut Glazed Chicken
- 4 tbsp store-bought peanut sauce
- 1 lb boneless chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Peanut Salad Dressing
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Salad Mix-ins
- 1/2 small red cabbage, sliced
- 2 Red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped
- 1/2 cup shelled damame
- 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- 1/3 cup Chow mein noodles
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Cut chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a medium mixing bowl and toss them in store-bought peanut sauce.
- Heat a skillet over medium heat; heat oil. Cook chicken until golden brown and cooked through. Internal temperature should be 165°F. Remove the cooked chicken from the heat and pour in a separate bowl. Set to the side while you make the rest of the salad.
- Add dressing mixture to a small high-powered blender. Blend until smooth.
- Slice red cabbage into thin shreds. We recommend using a mandolin for the cabbage if you have one. Chop bell peppers, cucumber, green onions, and cilantro.
- Add Cabbage, sliced bell peppers, shredded carrots, cucumber, scallions, edamame, cilantro, basil, chicken, peanuts and chow mein noodles to a large bowl. Add the crunchy toppings like chow mein and peanuts right before serving so that they remain crisp.
- Drizzle with peanut sauce and use large tongs or spoons to coat the salad evenly. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
