This cashew crunchy salad contains crunchy vegetables, chow mein, edamame, and roasted cashew nuts, making you want to eat salad. And tahini—oh, my God!

What do you call it when you want something that tastes good but is a bunch of fresh, vibrant vegetables that make your body feel good? You call it cashew crunchy salad. That’s what you call it.

This salad meets all the criteria

As lunch passed, my inner conversation went something like this:

• I’m hungry.
• What would taste great now?
• No, wait, what’s super healthy now? Because… Mocha peanut butter pie?
• No, but what would fill me up?
• Wait a minute, wait a minute. How about a sesame salad? It tastes good, it’s healthy, and it fills me up because it contains a lot of good fats and good stuff.
• Yes, we do! I love salad!
• I love vegetables!
• I love life!

This is an accurate record of my inner dialogue. These are the terms I think about: tastes great, is mostly healthy, and still fills me up.

Let’s talk about salad ingredients

Seasoning is my favorite part.

It’s an oil-and-vinegar dressing that you shake in a jar, sweeten with sugar, season with sesame oil, and, if you’re me, add a dollop of Greek yogurt or mayonnaise. I don’t know, but for me, a vinaigrette salad is not going to fill me up. My salad needed more cream, so I added more with one of my favorite retro dressings (shouting out to Kim Harcey in my old First Baptist recipe) ♡.

The rest of what’s happening here is just a lot of austerity. Crunchy vegetables, crunchy cashews, crunchy chow mein. How retro is Chow Mein? I love how much we’re together.

Make the salad your way

For vegetarians, no cream!

For gluten-free food, no crunchy chow mein is needed!

For those who like protein, add roast chicken, shrimp, or, I don’t know, tofu. This quickly became a course salad topped with juicy slices of grilled chicken.

I would not be sad if this was my lunch for the rest of the summer.

Cashew Crisp Salad: Frequently asked questions

This looks great! Can I prepare some salad in advance?

Yes, we do! If you do it ahead of time, you can chop up all the vegetables, prepare them ahead of time, or even mix them. I put the fried noodles, cashews, and seasonings before serving.

What kind of edamame should I buy?

The edamame I bought was frozen, shelled, and boiled like peas for a few minutes.

I’m going to add some protein to it. Any advice on how to prepare?

If you want to roast some chicken or shrimp on top (delicious), I suggest marinating them with soy sauce, honey, and garlic for a better taste.