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Asian Salad with Peanut Dressing is crisp, refreshing and full of delicious flavors- this is the perfect healthy main dish but can also be made to feel a crowd as a side dish or starter that will have people fighting for seconds!
Sometimes great recipes just happen. No planning. No inspiration. One moment you’re trying to figure out what you’re going to eat and BAM! You’re hit with inspiration. And that pretty much sums up the story of how this Asian Salad was created.
A few weeks back, I had made an Asian-inspired meal prep one day and brought it over to my parents’ house to enjoy lunch with my mom. Unfortunately, I had also forgotten the dressing that went with it. So I went into her fridge and pantry and created a dressing right then and there that was so completely delicious that both of us could not stop eating our bowls.
While we were eating our lunch that day, we both agreed that this dressing would taste even more fantastic over some sort of salad. It would be a healthy and delicious meal on it’s own or an excellent side dish-to-pass to enjoy with friends and family. So naturally I had to go home and recreate this salad, and boy, am I glad I did.
A few tips for making this Asian Salad with Peanut Dressing:
- You can easily assemble the ingredients the day before and mix together the dressing in advance as well. But…
- Don’t dress the salad until right before serving. It still tasted good after being refrigerated for a few hours, but it was a tad wilted later on.
- I left the measurements of the salad ingredients open so that you could add more or less of things based on your tastes. The measurements are still there for the dressing, which is designed to dress a large salad to share with 4-6 people but you could always cut it down if you’re making this for yourself, or save the leftovers.
- Feel free to change out ingredients that aren’t your favorite.
Can’t get enough salads? These are some of my favorites!
- Hawaiian Barbecue Chicken Chopped Salad
- Lemon Kale Caesar Salad
- Chicken Taco Salad with Salsa Ranch Dressing
- Olive Garden Salad Copycat
- Strawberry & Feta Chicken Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
Asian Salad with Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
Salad:
- Butter lettuce
- Red bell pepper sliced
- Baby cucumber sliced
- Edamame shelled
- Carrots shredded
- Red cabbage shredded
- Thin chow mein noodles
- Cooked chicken leftover grilled or rotisserie chicken is perfect for this
- Cilantro lightly torn
- Scallions sliced thin on the diagonal
- Limes wedges for garnish optional
Dressing:
- 2 Tablespoons natural peanut butter
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Sriracha
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 generous pinch of salt omit if using full sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Cut all vegetables and assemble into a large bowl.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients until well combined.
- When you’re ready to serve, drizzle dressing over the salad and toss to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- The dressing can be made ahead and will last up to a week in the refrigerator.
- I left the amounts of vegetable ingredients open so that you can make it for yourself only or for a crowd.
- The measurements for the dressing is enough for a large salad to feed 4-6 people. You can always halve it if you’re making a smaller amount.
- Nutrition is for dressing only.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
Asian Salads with peanut dressing are my absolute favorite! It’s what I order at restaurants if they have it but lately, so many of them are getting rid of it so I am going to try making yours!! Thanks!