When Abra and I used to work in person together every day we would usually make giant chopped salads for lunch. They were honestly one of our favorite things to make because they’re easy to throw together and such a great way to get your veggies in.
Plus, who doesn’t love a good homemade dressing?
This chopped Thai-inspired chickpea salad takes about 15 minutes to make and involves a lip-smacking good peanut butter dressing that’s infused with curry and turmeric. It’s earthy, nutty, and makes me wanna do a backflip right into the bowl. Ready for some lunch magic? Good.
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Ingredients in this Thai-inspired chickpea salad
I mean, look how gorgeous all of those colors are! We’re chopping up tons of fresh veggies and tossing them together with protein-packed chickpeas and an addicting curry peanut dressing. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Produce: this salad has red bell pepper, shredded carrot, red cabbage, jalapeño, green onion, and fresh cilantro.
- Chickpeas: get tons of delicious protein and fiber from a can of chickpeas!
- For the dressing: this creamy curry peanut dressing is made with peanut butter, fresh ginger, garlic, lime juice, soy sauce, yellow curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper for a kick of heat.
- To garnish: I like to top the salad with extra chopped cilantro, green onion, and cashews or peanuts.
Customize this salad
This easy Thai-inspired chickpea salad is great for mixing and matching with your fav salad ingredients. Here’s what I can recommend:
- Choose your veggies: feel free to use whatever you have on hand! Finely chopped broccoli, brussels sprouts, or greens like leafy kale would be great.
- Try a new dressing: the curry peanut dressing is absolutely delicious, but this salad would also be perfect with this Sesame Ginger Dressing.
- More ways to enjoy: try wrapping this salad up in a large tortilla to enjoy it as a wrap, or add cooked ramen or rice noodles for wonderful texture!
More ways to add protein
If you’re feeling like you want this salad to be more filling and hearty, here are a few options I suggest adding:
The perfect meal prep salad
I love throwing it in a mason jar for a lunch on the go, or packing as a travel meal when on days you have to the airport and don’t want to eat those nasty soggy sandwiches covered in plastic and stuffed with some funky lookin’ deli meat (been there before). Feel free to chop your veggies 1-2 days ahead of time, and make & store the dressing in the fridge so you can easily throw the salad together!
Storing tips
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4-5 days. The veggies will hold up nicely and marinate in the dressing over time!
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I hope you LOVE this Thai-inspired chickpea salad recipe as much as we did. Leave me know if you make it by leaving a comment below, or snapping a photo and tagging #ambitiouskitchen on Instagram. xo!
Chopped Thai-Inspired Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing
Beautiful vegan chopped Thai-inspired chickpea salad with a rainbow of veggies and a super flavorful curry peanut dressing. Nourishing, easy to make, and a great way to get your veggies in!
Ingredients
- For the salad:
-
1
red bell pepper, diced -
1
cup
shredded carrots (from the bag) -
1/2
small head of red cabbage, chopped (about 2-3cups shredded cabbage) -
1
(15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained -
1/2
cup
cilantro, finely chopped -
1/4
cup
finely chopped green onion -
1
jalapeño, seeded and diced - For the curry peanut butter dressing:
-
1/4
cup
peanut butter -
1
tablespoon
freshly grated ginger -
1
clove
garlic, minced -
1
tablespoon
lime juice or or rice vinegar -
2
tablespoons
low sodium soy sauce or coconut aminos -
1-2
teaspoons
yellow curry powder -
¼
teaspoon
red cayenne pepper -
¼
teaspoon
ground turmeric -
3-4
tablespoons
warm water, to thin dressing - Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- To garnish:
- Extra cilantro
- Sliced green onion
-
1/4
cup
roasted cashews or peanuts
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add red bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, chickpeas, cilantro, green onion and jalapeño.
-
In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: peanut butter, ginger, garlic, lime juice or vinegar, soy sauce or coconut aminos, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. Mix to combine. Add water to thin to make a dressing like consistency that’s easily pourable. Taste and add salt and pepper, as necessary.
-
Pour dressing over salad and mix well to combine. Garnish with roasted cashews and cilantro. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
See the full post for tips, tricks, and ways to customize this salad!
Nutrition
Servings: 4 servings
Serving size: 1 serving
Calories: 265kcal
Fat: 9.5g
Saturated fat: 1.8g
Carbohydrates: 37.8g
Fiber: 8.3g
Sugar: 4.1g
Protein: 10.1g
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on August 16th, 2018, and republished on May 7th, 2023.
