If there’s one thing I love, it’s a salad with major crunch, vibrant colors, and a dressing so good you’ll want to drink it straight from the bowl. This Chopped Thai Salad checks every box and then some—prepare your knife skills, this is a keeper!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Recipe
This Chopped Thai Salad is everything I want in a meal: fresh, crunchy, colorful, and packed with flavor! The vinaigrette is the real star here—garlicky, gingery, with just the right amount of heat. It ties all the vibrant veggies, creamy avocado, and sweet mango together into a salad that feels light yet totally satisfying. Plus, it comes together in no time and makes for the perfect lunch, dinner, or side dish for any occasion. If you love my Mango Cucumber Chopped Salad - this one is going to be right up your alley.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Low sodium soy sauce
- Water
- Rice wine vinegar
- Honey
- Chili garlic sauce
- Sesame oil
- Fresh ginger
- Lime
- Frozen shelled edamame
- Baby kale
- Carrots
- Red bell pepper
- Yellow bell pepper
- Fresh cilantro
- Green onions
- Cashews
- Avocado
- Mango
How to Make
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook the edamame according to the package directions. Drain and allow it to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine the kale, carrots, peppers, cilantro leaves, and green onions in a large bowl.
- Add the cooked edamame, cashews, avocado, and mango to the bowl with all the ingredients.
- Pour the dressing over the Chopped Thai Salad and toss to combine.
- Serve the Chopped Thai Salad immediately.
Tips & Tricks
- Make It Ahead: The vinaigrette can be made up to a week in advance and stored in the fridge. Just give it a good shake before using.
- Maximize Crunch: Keep the kale, carrots, and peppers super dry to avoid a soggy salad. I like to run everything through my salad spinner for extra crispness.
- Edamame Shortcuts: Buy pre-cooked, shelled edamame from the refrigerated section to save time.
- Get Creative: This Chopped Thai Salad is super adaptable. Swap out the kale for romaine or butter lettuce, use almonds instead of cashews, or throw in any veggies you need to use up.
- Protein Boost: Add grilled chicken, grilled steak or poached or grilled shrimp to make it a complete meal.
FAQ's
Yes! You can prep all the veggies and make the dressing a day in advance. Just keep everything separate and toss it all together right before serving to maintain that perfect crunch.
If kale isn’t your thing, you can use any greens you love. Romaine, butter lettuce, or even a spring mix would work beautifully.
Absolutely! Grilled chicken, steak, shrimp, tofu, or even additional edamame alone adds a nice protein boost.
Once dressed, the salad is best eaten right away. If you expect leftovers, dress only what you need and store the remaining ingredients separately for up to 2 days.
Similar Recipes
Chopped Thai Salad
Ingredients
For the Vinaigrette
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic peeled
- 4 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 lime zested and juice
For the Salad
- 8 ounces frozen shelled edamame
- 6 cups shredded baby kale
- 3 large carrots shredded
- 2 bell peppers thinly sliced
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
- 1 cup sliced green onions
- ¾ cup cashews roughly chopped
- 1 avocado diced
- 1 mango diced
Instructions
- Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Cook the edamame according to the package directions. Drain and allow it to cool.
- Meanwhile, combine the kale, carrots, peppers, cilantro leaves, and green onions in a large bowl.
- Add the cooked edamame, cashews, avocado, and mango to the bowl with all the ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine. Serve immediately.
My daughter made this for dinner tonight for us and it was delicious !! Perfect balance of sweet, creamy, crunchy, spicy, nutty goodness! The dressing was the bomb . She topped it with blackened shrimp , and the extra spice was the perfect addition . Thanks again Gabi for another great recipe !!
I would love to see more healthy recipes! I am always looking for lots of veg and protein.
This salad looks amazing! Another vote for healthier recipes with the Gaby touch!
Would love to make this. I'm wondering how large the servings would be for 6 hearty adult eaters. Would I need a side or bread? Or should I simply make more?
Yes to healthier recipes! Trying to incorporate more veggies and fish into my diet. This salad looks amazing.
I’d love more healthy recipes. Salads and such.
Btw, this Thai salad looks delicious and I will definitely have to make it.
Yes more healthy recipes - I love these crunchy salads!!
Yes to more healthy recipes please!
What kind of chili garlic sauce are you recommending? I see many different options, some sweet, some not so much. Also, are you recommending we blend the viniagrette? I see "peeled" garlic cloves.
Looks amazing and I am making it for dinner with grilled salmon. Substituting spinach and cabbage for kale. Can't wait! (Looks like garlic needs to be minced since vinaigrette isn't going to be blended...)
I vote for more healthier recipes…. Cannot wait to make this Thai salad
Delicious
This salad was a fresh dinner hit tonight! Made a few substitutions (spinach instead of kale, almonds instead of cashews) just with what I had on hand. Fresh sourdough on the side 🙂
Honestly, a perfect salad. I'm not a huge mango fan so I usually leave it out and it still has a nice balance of flavors.
Healthy!!