Many of you have requested to see more of the meals I usually eat during the week. Truth is, I eat everything that I’m making for the blog.
When I don’t have recipe development days, my meals are simple and quick: think eggs and avocado toast, a quick 15 minute veggie based curry, leftover soup, of course, a salad with anything that needs to be used up in my fridge.
I don’t have time to whip up something crazy and elaborate all the time. Mostly I just want it to be nutritious, flavorful and easy to make.
Abra and I usually make chopped salads once a week; they’re honestly one of our favorite things to make for lunch because they’re simple and you get a good amount of nutrition in since it’s basically just a bunch of veggies chopped up and tossed with your favorite dressing.
This chopped Thai chickpea salad takes about 15 minutes to throw together 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.
Besides the to-die-for dressing, I adore how crunchy this salad is and how after days in the fridge, the flavor is still fresh and delicious. It’s packed with red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, chickpeas, jalapeño, cilantro.
MEAL PREP + TRAVEL-FRIENDLY
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).
If you’re feeling like you want this salad to be more filling and hearty, here are a few options I suggest adding:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- serve with cooked shrimp or chicken
- add another can of chickpeas
- serve over a bed of spinach
- add sautéed tofu
- just have a bigger serving
I hope you LOVE this 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 Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
- For the salad:
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 cup shredded carrots (from the bag)
- ½ small head of red cabbage, chopped (about 2 cups shredded cabbage)
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped
- ¼ cup finely chopped green onion
- 1/2 jalapeño, seeded and diced
- For the curry peanut butter dressing:
- 2 tablespoons peanut butter
- 1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon red cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin dressing
- To garnish:
- Extra cilantro
- ¼ cup roasted cashews
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add red bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, chickpeas, cilantro, green onion and jalapeño. Pour dressing over veggies and toss until well-combined.
-
In a small bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients: peanut butter, ginger, garlic, apple cider vinegar, curry powder, cayenne pepper, and turmeric. Mix to combine. Add water to thin if necessary to make a dressing like consistency.
-
Pour over salad and mix well to combine. Garnish with roasted cashews and cilantro. Serves 4.
171 comments
That dressing sounds so delicious and versatile!
It is! I use it in tons of salads, buddha bowls, etc. So good.
Can this salad be put together and stored in the refrigerator overnight or should we add the dressing when it’s being served?
Feel free to add the dressing before storing it!
I don’t like chickpeas but I will definitely try it with some black beans, or maybe quinoa. It looks beautiful!
Perfect! This one’s easy to customize with your favorite proteins.
I have been using this dressing on everything for months and just need to say thank you – it is so addictive! I put it on salads, pasta, chicken, etc. and it comes out perfect every time (even when I eyeball measurements!)
I don’t like chickpeas but I will definitely try it with some black beans, or maybe quinoa. It looks beautiful!
Perfect! This one’s easy to customize with your favorite proteins.
I love everything about this salad! I love a good crunchy chopped salad, I love meals that are easy to meal prep and pack along with you and I absolutely ADORE a good peanut sauce dressing. YUM! I’ve not made one quite like this and now I will.
You’ll have to give this one a try! Super crunchy, flavorful, and perfect for meal prep.
The peanut butter sauce recipie is exactly what I have searched the internet and every cooking book for. The salad is so tasty. Raw food is so much more tasty
I love everything about this salad! I love a good crunchy chopped salad, I love meals that are easy to meal prep and pack along with you and I absolutely ADORE a good peanut sauce dressing. YUM! I’ve not made one quite like this and now I will.
You’ll have to give this one a try! Super crunchy, flavorful, and perfect for meal prep.
The peanut butter sauce recipie is exactly what I have searched the internet and every cooking book for. The salad is so tasty. Raw food is so much more tasty
This looks super delicious! Can you tell me what tool you used to Julienne the carrots?
I usually just use a sharp knife to cut them into matchsticks (or get pre-shredded carrots if I’m in a time crunch!) This tool would be great too 🙂
This looks super delicious! Can you tell me what tool you used to Julienne the carrots?
I usually just use a sharp knife to cut them into matchsticks (or get pre-shredded carrots if I’m in a time crunch!) This tool would be great too 🙂
I like to use a mandolin to slice the carrots and then stack the slices and cut into matchsticks.
just made this and it was amazingg! i used roasted peanuts instead of cashews and added a little mint too! love the dressing!
That sounds delicious – glad you loved this one!
