Asian Salad Recipe with Sesame Ginger Dressing
This super easy-to-make Asian salad recipe is packed full of healthy veggies and tossed in a tasty sesame ginger salad dressing. It's fresh and crunchy and a crazy delicious side dish.
Who loves crispy, crunchy veggies, roasted peanuts or cashews, and a sweet sesame salad dressing? This Asian salad recipe is hard not to fall in love with. Not only is it one of the tastiest salads ever, but it's also super healthy. Like super crazy healthy.
It's a carrot salad with sesame oil and ginger and cashews and has long been a mainstay here. It's so easy to whip up, and the flavors are bright and fresh. We love the crispy veggies, crunchy nuts, and tangy sesame dressing. Enjoy, friends!
Why this is our favorite easy Asian salad recipe
- It's full of crunch, but not too much. There are lots of crunchy carrots in this recipe, but they're grated. Grating the carrots gives them crunch but takes away the crunchiness extreme of chopped carrots.
- The dressing is simple and amazing. It has just the right amount of sweet and tart deliciousness and goes perfectly with the carrots.
- Cashews because salted cashews are everything.
- It's ridiculously easy to make. Love easy recipes!
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How to make this Asian salad recipe
- Start by making the dressing. Just whisk the ingredients in a small bowl or shake them together in a mason jar. Easy!
- Now add the grated and chopped veggies to a salad bowl and pour the dressing over the top.
- All that's left to do is to grab a fork and dig in!
Full recipe instructions are in the recipe card below.
How long does this last?
While this salad is best eaten shortly after you make it, it can easily be kept in your fridge and eaten for several days afterward. It's a great salad to make for meal prep!
What to serve with this Asian carrot salad
Here are a few of our favorite mains that go great with this salad:
- Slow Baked Asian Salmon
- Garlic Ginger Chicken
- Soy Sauce Chicken
- Baked Sesame Orange Chicken
- Juicy Baked Pork Chops
Easy salad recipes:
- Easy Asian Coleslaw with Orange Sesame Dressing
- Avocado Cucumber Salad
- Crispy Kale Salad with Roasted Beets and Spicy Candied Pecans
- Lifesaving Lemony Salad Dressing
- Carrot Ginger Salad Dressing
Asian Salad Recipe
If you love this recipe as much as we do, let us know with a 5-star rating!
Ingredients
- 2 medium carrots, grated
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- ¼ medium red onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup cilantro or parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- Optional: ¼ cup roasted peanuts, almonds, or cashews (no peanuts for paleo)
The Dressing
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey, omit for Whole30, use maple syrup for vegan
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce, gluten-free if needed, coco aminos for paleo
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 small garlic clove, grated (preferably with a Microplane)
- A pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk them together.2 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon grated ginger, 1 small garlic clove, A pinch of sea salt
- Add the remaining ingredients to a medium-sized bowl. Pour over the dressing and toss to coat.2 medium carrots, 1 red pepper, 2 stalks celery, ¼ medium red onion, ¼ cup cilantro or parsley, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, Optional: ¼ cup roasted peanuts, almonds, or cashews (no peanuts for paleo)
Stunning side salad. Love the crunch of the nuts though I often change it to peanuts .
Wow. I could eat this salad every day. I tossed in a handful of chopped snow peas and the cashews and scattered some wontons on top. I can see it served with grilled shrimp or salmon for company.
I really liked this recipe. Next time I make it ill add just a little bit more honey for a slightly sweeter taste. I also added small cubes of sushi grade tuna to it which i thought worked great. Will definitely make it again!
Loved it, great with Chinese spare ribs!
Now it’s my fav sider for gydza, takoyaki and other asian dishes! Thank you! Ps I also like to add a cucumber to it!
Simple, tasty goes with any bbq meat
Simply amazing! Everyone at home loved it. Thanks for sharing it
You’re very welcome!
