Sesame Crunch Snap Pea Salad

This snap pea salad is all things crunchy and wonderful: thinly sliced snap peas make up the base while crunchy sesame salad toppers, roasted peanuts, cilantro, chili crisp, and an Asian-inspired dressing add oodles of flavor.

This snap pea salad was inspired by the many papaya salads I ate in Thailand — bold, punchy, and full of crunch. It’s a papaya-salad wannabe in the best way, built around thinly sliced snap peas and big, vibrant flavors.

The dressing brings it all together with fish sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, ginger, and garlic, then mellows and becomes creamy with tahini. Tossed with cilantro, roasted peanuts, and a generous spoonful of chili crisp (yes, in a salad — trust me), every bite is crunchy, savory, and bright.

I love this salad because it instantly makes simple dinners feel special, and the leftovers are shockingly good straight from the fridge. Serve it alongside an easy protein, or add some ginger rice or garlic butter rice if you want to round things out.

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Sesame Crunch Snap Pea Salad Recipe

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 0 minutes mins

Total: 10 minutes mins

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Recipe video above. This snap pea salad is all things crunchy and wonderful: thinly sliced snap peas make up the base while crunchy sesame salad toppers, roasted peanuts, cilantro, chili crisp, and an Asian-inspired dressing add oodles of flavor.

4

Ingredients

The Dressing

• ▢ 2 tablespoons avocado oil (see notes)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tahini
• ▢ 1 tablespoon fish sauce (see notes)
• ▢ 1 tablespoons soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoons lime juice
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• ▢ 1 teaspoon minced ginger

The Salad

• ▢ 4 cups thinly sliced snap peas
• ▢ ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ▢ 1 cup crunchy sesame salad toppers (see notes)
• ▢ ½ cup chopped roasted peanuts
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili crisp (optional)

Instructions 

• In a bowl, whisk all of the dressing ingredients.
  2 tablespoons avocado oil, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• Add the snap peas, cilantro, crunch salad toppers, and peanuts to a large salad bowl.
  4 cups thinly sliced snap peas, ½ cup chopped cilantro, 1 cup crunchy sesame salad toppers, ½ cup chopped roasted peanuts
  
• Pour the dressing and the chili crisp, if using, over the top and mix to combine.
  1 tablespoon chili crisp
  

Video

Notes

Oil: You can use any neutral-flavored oil instead of avocado oil.

Fish sauce: Fish sauce adds a big umami flavor. But if you don’t eat fish or really don’t like fish sauce, you can omit it. You may want to add a bit more soy sauce or salt. 

Soy sauce: Lighter soy sauce, such as Tamari, works best in this recipe. If you only have dark Chinese-style soy sauce, reduce it to ½ tablespoon. 

Crunchy snack mix: I often like to use Laid Back Snacks Wasabi Me for the crunchy topping-it’s a mix of wasabi peas and crispy sesame snacks. Look for Asian-inspired crunchy salad toppers at your grocery store. Crispy wonton strips are another great option. 

Chili crunch: I’m absolutely obsessed with Triple Smoke Crunch, which works really well in this salad. Another more widely available option is Trader Joe’s Chili Onion Crunch.

© Author Kristen Stevens

We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.

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