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Chopped Thai Salad with Coconut-Curry Dressing

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Jump straight to the recipe here (but you'll miss a lot of good info)!

This Chopped Thai Salad is very healthy and tastes amazing! You’ll love the dressing and will want to use it on everything. Add chicken or shrimp for an even heartier meal.

superfood thai salad with a delicious coconut-curry dressing

With all the booze and bacon going on around here lately, I thought we could all use a little detoxing. So I whipped you up this super-healthy chopped Thai salad. It’s got all good stuff in it – kale, cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, mango & fresh herbs, all tasty things that will do your body good!

coconut-curry dressing {goes with a superfood thai chopped salad}

The dressing? Well, the dressing is a bit of an indulgence. Coconut milk is high in fat and calories but does make for a creamy dressing that balances the veggies in this salad nicely.

Coconut milk is also not without its health benefits so just choose the low-fat version if you’re concerned about calories. And you’ll be eating so many fresh, crunchy veggies that your body will still thank you for it!

superfood thai salad with a delicious coconut-curry dressing

The kale and cabbage combination in this chopped Thai salad keeps things really crunchy – there’s no iceberg, romaine or any other type of lettuce to be seen. You know I’m not much of a lettuce-salad chef anyway – freshly chopped veggies, especially in the summertime with all the awesome fresh produce around, just makes for a better salad.

You may choose to leave out the chopped peanuts for any allergies although they do add a nice flavor and texture. But whatever you do – don’t leave out the mango. It adds a sweetness that’s necessary with the earthy kale. Plus, it’s mango. Always a good thing!

{Check out my other Chopped Salad Recipe with Cumin Shrimp & Cilantro Lime Dressing}

superfood chopped thai salad with a delicious coconut-curry dressing
Chopped Thai Salad with Coconut-Curry Dressing

Chopped Thai Salad with Coconut-Curry Dressing

Yield: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

You can make the dressing and prepare the salad ingredients and keep them in separate containers in the refrigerator for salads all week long. Keep the mango in its own container.

Ingredients

For the dressing

  • 1 can low-fat coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
  • 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
  • 1 clove garlic
  • juice of a lime
  • 1-2 teaspoons sriracha
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)

For the salad

  • 3 cups chopped kale
  • 2 cups chopped napa cabbage
  • 1 red bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1 cup shredded carrots
  • 1 cup chopped mango
  • 1/2 cup chopped peanuts
  • 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Instructions

  1. Place all of the dressing ingredients in a blender and blend on high speed until very smooth. Place the dressing in a saucepan, bring to a boil then simmer until reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Set it aside to cool.
  2. Place the remaining ingredients into a large bowl, toss with the dressing and serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 486Total Fat: 39gSaturated Fat: 22gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 813mgCarbohydrates: 30gNet Carbohydrates: 23gFiber: 7gSugar: 12gProtein: 14g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix.

© Kristy Bernardo
Cuisine: Thai

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. They are really nutrient rich and a great dose of color.
    If only they didn’t invoke the migraines for us.

    Reply

  23. This is my kind of salad.  I love a variety of ingredients and your dressing sounds amazing.

    Reply

  28. I made this two nights ago (and am eating leftovers at my desk right now). It is AMAZING! I mixed it up with some cooked soba noodles to use up all the sauce. This one is a keeper.

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    • Gina, you just made my entire day! I am so happy you enjoyed it so much (and great idea to toss the sauce with soba noodles)! I really appreciate you letting me know – thanks!

      Reply

  29. Hi Kristy – just wanted you to know I posted your Chopped Thai Salad on my Pinterest board way back when and it has gone viral. I’m still getting notifications from Pinterest of people posting, liking, etc. Thought you’d like to know you’ve got a real popular salad :-)

    Reply

    • Thank you, Vicki! I appreciate you pinning it and it’s so sweet of you to come back and fill me in on its progress! I’ve noticed that it does seem to be pretty popular and that could only happen with support from awesome people like you :) xoxoxo!!