The taste of the salad was just amazing I really loiked it I wanted to try a new kind of a salad for a change and I landed on this article thanks for sharing it Keep making such amazing recipe Keep up the good work
You’re very welcome!
This salad was great. Super easy to make, flavorful, colorful, and fun.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the recipe, Joe!
Hello! It looks great and I am looking for an Asian salad recipe. Do you use toasted sesame oil or regular sesame oil? There is a big difference so I wanted to ask. Thank you!
I use toasted sesame oil!
Has anyone tried with lime instead of lemon?
Lime is more Asian.
I think that lime would be great in this recipe, too!
I served this salad at a dinner party and received RAVES . . . thank goodness I increased the recipe because every single guest had seconds! Unbelievably delicious and I now make it just for us and plan to do so for dinner tonight. Thank you!!
I’m so happy to hear that the recipe was a hit! Thanks, Megan!
I made this for my girlfriends get together on Saturday. i added in shredded cabbage (red and white.) It was a huge hit and guess what? It makes great leftovers. I am enjoying it as I type this! Highly recommend.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Marta!
Easy, tasty and so pretty! I added store bought chopped slaw mix to it. Delicious!
So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Can I make this a day ahead or is it better made fresh?
It is better fresh. If you’re making it for a party, you can make the dressing the day before. You can even put all the salad ingredients into a bowl and just wait to pour the dressing on until you’re going to serve it.
Delicious and fresh! The dressing is amazing.
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!
Fabulous! I’ve now made it quite a few times and each time friends & family are really complimentary. It’s easy to make and the dressing really elevates it from ‘good’ to ‘sublime’!!
That’s so wonderful to hear! Hooray!!
Absolutely superb! Cannot fault it. Thank you ?
So happy to hear you liked it!!
I haven’t made this yet but it’s scheduled to pair with my 5 spice salmon on Thursday! I just wanted to say that i have no issue with calling a salad an asian salad. I typed into Google Asian salad recipe and boom yours came up first which means I am definitely not the only person to search for an “Asian salad”. If anything the names the perfect describes and the easiest way to search for the flavours you want. That garlicy gingery tangy yet sweet flavour to me is “asian”. Sooo I think your good.
Thanks for the recipe!
Mardi
I’m happy to hear I’m not the only one!!
Wonderful! Loved it so much i put it in my recipe box (on a handmade card), who does that anymore…. that’s how much i loved it!
I love that you still do that! Horray for loving the recipe!!
Delicious! I had it with a low carb Tom Ghan soup. Perfect compliment dish. I added cucumber sliced and sliced almonds. p.s. I’m also a nurse turned Product Manager and amateur cook! Thanks for the dish… And keep up the good work!
I love that we’ve followed a similar career path! Yay for cooking and food!!
Just tried this recipe, and it was wonderful! Didn’t have celery but added shredded nappa cabbage instead. I used sesame seeds instead of cashews, and doubled the dressing, using the second half of it as a Marinade for two chicken breasts which I then grilled, sliced and placed on top of what turned out to be two very large dinner salads. This was excellent, refreshing, and had a beautiful presentation, thank you for sharing this fabulous recipe. I think I’ll be making this often!!
Good call on using the dressing to marinate chicken. I think I’m going to do the same next time I make this!
Wow what a great recipe! I made it for BBQ & everyone love it. I added chilies & cucumber and still taste amazing.
Made this with grilled chicken and rice noodles for dinner – it was soooo good, and so easy. Bursting with flavour. Thanks for a great recipe!
just had the salad and really liked it. Thank you.
This was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Added a few salad leaves to bulk it out a little and served it with baked salmon and new potatoes, everyone loved it! Will definately be making again, thanks for the recipie!
Just had this Asian salad for our evening meal with a griddled piece of tuna. I added white cabbage and chopped mango and bean sprouts. It went down a treat and I will definitely make it again, it’s so easy and the vegetables can always be tweaked depending on what you feel like. I would love to know roughly how many calories are in your original salad and dressing.
many thanks Par
Hi Pat,
I really have no idea how many calories are in the dressing but there are lots of calorie/nutrition calculators available online. So happy you liked the recipe!
