I’m here to reshare a simple, yet incredibly addicting broccoli salad recipe that will make you want to run to the store and stock up on every single veggie available. GET READY TO EAT THE RAINBOW KIDS.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good leafy green salad but is there anything better than a NON-LETTUCE salad that’s crunchy, flavorful, and packed with a literal rainbow of vegetables? Nope. I originally made this salad about 4 years ago and I still make it all the time.
So, I’d like to re-introduce you to my Thai-inspired broccoli salad with protein-packed chickpeas, lovely cashews, and a spicy ginger peanut dressing. Uh-huh, honey.
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Thai-inspired broccoli salad ingredients
Not only is this cashew broccoli salad, but it also includes plenty of rainbow veggies that will stay crunchy all week long. It’s tossed in sweet & spicy ginger peanut dressing that you’re bound to make again and again. This broccoli salad is gluten free & grain free, easily made vegan, and might just be your new favorite lunch to meal prep. Here’s what you’ll need:
- For the veggies: we’re using a beautiful mix of broccoli, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrot, red bell pepper, jalapeño & fresh cilantro.
- For the protein: this broccoli salad has a boost of plant based protein from chickpeas.
- For the peanut dressing: that addicting Thai-inspired spicy ginger peanut dressing is made with peanut butter, honey (or maple syrup), rice vinegar, sesame oil, fresh ginger, garlic and a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- To garnish: I love topping this salad with more cilantro and roasted cashews. Honey roasted is amazing!
Should I cook the broccoli?
No need! This salad uses fresh, raw broccoli — it’s delicious! If you’re sensitive to raw veggies like broccoli you can feel free to give it a quick blanch to make it a little bit easier to digest, but I think it’s perfect as is.
Make this salad your own
The great part about this crunchy chopped Thai-inspired broccoli salad is that it’s easy to customize! Here are some suggestions for making it your own:
- Keep it vegan. Feel free to sub maple syrup for the honey to keep this salad vegan.
- Swap your protein. Cooked, cubed tofu and/or cooked quinoa would be delicious in this recipe, and some cooked honey mustard chicken, shrimp or my maple glazed salmon would be perfect if you’re not eating plant based!
- Pick your produce. If you’re out of broccoli I think shredded brussels sprouts would be perfect.
- Change up the dressing. Facing a nut allergy? Replace the peanut butter with tahini and skip the cashews. Or try this flavorful sesame ginger dressing.
Tips for making this chopped cashew broccoli salad
- Chop your broccoli very finely. The trick to this salad is to make sure your broccoli is VERY finely chopped. Get wild with that knife and chop, chop, chop!
- Adjust the sweetness & spiciness. Personally, I prefer just one tablespoon of honey (or maple syrup) in the dressing and I love a hearty pinch of cayenne, but you can easily adjust this based on your preferences. I recommend tasting as you go when mixing the dressing. If you want it spicier or sweeter, just adjust seasonings as necessary.
- Meal prep or feed a crowd. I absolutely love making this during the week because it keeps well in the fridge, but it’s also perfect for parties & gatherings! Abra and I noshed on it all week long after we tested it out. Feel free to double it for a crowd to make a yummy side dish that everyone will love. I suggest leaving out the cashews until you are ready to serve.
How to store broccoli salad
As I mentioned, this crunchy chopped Thai-inspired broccoli salad keeps getting better over the course of a few days as it marinates in the delicious, spicy peanut dressing. Store it in an airtight container (or a few meal prep containers like these) for up to 5 days and enjoy all week long. It’s also perfect for both parties and meal prep, and you can easily make it the night before. We recommend adding the cashews right before serving though.
What to serve with this broccoli salad
This broccoli salad packs plenty of protein, fiber & flavor to eat on its own for lunch, but it also makes the perfect side dish for a party. Here are some other delicious plant based sides and mains that you can serve it with:
- Crispy Broccoli Sweet and Spicy Sesame Tahini Noodles
- Vegan Butternut Squash Black Bean Enchiladas with Jalapeño Cashew Crema
- Easy Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Garlic Fingerling Potatoes
- Healing Curry Butternut Squash Lentil Soup (with a slow cooker option!)