      Reply

  32. Made this last night for dinner…was so addictive I had to make more for lunch. Thank you so much for the awesome recipe…delish!

    Reply

  33. I HAD to write to say “thank you SO much” for posting this recipe! My husband and I are in love with it!! I get compliments every time I bring it to work for lunch and we tell EVERYONE about it. lol So, thank you, thank you, thank you!! I’m heading to the store now to get the ingredients to make it again. <3

    Reply

    • Annette, you have no idea how happy that makes me!! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and let me know. This thai salad is one of my favorites, too. Thanks for putting a smile on my face going into my weekend :) Cheers!

      Reply

  35. Hi! I have a couple of questions regarding the curry..are you using powder or paste? And, red or \regular\ curry?
    Thanks!

    Reply

  36. I just made this and am waiting for my dressing to cool, smells SO delicious, thanks for sharing a salad recipe I can get excited about. I added some quinoa as well for the protein.

    Quick question: Do you recommend only putting on the dressing on the portion of salad I will eat immediately or is it okay to mix it all in and store it in the fridge for a few days? Let me know, I’m anxious to dig in!

    Reply

    • Hi Valery! I know I already emailed you back last night with the answer but I’ll still post here for others. I would definitely store the salad and dressing separately or it will get soggy. I hope you enjoyed it! Cheers :)

      Reply

    • Hi Amy! I typically only use peanuts and haven’t tried anything else, but my guess is that almonds would be good, too. Let me know if you try them and how you like it. Cheers :)

      Reply

  40. I just finished eating this and it was really excellent. I didn’t have any peanuts, so I substituted in some cashews instead. I also added some shredded beet to the salad and a little nutritional yeast to the sauce. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  41. I’m totally making this for my Girl’s Night Bachelorette Premiere Night party…tomorrow…just thought I’d let you know:)>

    Reply

  42. I made this for supper tonight. Instead of kale I used dandelion greens and I added some shrimp. This is excellent and will be on a regular rotation at our house! Thank you for a great recipe!

    Reply

  43. I made this today for lunch. It was SO good. The sauce was amazing, I will be using the sauce recipe for stir-frys as well. I think scallions and broccoli would go well in this salad as well. I also like to add brown rice to salads like this…kinda like a raw stir fry I guess.

    Reply

  44. This was really good and really healthy! Except, the dressing isn’t sweet at all. Tonight I’m going to make it again but with sweetened coconut milk and 2 chopped mangos.

    Reply

  45. So this dish gets the credit for me voluntarily eating kale and not finding it gross for the first time. The mango definitely helped. (I also had to stop myself from eating the dressing with a spoon because wow that was good. I made PB from scratch and used that in it.)

    Reply

  46. I made this last night and it was amazing! The only thing I did different was add in some feta cheese, broccoli and fried up some tofu in garlic oil to give it more substance for the guys, haaa. My guests loved it as well and we were able to deconstruct it for the 3 children under 6 that were over. Best part was that I got to use up carrots, kale, broccoli, cilantro and peppers from our garden!

    Reply

  47. I am so excited to make this! My boyfriend doesn’t like peanut butter, I know the dressing says coconut and curry but there is peanut butter in it, is the peanut butter flavor strong? Or can I substitute anything for the peanut butter or just leave it out?

    Reply

    • Hi Peaches, sorry for the late reply (the comment went into my spam folder). The peanut butter flavor is not very strong to me but I love pb and I’m not sure how strong your bf’s aversion to it is. You could try subbing almond butter (or perhaps do half and half) but I’ve never done this so I’m not sure how the flavor would be. Sorry I’m not able to offer more substitutions but I do hope you give it a try! And please let me know if you do and how it works for you. Thanks!