I seriously get so excited when I find a delicious salad that actually keeps well in the fridge for lunches…all that texture and color though!! 🙂
Right?? Perfect for meal prepping!
I can’t wait to make this! Would love to make a bunch and nosh for days this. Does it have a certain shelf life where it eventually becomes soggy or the shelf life in general?
This stays nice and crunchy for about 4-5 days! Perfect to prep for the week.
Does this mean stays for 4-5 days with the dressing?
Yes it should be fine with dressing for 4-5 days because the veggies are naturally super crunchy!
I can’t wait to make this! Would love to make a bunch and nosh for days this. Does it have a certain shelf life where it eventually becomes soggy or the shelf life in general?
This stays nice and crunchy for about 4-5 days! Perfect to prep for the week.
Does this mean stays for 4-5 days with the dressing?
Yes it should be fine with dressing for 4-5 days because the veggies are naturally super crunchy!
My entire family LOVED this one!! Thank you Monique!!!
So happy to hear that Carly!
Hi Monique
I tried this salad yesterday.
Its delicious😊
I added some fresh lime juice. I needed that extra acid in it but that’s a personal thing😛
Hi Niki! So happy you liked it 🙂 Fresh lime juice sounds great in this one, too.
I agree, I added lemon. Delicious salad! Thanks Monique 🙂
Just made this. Not a fan of boring green salads and this chunky flavourful salad was just perfect. Added a little extra cayenne and some lime juice. Very deelish.
No boring salads here! 🙂 So glad you loved this one.
I made this for my vegan daughter. The whole family enjoyed it. The peanut sauce really adds to the salad. Wonderful recipe!
So happy to hear that! And yes – love that peanut dressing.
This recipe was horrible. The ratios were totally off and the sauce. I would not recommend it.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t like this one! I’m surprised – everyone who has made this has loved it. There might just be flavors in here that you don’t personally enjoy.
This recipe was horrible. The ratios were totally off and the sauce. I would not recommend it.
Sorry to hear that you didn’t like this one! I’m surprised – everyone who has made this has loved it. There might just be flavors in here that you don’t personally enjoy.
I made this for dinner this evening and found that the ratio for dressing to salad was too little as well… hmmm, have you ever found the ratio to be off? Maybe the type of PB I’m using? It’s all natural. I’ll have to try again. Loved the flavour and the crunch though!
Feel free to double the dressing next time if you need more! It could also be dependent on how much cabbage you are using.
Made this salad yesterday and am amazed at the tasty combination of flavors in it, thanks again for inspiring me to eat more veggies! Didn’t know veggies could taste so good!
One of my favorite way to get veggies in! 🙂
Should this be stored with or without the dressing? For 4/5 days?
It should be fine with dressing for 4-5 days because the veggies are naturally super crunchy!
Should this be stored with or without the dressing? For 4/5 days?
It should be fine with dressing for 4-5 days because the veggies are naturally super crunchy!
So I made this the way the recipe called and it was fantastic! Then I still had left over ingredients so a week later I made the vegetable sautéed in a little olive oil and made the peanut butter dressing over the stove and I loved it! I like my cabbage cooked so sautéed was a win. Thanks for a beautiful, colorful, and versatile recipe
Amazing! Great idea to toss those veggies with the peanut butter dressing. Glad you enjoyed!
Do you think it would work with almond butter?
Absolutely!
Hi! I can’t wait to make this. I am having trouble printing. It takes me to the print section, but it takes me right out of it immediately. Is it my phone or is there a glitch? Just thought I’d ask in case it’s a glitch:) thanks for the beautiful salad recipes!
Hi! I can’t wait to make this. I am having trouble printing. It takes me to the print section, but it takes me right out of it immediately. Is it my phone or is there a glitch? Just thought I’d ask in case it’s a glitch:) thanks for the beautiful salad recipes!
Hi Tricia! I’ll look into this – thank you for letting me know. For the time being it looks like everything’s working on desktop, too!
Hi Monique, Can I share this recipe with attribution in our nonprofit’s newsletter? We help people around the world to grow more nutritious food, and would like to share a healthy recipe with our supporters too. Here’s our website if you’d like to see what we do: http://www.echonet.org. Thanks for thinking about it.
Hi Danielle! Thanks so much for considering. Feel free to share a description + link to the full recipe on the blog here 🙂
Hi Monique, Can I share this recipe with attribution in our nonprofit’s newsletter? We help people around the world to grow more nutritious food, and would like to share a healthy recipe with our supporters too. Here’s our website if you’d like to see what we do: http://www.echonet.org. Thanks for thinking about it.