If you’re not vegan or vegetarian, this recipe is delicious with simple chicken breast on top (check out these marinades for the perfect inspo!) or as a side to my famous One Pan Ginger Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Sauce.
More salad recipes you’ll love
- Roasted Carrot Cauliflower Quinoa Salad with Sunshine Dressing
- Spicy Ranch Chopped Chicken Cabbage Salad
- Vibrant Curry Cashew Chickpea Quinoa Salad
- Cashew Crunch Shredded Brussels Sprouts Salad
- Chopped Thai Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing
Get all of our delicious salad recipes here and see more recipes using broccoli here.
I hope you love this easy chopped Thai-inspired broccoli salad. If you make it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe — I really appreciate it! xo.
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Spicy Cashew Chickpea Broccoli Salad with Ginger Peanut Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 medium head broccoli, VERY finely chopped into bite sized pieces (3-4 cups VERY FINELY diced)
- 2-3 cups packed shredded red cabbage
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ⅓ cup diced green onions (mostly green part)
- 1 jalapeno, finely diced (remove seeds if you are heat sensitive)
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- For the dressing:
- ¼ cup natural creamy peanut butter (just nuts and salt)
- 2 ½ tablespoons low sodium gluten free soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon honey (or pure maple syrup to keep vegan)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or sub olive oil)
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 clove garlic, finely minced
- Optional: ¼ teaspoon red cayenne pepper, plus more if you like it extra spicy!
- 2-3 tablespoons warm water, to thin dressing
- To garnish:
- ½ cup roasted cashew halves (honey roasted or a fun flavor is yummy!)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the chickpeas, finely chopped broccoli, shredded red cabbage, shredded carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, jalapeno and cilantro. Set aside.
- Make the dressing by whisking together the following ingredients in a small bowl: peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper and water. Drizzle over the salad and toss well to combine.
- Serve immediately with a fresh squeeze of lime juice and sprinkle roasted cashews on top and toss a few more times, or place in the fridge for later (do not add cashews until you are ready to eat for optimal crunch!) Salad will keep well covered in the fridge for up 3-5 days. Serves 4.
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on January 20th, 2020, republished on February 27th, 2022, and republished on February 16th, 2024.
This salad is amazing! The flavors and the crunch were exactly what I was hoping for! I swapped out half the chickpeas for some edamame…came together perfectly. So excited for lunches this week!
Absolutely! Edamame sounds delicious 🙂
This salad is so fresh and delicious. It keeps so well in the fridge (without the dressing), I’m able to eat it for multiple days in a row. The flavors are great together!
One of my all-time favs, too!!
This recipe is delicious and so versatile! The standout for me is the ginger peanut dressing – you can put it on everything and it honestly tastes good enough to drink. I vary the veggies but this is an amazing easy lunch meal. In a pinch you can substitute lemon for the rice vinegar and it’s still delicious.
One of my fav dressings to make! And YES this one’s great for customizing 🙂
Deeeelicious! I used green cabbage I had and used a bit less because my bowl was overflowing lol. I used lime juice and a tad more than recipe amount, and regular soy sauce, so I added a bit more sesame oil and maple syrup to balance out the sauce. Used lentils, no jalapeno. So so so good! Will be making this again!
So glad you loved this one!
This salad is so good. I have made it for potlucks and get so many compliments on it. I started even prepping each serving in jars for my weekly meal prep. One of my favorites!
One of my favs, too! So glad you love it!
It was deliciouss. Next time we will use candied cashews.
Greetings from Costa Rica. Playa Jaco.🥜🫑🥦🥕🍽
That sounds delicious, too! Glad you enjoyed!
This tuned out to be super awesome. We loved the flavors, textures and how easy it was to make.
Used almond butter in place of peanut butter and left out the chickpeas and red pepper.
How much did we love this dish? So much that we seriously wanted to have it agin for dinner!
Thank you for sharing.
So happy to hear that!!