I’m making this for the second time this week! It’s amazing, I added red cabbage just so there would be more of it to have throughout the week. Thanks for the great recipe!
I just made this with your Bang bang shrimp…..oh my goodness, sooooo good. thank-you!!
This salad is absolutely amazing. I ate it nonstop for 2 days (made a double batch) and today I am going to make more. It gets even better when it sits in the fridge. Thank you so much for this healthy and lovely dish.
This was absolutely delicious, was a bit lazy and used pre-roasted(and salted) cashews as I didn’t have raw peanuts to hand but they were a nice substitute. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
I was searching for a simple, Asian-style chopped salad and found your recipe. It looked colorful and since the ingredients were all on hand, I made it immediately … and again the next day! Your recipe is such a keeper. Pinned it to both my Salad board and Healthy Me! board on Pinterest. Thank you.
The salad looks so yummy! Do you think it would taste good with some red cabbage, napa cabbage and edameme? I’m allergic to carrots so I’m trying to sub in other foods for the ones in the recipe.
Thanks, Lanna!
I definitely think there is a lot of room to experiment with this salad. Use it as a starting point and then add other veggies that you love (and aren’t allergic to!) I think different cabbages and edamame would be delicious ?
Thank you so much for this great salad! I’m not a huge fan of sesame oil but I loved the flavors in this recipe. I’m serving it tonight with grilled salmon and broccoli. I will definitely be putting this recipe into my regular rotation. Thanks again!
Thank you so much, Jayme!
Just saw this recipe today, I have had Asian inspired recipes in the past but they were made with noodles. I was going to the green grocer today and picked up a few of the ingredients that I was missing. All I can say is this is delicious 🙂 easy 🙂
Enjoy, Annie!!
Just made this for dinner tonight. Woah. SO good.
That’s so great to hear! Thank you for the feedback
I love this salad! It’s so good and dare I say….healthy? Perfect!
I know, right! It’s so easy and tasty and healthy too 🙂
Such gorgeous colors! And it sounds delicious too 🙂
Thanks, Terry!
Well, this might be diet food, but it looks incredible – I love the different colors and textures! It’s so inviting… I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution as always). Thank you so much for keeping me inspired with such delicious creations…
You are so welcome! And thank you so much for featuring one of my posts on your Food Fetish Friday!
Some people get irresistible ice cream cravings, some go crazy for Cocoa Puffs, but my Achilles’ tendon (fortunate or not) is any sesame-based Asian salad. I’m so glad I came across this–it looks absolutely delectable, and I can’t wait to give it a try. Thanks for sharing, and good luck on the D-you-know-what!
I wish I craved healthy salads! I do love them but I also really love pork belly and cream and other rich and delicious food 🙂
Seems like an ideal dish for a picnic. I love getting everyone together for such occasions. This year we decided to go for a picnic to our favorite High Park in Toronto and have a little fun with our children. But now that I’ve read your post I am looking forward to our next picnic in our garden with this Asian salad on the table.
Hey Sarah,
I love picnics too. Always such a great way to spend the afternoon 🙂
What do you use to chop up all those veggies? I would like to try it, especially with Asian dressing.
Hey Vita,
Just a wooden cutting board and a chef’s knife. Oh, and a grater for the carrot. Since the carrot is the biggest player in the salad it really doesn’t take much to chop the other few veggies 🙂
great photo, and the recipe looks terrific. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Thanks, Jenny!
I’m going to make this next week for my wild Rose cleanse. Only a few simple substitutions needed! I can’t wait looks delicious!
You’re brave for doing the Wild Rose. It’s so tough!!
Looks delicious! I like your masthead by the way!
Thanks, Johanna!
This looks very yummy! I’ll try it out this week!