Hi Danielle! Thanks so much for considering. Feel free to share a description + link to the full recipe on the blog here 🙂
Super tasty!
My partner added soba noodles and I pan fried my portion so it was more like a stirfry!
I loved the flavours of the dressing, the leftovers and we can’t wait to make again!
Such a great idea! I’ll have to try that next time. Glad you both loved this one!
This salad is delicious, and even though the ingredient list is long, it doesn’t take long to make. I added lime juice to mine and it was just right for me. This will be great to keep in the fridge at the cottage this summer. Thanks for a great recipe!
Perfect! Love this one in the summer too 🙂
Sodium?
Sodium?
I just made this recipe and it’s a bit too spicy for me… what can I add to counteract the spiciness?
Hi Erika! Next time feel free to leave out the jalapeño and/or the cayenne pepper. You could also add a bit of greek yogurt to cut the spice!
One of my very favorites. Thanks for sharing 😍
One of my very favorites. Thanks for sharing 😍
So happy to hear that!!
This is so good! Really enjoyed it. The dressing is awesome.
Absolutely loved this salad. Quick and easy to make. The peanut dressing was perfect. Thank you 🤗
Amazing! So glad you loved it.
Wow! This salad is absolutely wonderful! I have always liked the idea of peanut sauces, but have always found them too peanut buttery – as in that’s the only flavor that I taste. This dressing is perfectly balanced and the curry powder, ginger, and other spices help cut through the peanut butter flavor. What a delicious and beautiful salad! Thanks!
Totally agree on other peanut sauces. I like to add some brightness + freshness with those spices to balance it out 🙂 Glad you enjoyed!!
I just whipped this salad up in 20 minutes. This is going to be added to my rotation. The flavors are so robust and I found it to be very filling.
Can’t wait until it’s grilling season. Grilled shrimp and this salad are going to be fantastic!
The perfect lunch! And YES so excited for grilling season. Shrimp is a great idea!
Super veggie Wow! My husband just said it was awesome, so it’s going in the meal prep rotation. I needed about 3 times more water to get the consistency right, but maybe it’s because my peanut butter is just straight smashed peanuts. No matter… Yummy goodness all around. Thanks so much!
So happy to hear that! And everyone’s peanut butter varies a bit, but stirring in water should help it just fine. Glad you guys enjoyed!
Hi! I just made this for my parents and they LOVED it. Quadrupled the dressing to have for later because it was soooo good. The only downside was having to chop all the stuff up for the salad, but it was highly worth it.
Hi! So glad they loved it! There is a decent amount of chopping involved, but definitely worth it (and it stays good for awhile if you have leftovers!)
Delicious!!! Added some quinoa. So good. Will definitely make again
Perfect!! Glad you enjoyed.
This looks so good that I’m definitely going to try this recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Hope you love it!
I made this salad today. I really liked it. I agree with other commenters, it needed some lemon juice for a little tang. I also realized that I think this needs to be a main dish salad. I served it with other things and I feel it took away from what a great salad it is. I do have a question: What is the purpose of the turmeric? Is it just for extra color? Curry already has turmeric in it. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Glad you enjoyed! Feel free to add a little lemon juice next time 🙂 I like to add turmeric for the color and some extra nutritional benefits (it’s a great anti-inflammatory!)
This is a great salad! The dressing was way too thick (it was a paste consistency), so I added extra water, some of the cooking liquid from the chickpeas (for creaminess) and some balsamic vinegar. Total amount of additional liquid was about 1/2 cup instead of 2-3 tablespoons. Love the idea of adding lime or lemon juice—will do that next time. I added more chickpeas for more protein. Yum! It will be nice to make this salad on Sunday knowing I can take it for lunch during the week. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
Hmmm with just 2 tablespoons of peanut butter it shouldn’t come out too thick – I would be sure to use an all-natural peanut butter, and warm water to thin it. I’m glad those additions worked out well though! Perfect for meal prep and extra chickpeas sounds great 🙂
Loved this salad! Any tips on getting rid of the bitterness of the cabbage? Thanks!
So happy to hear that! I’d suggest making it the night before and letting it soak up the peanut dressing a bit more. That should help with any bitterness!
I just made this delicious salad. We love carbanzo beans. All the other ingredients I have around most of the time, since we eat a lot of salads. I just added more warm water, another TBS of vinegar and a little more curry for the dressing, we loved it. My son who is a vegetarian is visiting with us and he couldn’t get enough of it.