Mine tasted quite bland and sweet. I realized that my peanut butter had no salt but plenty of sugar. I feel like this is probably something that ought to be included when checking the ingredients. Adding some salt, made the recipe delicious.
Thanks for your note! I’ve clarified in the recipe to use a natural peanut butter made from nuts and salt.
My husband and I are trying to eat more vegan meals, but didn’t know where to start. This was so delicious! I did feel like the sauce was too little, but it ended up being just right. I would make more for next time, just because it was so yummy. Be sure to make this in a big bowl! It is not just delicious, but also absolutely beautiful and appetising to look at! A big win for us. Definitely making this again. Thank you!
Amazing! So glad you two gave this one a try 🙂
Simple, light, easy to put together.
One of my fav salads!
Made this tonight and it was delicious. Next time will double the sauce to have extra on hand.
Love it! Great idea 🙂
Very good salad! I followed the recipe and added celery and cucumber. And a bit more peanut butter.
I may serve leftovers over rice noodles.
One of my all-time fav salads!
Made this salad last night for dinner and it was awesome! The dressing is perfect. I used natural peanut butter with no sugar added so it wasn’t overly sweet. The only edits I made were that I blanched the broccoli (not a fan of raw) and did a quick airfry on the chickpeas for added texture. And the recipe makes a good amount so I’ll have great lunches this week! Thanks for sharing… it’s a keeper!
Perfect! The air fryer chickpeas sound delicious. Glad you enjoyed!
yummy! lots of flavors and so many healthy ingredients mingling together!
Such a great lunch!
Delicious! The whole family loved it and we’re all looking forward to fighting over the leftovers (just a scoop!) tomorrow. The dressing is insanely good! Thank you for a great recipe. 🙂
(It’s not letting me rate it 5 stars, so I’m just letting you know that it is 5 stars from me.)
Excellent! I am so glad you found this recipe and are loving it, Alison. ❤️
This salad was fantastic. I will be adding this to my weekly list of recipes. It’s THAT GOOD!!
Excellent! I am so excited that you are loving this salad, perfect for summer lunches 🙂☀️
Flavorful, healthy, crunchy and semi-quick. Absolutely delicious! Love the kick of the cayenne and the jalapeño!
You can literally drink this dressing, guys… holy YUM!! The salad I mixed up to have tomorrow and I know it’s gonna be amazing!! Thank you for this one !! Followed exactly but added crushed red pepper flakes to my dressing cuz I like that, alot!!
Absolutely! So glad you are enjoying this recipe ❤️
Always double this winner. It keeps well in the fridge!
That’s such a great idea, Kelsey! SO happy you enjoy this recipe 😊
This recipe was delicious even before the dressing with all of the fresh ingredients. The dressing is BEYOND! I made for meal prep for a few days for lunches. I kept in separate air right containers and had no issues. Will definitely be adding to my regular rotation.
This salad is so full of wonderful flavor. It is so healthy with a limited amount of oil and perfectly balanced. I wouldn’t change a thing. So flexible to add whatever vegetables you like. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Thanks so much for the review, Joy! SO happy you love it 🙂
Would it change the taste of the salad if I steamed the broccoli for a few minutes
Thank You
Hi, there! It’ll be a bit less crunchy but still totally delicious 🙂
So good!! We used maple syrup vs honey and totally forgot the lime juice and cashews at the end. Will definitely add them next time. This recipe is definitely on our rotation now. The peanut sauce would be great for a spring roll dipping sauce too.
Happy it tasted great even without the lime and cashews! So excited for you to make it again with those 🙂 And yes totally agree about the peanut sauce!
Wow this was DELICIOUS! I only had green cabbage but I don’t think it mattered to the taste. I also was feeling really lazy so I used the food processor to shred the carrot and broccoli. Yeah, I do think it would have been better for the broccoli to be in little pieces but the shredded was totally fine and I will happily do that again if I don’t feel like all the chopping. Because this salad definitely has a lot of chopping! Just leave time for it and put on some music or a podcast or something. Thanks for a great recipe I will certainly make again!
