Vegetable Salad with Cashew Lime Dressing

This vegetable salad with cashew lime dressing uses cashew butter instead of the traditional peanut dressing. It’s crunchy, spicy, colorful and delicious!

You’ll enjoy this salad full of brightly colored, thinly sliced (julienned) vegetables, herbs and chopped cashews. The dressing is creamy from the cashew butter and spicy from red pepper flakes and ginger. Lots of lime juice adds a tangy citrus flavor that balances the rich nut butter.

Serve this salad as a main course or as a side for grilled eggplant or portobello mushrooms.

For some main course variations, add garbanzo beans for more protein or mix the salad with cooked rice noodles.

This salad makes four generous main course salads.

Tips

You can easily substitute vegetables in this salad. Try chopped blanched green beans or snow peas, blanched broccoli florets or small pieces of raw cauliflower.
Use a small, finely chopped jalapeño pepper in the salad and omit the red pepper flakes from the dressing.
Use another nut butter in place of the cashew butter, such as almond butter or peanut butter.

Ingredients

Here are the ingredients that you need to make this vegetable salad with cashew lime dressing.

Salad Ingredients

1/2 cup cilantro, washed and lightly chopped
1/4 cup mint, washed and lightly chopped
1/4 cup parsley, washed and lightly chopped
6 scallions, thinly chopped
6 medium radishes, julienned (cut into thin matchstick-like pieces)
3 large carrots, julienned
2 red (yellow or orange) bell peppers, cut lengthwise into thin pieces (stem and seeds removed)
2 cups green cabbage, thinly chopped
2 cups red cabbage, thinly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cashews

Dressing Ingredients

1/2 cup cashew butter
4 tablespoons soy sauce
Zest of 1 lime
6 tablespoons fresh lime juice
6 tablespoons agave syrup
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
A few pinches of red chili pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated ginger

Directions

Make the dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cashew butter, soy sauce, lime zest, lime juice, agave syrup and sesame oil together until smooth. Whisk in the chili flakes, garlic and ginger. Set aside.

Assemble the salad. Add all of the chopped herbs and vegetables to a large bowl. Pour about two thirds of the dressing over the salad and toss everything together. Add more dressing to get the desired amount. Just before serving, toss in the chopped cashews.

These salad recipes are good for a main course.