Amazing! So happy to hear that. One of my favorite lunches 🙂
Such a good lunch!
Oh my gosh, this recipe is a keeper. First of all, it’s so visually appealing with all the bright colors of the fresh veggies. Then the smell hits you…the curry and peanut butter and of course the cilantro. On to the taste…the veggies are so crunchy and satisfying. But that dressing! I am obsessing over that dressing. It is so flavorful with the peanut butter and all the amazing spices. It definitely has some heat to it, but it’s not overly spicy. It’s been great for lunches this week.
So glad you love this one! The perfect meal prep lunch 🙂
What a great recipe! We baked some tofu and added for some additional protein, definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Delicious! Great idea 🙂
I just made a salad for dinner. It makes an enormous bowl of salad. There is not near enough salad dressing. I added lots more rice vinegar and some water per month but there still was not nearly enough. I found that I need to add fair amount of salt and pepper to the salad even with a jalapeño. See how it taste tomorrow.
Very strange! I’ve always found there to be the right amount of dressing for the salad, but feel free to double the dressing next time 🙂
This has been on my list to make and I finally made it tonight. It was great. Just the right amount of heat for me. Question: what is a serving size? One cup? It made a lot of salad and the recipe says 4 servings for 256 calories. Just curious how big a serving size is supposed to be.
Probably around 1.5 cups. I normally just divide it into 4 equal portions!
This salad is the bomb! Love the dressing – it’s so flavorful and the perfect amount of spice. I used the leftovers to make a wrap for lunch the next day. I spread some hummus on the wrap and thew in some spinach. It was perfect!
Love that! The perfect lunch.
This recipe was AMAZING, thank you! Hubby and I found it a little spicy, might it have been the garlic? I used a big clove! Or maybe it was the ginger too? I think I added a wee bit more then it called for. Please let me know, thank you 🙂
Hmmm the only spiciness should come from the cayenne pepper, so feel free to leave that out next time!
Love this recipe. I think my jalapeño might have been very spicy or I mistakenly doubled the cayenne😕either way I love spicy! Made me feel like I did something good for my body. And it’s only 1💜WWpoint! Thank you. Will definitely make again and share.
Whoops! Feel free to de-seed your jalapeño and/or omit the cayenne if you’d like 🙂 glad you enjoyed regardless!
This salad is SO good. I used some different vegetables, just to use up what I had on hand, and it still turned out great! I used radishes instead of cabbage and also added a medium head of broccoli. I doubled the dressing ingredients to compensate for the extra veggies and it was the perfect amount. The dressing is SO good. I personally wanted the dressing to have a little more acidity, though, so I added the juice of half of one small lime. It would have been just fine without the lime, but the addition was perfect for what I was craving. Will definitely make this recipe again!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing with what you have on-hand. Glad you loved it!
I found the dressing a bit spicy so I added more vinegar and now it’s perfect! (And I like spicy.) It could be that my Cayenne pepper is extra hot.
Great recipe. Really enjoyed it.
Feel free to adjust the cayenne a bit! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
This was excellent! Thanks for handy, healthy, tasty and versatile dish!
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed!
Ohh, the dressing was so disappointing. Almost inedible.
Sorry to hear that! I’m not sure what could’ve gone wrong as I’ve made this dressing many times. It might just be the flavor combination that you don’t particularly like, but I have another peanut dressing without curry that is also delicious here.
Soooo good! instead of using the recipe for the curry sauce I just used this vegan Thai peanut sauce I had at home! It was still super good 🙂
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Considering this is the fourth straight week that I’ve made a batch, I might as well leave a review. Love, love, love. I always order my groceries through Whole Foods/Amazon Prime Now so I’ve had to adjust slightly based on their inventory. So I use serrano peppers – that’s probably the most notable swap. I add cup of quinoa (seasoned with veggie bouillon) for extra protein and always rinse the chickpeas and remove the skins, which takes more time but reduces gas/bloating. I use apple cider vinegar in the dressing and usually make a double batch of it because I bulk up the salad with the quinoa and usually an extra bell pepper. I also buy rainbow baby carrots and just chop into slivers by hand. Of course, I go hard on the cashews, so this turns into a proper meal. Slightly obsessed and I’ve been telling everyone about it. A real winner. Extremely flavorful. This will be a staple for the foreseeable future.
