Thai Beef Salad With A Ginger Peanut Dressing is the salad recipe you need when you want to keep it in the healthy salad territory, but want a bold-in-flavor meal that takes little time to prep and is simple to throw together. This salad doesn't mess around and she's ready to throw down!
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Lean ground beef is cooked with garlic, onion, and a little Thai red curry paste and spooned over the top of a large, colorful plate of greens and fresh veggies. The dressing, it's the stuff dreams are made of, is creamy and tangy and nutty and the perfect glue that brings the entire salad together.
Thai Beef Noodle Salad is gonna be a meal prep champion, an excellent mason jar salad contender, and your next favorite healthy salad recipe.
Let's get started!
For another version of this salad with grilled steak, you've got to try my Thai Steak Salad, too!
what goes in it
Let's start with the beef. For this recipe, I like using a lean ground beef. It's quick and easy and makes life simple when I need to throw together this recipe. The flavoring comes from Thai Red Curry Paste and some onions and garlic. Easy peasy.
For the dressing, and let me tell you, this dressing is the stuff of my dreams. Asian-style salad dressing are so amazing and so full of flavor. I cannot get enough. You'll just need a few basic ingredients for that - tamari, thai sweet chili sauce, peanut butter, sesame oil, avocado oil, ginger, and lime juice for tang.
The assembly ingredients include your favorite noodle and collections of crunchy veggies. You can customize this till the cows come home.
I always love a garnish situation so make sure you have extra cilantro, jalapeños, peanuts and sesame seeds. The flavor and crunch are so good!
how to make thai beef salad
This Thai Beef Salad Recipe is so simple, it will all come together in less than 30 minutes. Easy. Peasy.
The Thai Beef
First, let's brown the beef. Because our dressing is so full of flavor, this step will be quick. Brown the beef with the whites of the green onions, garlic, and a little Thai Red Curry Paste. Once it's fully cooked, drain any excess fat and set aside.
Note about the Thai Red Curry Paste: This is the exact brand I use. The label indicates that this is spicy and it is NOT. It's amazing and so full of flavor that I hope you will try it. My children love this stuff and have no problem at all eating it. It really does transform the flavor of the beef.
The Peanut Ginger Dressing
The next step is to make the peanut ginger dressing. This dressing would make a moldy sock taste good. Seriously.
All you need for this part of the Thai Beef Salad recipe is a whisk and a mixing bowl. Measure the peanut butter, Tamari (or soy sauce), fish sauce, avocado and sesame oils, ginger and garlic into the bowl. Add the lime juice. Whisk, whisk, whisk, until combined. That's it!
thai beef salad assembly
Now, to the assembly. This can be a very personal journey, but this is how I construct my Thai Beef Salad masterpiece.
- Create a base layer with lettuces and greens
- Add a healthy scoop of the Thai beef mixture
- Add the crunch and the colors - cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeños
- Add the noodles - I used a gluten-free rice noodle
- Drizzle (or drench) the dressing
- Garnish with green onion tops, sesame seeds, extra peanuts
frequently asked questions
What are other protein options for this Thai salad?
You can use any protein you like in the salad and it'll be fantastic. Use what you have and what you love!
Chicken - Rotisserie or Ground
Shrimp
Fish - Salmon, Halibut, Sea Bass
Pork - Ground or Tenderloin
What if I don't like/can't have peanut butter?
Don't worry! I got you! You can substitute any of the following for the peanut butter:
-Sun butter
-Almond Butter
-Cashew Butter
-Tahini
Is Thai Beef recipe gluten and/or dairy-free?
If you use gluten-free noodles and tamari, this recipe is both gluten and dairy-free! Enjoy!
What are other noodle options?
I used a gluten-free rice noodle, but use whatever you like. Here are some other ideas:
regular spaghetti noodles
bean thread noodles
ramen noodles
shirataki noodles
How do I serve this for kids?
My children love the flavors in this Thai Beef Salad. However, they don't really want a full-on salad situation. I make extra noodles, toss with the beef and dressing, and let them pick out any of the raw veggies they want. They absolutely love it!
leftovers and storage instructions
- Leftovers do best store separately in the fridge.
- Leftover will stay good, if stored separately, for up to 3 days.
- If stored together, leftovers will stay good 1-2 days.
Recipe
Thai Beef Salad
Ingredients
Thai Beef
- 1-1½ lb lean ground beef
- 2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 bunch green onions, whites and greens separated
- 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
- kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
Peanut Ginger Dressing
- ⅓ cup Thai sweet chili sauce
- ¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon peanut butter see above post for substitution ideas
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- juice of 1 lime
Salad
- lettuces and greens
- tomatoes
- cucumbers
- sweet peppers
- radishes
- jalapeños
- rice noodles see above post for other noodle ideas
- cilantro
- green onion tops
- peanuts
- sesame seeds
Instructions
Thai Beef
- Brown the beef, Thai red chili paste, green onion tops and garlic over medium heat until beef is cooked through. Drain any excess fat.
Peanut Ginger Dressing
- Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Set aside until ready to construct your salad.
Salad Assembly
- Create a base layer with lettuces and greens. Add a healthy scoop of the Thai beef mixture. Add the crunch and the colors - cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet peppers, jalapeños, etc.
- Enjoy!
Nutrition
If you guys make this Thai Beef Salad, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! I absolutely love to hear from you all and always do my best to respond to each and every one of your comments!
Thank you!
I am so incredibly happy that you are here! I hope you try my Thai Beef Salad recipe and fall in love with it. If you make this recipe, please share and tag me on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok! I absolutely love seeing each and every one of your kitchen masterpieces! And, as always, if you ever have any questions about any of my recipes, please don't hesitate to contact me!
Happy Cooking!
-Rufus
Rufus for Real is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. I may earn a commission, with no additional cost to you, if you purchase through those links.
Rufus for Real is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
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