Spicy Thai Salad in Jar

This Spicy Thai salad includes crunchy purple cabbage and cucumber, chili roasted sweet potatoes, edamame, quinoa, greens, and dressed with the most delicious homemade Spicy Thai peanut dressing. It’s a little more high maintenance than some of the other salads I make but don’t let that stop you from making it. With my tips for making this into a mason jar salad, you can put in the work on Sunday to enjoy this salad all week. 

One of my favorite salads is the Spicy Thai salad at Panera bread. I love it! It includes edamame, roasted carrots, chicken, and a Thai Peanut dressing I could drink. 

I always order it because it’s one of those salads I never get around to making at home, probably because it takes a bit more work roasting and cooking the necessary ingredients. 

Since going gluten-free, I don’t eat at Panera that much anymore, plus I just learned that the Panera Spicy Thai Chicken Salad is discontinued. So, I decided to put in the effort and create a gluten-free, vegetarian mason jar salad version of this Spicy Thai Salad.

Other mason jar salad recipes to try are this Healthy Taco Salad in a Jar, California Salad in a Jar, and Southwest Chicken Salad in a Jar.

Salad Ingredients

• Spicy Thai peanut dressing. I love using my homemade Thai Peanut Salad Dressing for this salad, it has excellent flavor, is gluten-free, and you can control the spice level. The dressing ingredients include peanut butter, tamari, chili oil, sesame oil, rice vinegar,  fresh ginger and garlic, and lime juice. You can also grab peanut sauce or dressing from the grocery store; make sure to check the ingredients if you’re concerned about gluten or other additives. 
• Mini cucumbers add a great crunch to this salad and act as a barrier between the dressing and greens in the mason jar. You can also chop 1 or 2 large cucumbers.
• Red shredded cabbage is a staple in most Asian-inspired salads. You can purchase ahead of cabbage and slice thin or keep it simple and purchase it pre-shredded from the produce section.
• Shelled edamame gives the salad another layer of texture. It was a little challenging to find edamame in my grocery store; I ended up buying edamame frozen in the shell. It does take a moment to remove the edamame from the pod, but it’s worth it.
• Quinoa gives the spicy Thai salad a grain layer that adds extra bulk while also adding protein and fiber.
• Roasted sweet potatoes are my favorite ingredient in this Thai salad. I like to use a variation of this chili-spiced roasted sweet potato recipe to add extra spiciness.
• Baby spinach mix or any leafy green variety will work for this salad recipe. Chopped romaine lettuce is also good.
• Cilantro (not pictured) adds a fresh herb flavor to the salad, and it compliments the Thai peanut salad dressing perfectly. You can also use fresh basil.

Cooking Tips

• Swap in your favorite crunchy vegetables. Some favorites include sliced or chopped red, yellow, or orange or red peppers, shredded or chopped carrots, chopped zucchini or zoodles, shredded Brussel sprouts. I’ve even used bags of Asian slaw mix.
• You can substitute brown rice, bulgur, farro, or other varieties of quinoa for the grain layer.
• You can add thinly sliced roasted or baked chicken breast if you want to add meat. You can even use shredded rotisserie chicken or thinly sliced beef for the salad. 
• You can swap in roasted carrots for the sweet potatoes in this salad.
• If you want, cook the sweet potatoes and quinoa a day or two ahead of time. Sometimes, this makes getting the salads together the day you want to make them more manageable.
• Make it spicier by sprinkling in red pepper flakes in with the peanut dressing.
• Add more crunch by topping the salad with roasted almonds, cashews, peanuts, wonton strips.
• For a sweet and spicy flavor, add chopped fresh papaya, green papaya, or mango to the salad. It can be tossed together after you pour it from the mason jar or add it after the cabbage layer.

Supplies

• Mixing bowls
• Large rimmed sheet pans
• 32-ounce mason jars and lids

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How to Make Spicy Thai Salad

I’m going to show you how to layer this Thai Salad into a mason jar. See my How to Make Mason Jar Salads tutorial for more information if you have questions. You can also prepare the ingredients and assemble them into a dinner salad. 

• If you haven’t already, roast the sweet potatoes and cook the quinoa.
• Both need to cool before layering them into the mason jar, so I think it’s helpful to make these the day before if possible. It would be best if you also prepared the Thai Peanut Salad Dressing. 
• Divide the ingredients among the mason jars starting with the dressing, then layer the cucumbers, red cabbage, edamame, chickpeas, quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, and top with the greens.
• Put the lid on and store it in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
• Give the salad a good shake, and then dump it into a salad bow and tossl when you’re ready to eat. The dressing is thicker than a vinaigrette, so it might take a little effort to get all of the dressing out. 

Storage Tips

• Prepare five salads on Sunday and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
• You can also prepare the ingredients and store them separately in the refrigerator. Assemble the salad on the nights you want to eat it.

Other Healthy Mason Jar Salads

• Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Mason Jar Salad
• Protein Power Salad in a Jar
• Cobb Salad in a Jar
• Vegan Taco Salad in a Jar

See all of my mason jar salad recipes.