Soooo good! Every time I make this, I get asked for the recipe by everyone at the table. It’s really that good! The recipe is perfect as is, but sometimes we sub out marcona almonds for the cashews. I am also interested in making the dressing using almond butter instead of peanut butter for our legume free “cleanse” periods. We always double the dressing because it’s the best. And we make it with 1/2 Tamari 1/2 Coconut Aminos. SO GOOD! Thank you AK!
I love to see short video recipes without useless words and movements. Yours is really great! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, happy you enjoyed it!
Love this salad. My lunch tomorrow. Thank you
This was so tasty and satisfying! I threw the carrots and cabbage in the food processor for quick grating, the dressing is so yummy I would double it next time. I didn’t put in jalapeños since my kids aren’t into spice, but the green onions added a nice kick! Thanks AK team for another great one.
I love this salad and have made it several times. I find that I must double-up on the dressing for everything to be evenly coated. This is a great salad for lunch and gets better with time.
Good to know about the dressing amount, thanks! So happy you love this one 🙂
Cant wait to make this soon for me can i skip red bell pepper as am not a big fan of red bell pepper i never had chopped thai – inspired broccoli salad before perfect for my after office meals
Sure, that’s totally fine! Enjoy!
This salad is ridiculously easy to whip together and perfectly crunchy and delicious! I forgot the jalapeño and skipped the chickpeas but I still loved it. Actually held up well for lunch the next day (eating it right now) and I think this will be part of my rotation.
This salad came together really easily for a quick lunch using a bag of mixed salad (kale, broccoli, cabbage and some bits of cauliflower). I subbed almond butter for the peanut butter & added a squeeze of lime and it was delicious! I’d imagine some fresh Thai basil in the mix would also be delicious. Thanks for the healthy recipe!
Nice! I’m so happy you enjoyed it. And YES to the Thai basil 😍
OMG, that dressing alone is out of this world good! My broccoli actually went bad so I just threw in an extra pepper and added kale to the mix. SO SO good and fresh! Will definitely be making this again (with hopefully broccoli next time)!
OMG isn’t it?! And those are great subs! Happy you love this recipe!
I love the peanut dressing. Reminds me a lot of my creamy peanut sauce, but this one naturally is way more intense. Instead of the rice vinegar i opted for lime juice. Their aromatics are more intense and the overall sauce gets a bit more bright and fresh.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I’m so glad you love it, Kai! Thanks for leaving a review!
Made this for lunch today. Delicious!! The dressing has so much flavor! Monique’s recipes win every single time!
Aw thank you!! I’m so happy you loved it 🙂
This recipe is quick, delicious, and makes enough to have lunch for the week!
Yay! Happy you’re a fan of this one, Bri 🙂
Love this salad. So delicious and filling!
This recipe is the bomb. So easy to make and tasty. I added quinoa to mine! Will definitely make this a regular meal.
Great call on the quinoa!! Can’t wait for you to make it again!
Really great, held up well for meal prep. I waited to add cashews each day before eating to keep the crunch. Will definitely make again!
Great salad to meal prep for a filling lunch on its own or as a side for dinners throughout the week. Love the broccoli base and variety of veggies. No adjustments needed!
I omitted red pepper ibecause my daughter hates them), chickoeasI and cilantro (none of us are a fan) I
substitutedd edamame (about 3/4 cup) and a chopped Asian pear. So yummy. I found there was not quite enough dressing but I think I shredded the red cabbage too finely so it was pretty dense. Substantial enough as a main.
Ooh such a great idea to use edamame and asian pear–bet that was amazing!! And good to know about the dressing amount, thanks 🙂
This salad looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
I’m excited for you to try it, too! Let me know what you think 🙂
Hi Monique, this salad looks amazing. I just found out I shouldn’t eat broccoli. Would it work to use cauliflower instead?
Thanks for your help.
Cauliflower’s a great substitution here–go for it! 🙂
This is freaking delicious!! It was a big hit with the kids. 😀
Amazing!! So happy to hear you guys are loving it 🙂