Perfect! This one’s great for using what you have on-hand 🙂 so glad you love it!
Please refrain from using “(from the bag)” in your ingredients.
We only have one planet.
Thanks.
Thank you for your feedback!
I tried this recipe and my whole family loves it! Can’t believe my kids will finally eat something with chickpeas. I was wondering if using almond butter instead of peanut butter would taste good as well? I want to make it for my extended family but my mother is allergic to peanuts. Thanks!!
So happy to hear that! I think almond butter would work well, too 🙂
Such a tasty salad. Love the crunchy veggies and flavor combination. I can’t wait to make it again! Thanks Monique!
So glad you loved it!
Amazing!!! I added leftover basmati rice, and it was such a delightful lunch. The flavor of the dressing were stellar. Will definitely be making again.
Absolutely delicious. Our half head of cabbage made A LOT so I tripled the dressing (not exactly x3 for all the ingredients, I eyeballed it and used fresh garlic and ginger and kept the cayenne to a little over a 1/4 tsp). Glad I did because it’s SO GOOD. We used some butternut squash instead of carrots and added edamame. It stayed perfectly crispy in the fridge over night, although I did keep the dressing separate.
Perfect! Love that!!
Fabulous flavor, stays crisp and colorful. Great antioxidant source! My only change is lowering the cayenne to a pinch for a little less heat.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Super yummy!
Glad you loved it! 🙂
This was a beautiful and delicious salad, quick and easy to pull together for a weeknight after hitting the gym.
Yay! So happy to hear you loved this one, Karen 🙂
Hi! I can’t find Thai curry powder. Does this recipe use regular Indian yellow curry powder or should I use yellow Thai curry paste?
Thank you!
Hi, there! You can use yellow curry powder in here 🙂
I am very excited to create this yummy sounding Vegan chopped salad.
Mahalo for the recipe
I can’t wait for you to try it! Enjoy 🙂
Great recipes
Thanks, Becky! 🙂
This is a great meal prep recipe – I zhooshed up the dressing a bit and added a small amount of coconut aminos and fish sauce for a little extra umami and salty flavor. I made enough for a whole week and have enjoyed it every day – mind you, the salad was pre-dressed and still was not soggy after several days. YUM!
Love those additions! So happy it stayed fresh for days and that you loved it!
What is the sodium content?
Sorry, I haven’t calculated it for this recipe. You can look up an online nutrition calculator!
I just found you. The recipe sounds delicious. I have recently started eating healthy..giving up carbs and eating healthy salads. I am also getting in to making my own dressing.
I’m so happy you found my site, Alexis! Welcome! Lots more salad ideas here if you want to browse 🙂
I tried this recipe and am sooo glad I did.Beautiful to look at,delicious to eat!Easy to make.I will triple the recipe next time I make it!
I’m so happy you loved it, Crystal!!
This was such an awesome recipe.
It was easy to prepare and absolutely delicious.
I’m so happy you loved it, Michael!
Complicated preparation and very bland flavor. All in all very underwhelmed. Will not be making this again!
Lots of people have found this recipe easy and flavorful, but sorry you didn’t love this one.
This is awesome! I did play around with ingredients a bit – added an extra tbsp PB, 1/2 tbsp tamari, 1/2 tbsp of rice vinegar, and 1 tbsp maple syrup. The sweetness really woke up the curry flavor. Also subbed shredded brussels sprouts for cabbage and tossed in roasted butternut because I had it. Super customizable and amazing with the cashews and a little avocado garnish!
Those are great modifications! Sounds DELICIOUS. Thanks so much for sharing, Abby!
Super easy and absolutely delicious! Made a double batch so that I have a salad for the next several days.
Fantastic salad, made it for the first time today and plan to make it many times over! What a great way to mix up boring summer salads, spicy and exciting,m. This made my taste buds tingle!
Wow this is such a great, quick and healthy dish! Everyone in my house loved it! I will be making this regularly, thank you so much! XO
Looks amazing. Can I use green cabbage instead of red?
Absolutely! Hope you love it 🙂
Amazing recipe! Love this for a summer picnic. Perfect balance of spice from the jalepeno and sweetness from the peanut! Definitely a repeat recipe!
Thank you, Kendall!! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
Love you
The recipe sounds wonderful and I was all set to make it until I read the Nutrition list and there was nothing for potasium. Please inclued it if you can. The ratio of people with kidney disease that need to watch their potasium intake is higher than you would think. Thank you