Asian Salad Recipe with Sesame Ginger Dressing
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This easy-to-make Asian salad recipe is packed full of healthy veggies and tossed in a tasty sesame ginger dressing. It's a fresh, crunchy, and seriously delicious side dish that takes just 15 minutes to make!
Complete your Asian-inspired meal with our garlic ginger chicken or baked sesame ginger chicken and a side of our favorite coconut rice.
Who doesn't love a salad full of crispy veggies and crunchy roasted peanuts in a sweet sesame dressing? This easy-to-make Asian carrot salad is full of fresh and bright flavors. Not only is it super tasty, but it's also super healthy.
This versatile Asian salad with sesame oil, ginger, and cashews is on high rotation in our kitchen. It has a lot going for it and it's a crowd-pleaser. We love the delicious mix of crispy veggies, crunchy nuts, fresh herbs, and tangy sesame dressing. We hope you love it as much as we do!
Why we love this salad
Here are a few reasons why we love this Asian salad recipe:
- It's full of crunch – the right kind. We grate the carrots so they're easy enough to chew (unlike chopped carrots.)
- The dressing is simple but delicious. It's got the perfect sweet-tart combination and pairs perfectly with the subtle sweetness of the carrots.
- The salted peanuts offer the perfect taste and crunch.
- It's easy to make, and we love easy recipes!
Ingredients needed
Here's everything you'll need to make the Asian salad recipe:
- The veggies: carrots, red pepper, celery, red onion, and cilantro
- Plus these flavor enhancers: toasted sesame seeds and roasted peanuts.
Here's what you'll need for the delicious Asian salad dressing:
- Sesame oil
- Lemon juice
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Grated ginger
- Garlic
- Sea salt
How to make this Asian salad recipe
Here's how to make this Asian carrot salad at home in a few simple steps:
- 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!
Variations to try
There are lots of ways to customize this beautiful Asian salad. Here are a few ideas to mix up:
- Add in some cooked edamame for more protein.
- Swap the peanuts for cashews or almonds.
- Use rainbow carrots for all their beautiful colors.
- Use black sesame seeds (or a mix of black and white) for visual pop.
- Add basil in place of some of the cilantro for a more bright flavor.
- Add some grated or julienned Asian pear for a more juicy crunch.
- Use orange juice instead of lemon in the dressing for a unique citrus-orange taste.
How to serve Asian salad
This versatile carrot salad recipe is perfect for pairing with any Asian-inspired meal. We love serving it alongside some slow-baked Asian salmon or glazed hoisin chicken drumsticks and our favorite coconut rice.
Serve it family-style to a crowd with our colorful pineapple fried rice or soy ginger noodles.
You could even use it as a slaw atop our Thai turkey lettuce wraps or best black bean veggie burger.
And if you love Asian-inspired salads, also try our easy Asian coleslaw and our healthy Asian noodle salad!
Recipe FAQs
How long does this salad 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!
Can I make this salad ahead of time?
If you're prepping ahead for dinner, you can chop all the veggies a day in advance and make the dressing several days ahead. But wait until you're ready to serve it before you mix everything together.
What's the easiest way to grate carrots?
We like to use our box grater as it's quick to take out of the cupboard and clean up afterward. However, many people like to use the grating attachment on their food processor. Both options work well so choose which one is best for you!
Asian Salad Recipe
Ingredients
Asian Salad
- 2 medium carrots (grated)
- 1 medium red pepper (finely diced)
- 2 stalks celery (finely diced)
- ¼ medium red onion (finely diced)
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- ¼ cup roasted peanuts (can sub almonds or cashews)
Sesame Dressing
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 small garlic clove (grated (preferably with a Microplane))
- A pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all the sesame dressing ingredients in a small jar and shake it well.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 Asian salad ingredients to a medium-sized bowl.2 medium carrots, 1 medium red pepper, 2 stalks celery, ¼ medium red onion, ¼ cup cilantro, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, ¼ cup roasted peanuts
- Pour the dressing over the top and toss to coat.
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
For more inspiration, check out all of our salad recipes!
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.