comment icon 226 more comments What’s it called when you want something that tastes really, really good… but is also basically a high pile of fresh, vibrant, feel-good-in-your-body vegetables? You call it Cashew Crunch Salad, that’s what you call it.
This Salad Is Checking All The Boxes
Lunch rolls around and my internal conversation goes like this:
I’m hungry. What would taste awesome right now? No, wait, what would be super healthy right now? Because…mocha peanut butter pie? No, but what would actually fill me up? WAIT WAIT WAIT what about that salad with the sesame dressing that is awesome-tasting AND healthy AND keeps me full because it’s full of so many friendly fats and good stuff? Yes! I love salad! I love vegetables! I love life!
That’s an actual transcript of my internal dialogue. These are the terms I think in: tastes amazing, mostly healthy, still fills me up.
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Let’s Discuss Ingredients For This Salad
The dressing might be my favorite part of this mix-up. It’s an oil-and-vinegar dressing that you can shake up in a jar, sweetened up with a little sugar, seasoned with a little sesame oil, and… if you are me… creamified with a dollop of Greek yogurt or mayo. I don’t know, for me, a vinaigrette-drenched salad just isn’t going to keep me full. I need a little more creaminess happening in my salads, so I just took my favorite retro dressing (shout out to Kim Harcey of my old First Baptist Church cookbook ♡) and creamied it up a teensy bit. The rest of what’s happening here is just a LOT of crunch. Crunchy veggies, crunchy cashews, crunchy chow mein noodles. How absolutely retro at chow mein noodles? I love this for us so much.
Make This Salad Your Way
For the vegans – leave out the creamy stuff! For the gluten-free-ers – leave out the crunchy chow mein noodles! For the protein-lovers – add some grilled chicken! Or shrimp! Or… I don’t know, tofu?! This quickly becomes a dinner entree salad with juicy grilled chicken sliced across the top. I would not be sad if this was my lunch for the rest of the summer. Gooooo team vegetables!
More Salads To Munch On
Corn, Avocado, and Quinoa Salad with Marinated Tomatoes (the perfect punchy, summery salad) 5-Minute Spicy Chickpea Salad (all creamy and textured – still a salad!) Rainbow Chicken Salad with Almond Honey Mustard Dressing (this dressing though – SO AMAZING!) Quinoa Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing (another salad packed with crisp, crunchy veg) BLT Panzanella (fried bread on a salad…that’s all we’re saying) Avocado Kale Caesar Salad with Sweet Potato Fries (salad & fries – hello balanced meal)
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our easy weeknight dinners page. Check it out! 4.9 from 110 reviews Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil (you can use any other oil as well) 3 tablespoons white vinegar 2 tablespoons sesame oil – very important for flavor! 2 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon salt a few shakes of garlic powder optional: 1/4 cup Greek yogurt or mayo (more or less to taste – this changes it from a vinaigrette to more of a creamy dressing)
Dressing: You can easily omit the Greek yogurt or mayo to keep this a vegan / dairy free salad! The dressing will be a little less thick (more like a vinaigrette), but it’s still totally delicious. For a creamy dairy-free alternative, you could try miso! To make this gluten free, leave out the chow mein noodles.