      Reply

  49. Question; Is it necessary to heat the dressing after it’s been in the blender? Not sure why?? It’s already thick.

    Reply

  50. Isn’t mango high in carbs (more glucose or forms of it)? I am just saying this from eating a lot of mangoes in India, they are pretty sweet!

    Reply

    • Hi Karthik, mango does have sugar as it’s a fruit but I think I may be missing the point you’re trying to make. A small amount of mango in a recipe this size – at least in my opinion – still keeps this a healthy recipe. I’m not dietician, however, but that’s my personal opinion. Let me know if I’ve missed the point, happy to talk more about it. Cheers :)

      Reply

  51. Made this salad for a family get together tonight and it’s awesome! But I will say I felt like there was too much dressing. Next time I will either half the dressing or double the salad.
    Thanks!

    Reply

  53. This is an awesome recipe. I am so going to try this sometime soon. I love salads and the fact that this had coconut and curry dressing makes it all the more enticing.

    I wanted to check if I could feature this recipe on a roundup post that I am working on? I am leaving you a message via your contact us form with more details.

    Thanks,

    Reply

  54. This salad is so great for summer…it’s delicious! I’m eating low carb, so I begrudgingly omitted the mango. But I did add some mint and it tasted so similar to the spring rolls from my favorite Thai place. I’m stoked I now have a quick, easy, healthy, and tasty low carb substitute for Thai food. Woot woot!

    Reply

  55. This was so yummy! Thanks for sharing! I added some warmed up garbanzo beans/chick peas for some protein and it was great!

    Reply

  56. Looks beautiful! Is the curry powder just the kind I get in the spice section of grocery store or is it a Thai powder that I would find in the ethnic section? My yellow curry powder doesn’t taste Thai to me, so I’m not sure I am using the right one. Thanks!

    Reply

  57. Made this today for my daughter’s baby shower. It was a hit. You were so right about the mango being critical. In fact, I went a bit to heavy on the Sriracha and the salt in the sauce but was able to correct by adding ½ bag of frozen but defrosted mango as the sauced simmered. It was excellent!

    Reply

  58. For some reason the actual recipe isn’t showing up for me. Is it just my computer? Could you email it to me?

    Reply

    • Hi Heather! It actually wasn’t just you – the recipe had disappeared! I’m so thankful you contacted me about it. It’s fixed now so you should be good to go. THANK YOU!!

      Reply

  60. Chowed down on this tonight. Didn’t have time to prepare a protein but I picked this recipe because it looks like the best way ever to get fiber into my diet. Very good curry dressing!

    Reply

  61. I found this recipe for the Thai chopped salad on Pinterest. I am just recently getting into Thai food and I am so glad I tried this recipe. The dressing is absolutely amazing! Like I could just eat it with a spoon good! I added grilled chicken breast to the salad and it is delicious. I will be making this salad A LOT this summer. It is so good that I wanted to leave a comment, which I never do.

    Reply

  62. This looks great. Only wanted to point out that your directions make it sound like you blend everything. Separating the dressing ingredients from the salad ingredients and clarifying the language would be nice.

    Reply

    • hmmm…I just reread the recipe and I’m genuinely not sure how one could infer that all the ingredients are blended together. This is the first time that’s been mentioned but I’ll keep it in mind for future recipes. Cheers :)

      Reply

  63. That salad looks absolutely delicious! It’s time to replace the pasta salad and serve up some healthy chopped salad on the dinner table for my family.

    Reply

  64. I made this last night to pack for lunch today. I eat chopped salads pretty often, but the dressing was really different from any I’ve made before and I was starting to regret my decision to tackle an untested recipe late at night without a backup lunch plan. Without tasting any, I packed some up and hoped for the best. I just finished lunch and was so, so impressed! This salad (with it’s unique dressing) was delicious. I’m already looking forward to lunch tomorrow!

    Reply

  65. Made the dressing but used red curry paste instead of yellow curry powder (red curry tastes better and has a kick to it, so no need to add sriracha unless you want it). It was excellent!

    Reply

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