This vibrant Spring Roll Salad combines tender garlic shrimp, crunchy veggies with delicate rice noodles, all tossed with fresh cilantro, peanuts, and sesame seeds for a satisfying texture. Drizzled with a creamy peanut dressing every bite bursts with bold, nutty, and tangy flavors.
Spring Rolls with Way Less Effort
Basically the best parts of a spring roll without the hassle of rolling and stuffing the actual roll. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves though, I love a deep-fried spring roll more than the next person. This salad is like inside-out version of my favorite parts 🙂
Fresh vegetables – check! Herbaceous flavors – check! Silky peanut butter dressing – check! Rice noodles add a bit of a chew and bind everything together. Boring salads no more!
This deconstructed Spring Roll Salad is perfect, for well, SPRING (okay it’s a summer salad, too)! As the weather gets warmer I crave healthy and fresh ingredients, which are loaded up in this Spring Roll Salad Recipe.
After I developed this recipe, it felt familiar (in a good way). It reminded me of my Spicy Thai Salad and/or Peanut Thai Noodle Salad Recipe. Rice noodles are a winner in fresh salads (IMO) and make them lighter than a typical pasta salad. Get ready to up your salad game, because I really think you’ll find yourself reaching for this shrimp spring roll salad again and again.
Recipe Ingredients
- Shrimp – A great source of protein and a classic choice for fresh spring rolls. I buy pre-peeled and deveined.
- Vermicelli Rice Noodles – Super thin noodles that are found inside your classic spring roll!
- Veggies – This spring roll salad includes cabbage, red bell pepper, cucumbers, carrots and green onion. If you like this veggie combo in an Asian dish, also ry my Bell Pepper Cucumber Salad.
- Toppings – Peanuts, cilantro and sesame seeds.
- Dressing – A homemade spicy peanut sauce is made with peanut butter, low sodium soy sauce (or sub coconut aminos for gluten free), sesame oil, rice vinegar, sriracha and water.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
Customize this salad to your liking! Some swaps I think would be tasty:
- Fresh Veggies: Serve on a bed of butter lettuce, add jicama, water chestnuts, baby corn, bean sprouts, edamame beans or avocado.
- Protein: Try with salad with different proteins. Consider swapping out the shrimp for chicken breast, crab or seared tofu. Add some egg to mimic an egg roll.
- Sauce: I love the homemade peanut sauce, but you can also substitute a store bought peanut sauce or reach for something different like this sweet chili sauce or the glaze I use on my miso maple salmon. Or for a lighter, tangier vibe, go for a nuoc cham-inspired dressing (fish sauce, lime, garlic, and a bit of sugar)
- Toppings: Swap the peanuts for cashews or walnuts. Add crispy onions or wonton strips on top. Add a squeeze of lime juice or more fresh herbs like fresh basil or fresh mint leaves.
How to Make This Recipe
1. Prepare all of the vegetables for the salad. Mandolin the cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots, then cut into small matchsticks. Cut the bell pepper into thin strips. Finely dice the cilantro and cut the green onions into small coins.
2. Heat a sauce pot with water and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water to chill them and remove the excess starchy water they were boiled in.
3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the peanut butter dressing until smooth. Depending on the thickness of your peanut butter, you may need a few more splashes of hot water to thin the dressing.
4. Cook the shrimp. Heat a skillet to medium heat and add olive oil to the pan. Once warmed, add the raw, peeled & deveined shrimp to cook. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for a minute on each side until it turns light pink; shaped like a C and not a O.
5. In a large mixing bowl, add all of the prepped salad ingredients to the bowl: red pepper, carrots, cucumber, green onions, cabbage, cilantro, rice noodles, and crushed peanuts. Pour the peanut dressing over the salad and toss everything together.
6. Garnish with sesame seeds, scattered herbs/green onions, and the shrimp. Serve and enjoy!
PRO TIPS
- Slice everything super thin (julienne or matchstick cut) for the best texture! If your knife skills are developing, take it slow and finely matchstick cut everything. I used a mandolin and after everything was the same thickness, I stack the slices and cut into matchsticks.
- Soak your veggies in an ice bath for 5-10 minutes before assembling—it keeps them extra crunchy! Be sure to drain and pat dry before adding to your bowl (or a salad spinner works great.
Recipe FAQs
We’re using hearty veggies in this salad that hold up well with storage. This healthy spring roll salad can be made for meal prep. Just keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I will note that you may want to add extra dressing before enjoying as the noodles tend to soak up the sauce the longer it sits.
When you add your rice noodles to the pot, it is important you stir them immediately so they do not clump while cooking. You’ll also want to rinse them right away once you drain them in order to get off excess starch that will cause them to stick to one another.
Rice noodles and vermicelli are sometimes used interchangeably, but they can be different. Rice noodles refer to what the noodle is made out of. Vermicelli refers to the noodle shape – long and skinny. Vermicelli can be made of rice (common in Vietnamese, Thai, and Chinese dishes) or wheat (Used in Indian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean dishes). Rice vermicelli noodles are traditional for spring rolls.
More Recipes You’ll Love
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Spring Roll Salad
Equipment
- knife & cutting board
- skillet
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1/2 lbs raw Shrimp
- 1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 7 oz package of Rice noodles
- 2 cups Purple cabbage
- 3 small cucumbers
- 2 large carrots
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 green onions
- 1/2 cup Cilantro
- 1/4 cup peanuts
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds
- Salt + pepper
Peanut Dressing
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sriracha
- 1/4 cup water, *plus more as needed
Instructions
- Prepare all of the vegetables for the salad. Mandolin the cabbage, cucumbers, and carrots, then cut into small matchsticks. Cut the bell pepper into thin strips. Finely dice the cilantro and cut the green onions into small coins.
- Heat a sauce pot with water and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Once cooked, drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water to chill them and remove the excess starchy water they were boiled in.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the peanut butter dressing until smooth. Depending on the thickness of your peanut butter, you may need a few more splashes of hot water to thin the dressing.
- Cook the shrimp. Heat a skillet to medium heat and add olive oil to the pan. Once warmed, add the raw, peeled & deveined shrimp to cook. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the shrimp for a minute on each side until it turns light pink; shaped like a C and not a O.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all of the prepped salad ingredients to the bowl: red pepper, carrots, cucumber, green onions, cabbage, cilantro, rice noodles, and crushed peanuts. Pour the peanut dressing over the salad and toss everything together.
- Garnish with sesame seeds, scattered herbs/green onions, and the shrimp. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Looking for this in MyFitnessPal?
If you’re using MyFitnessPal, search ‘A Paige Of Positivity’ and find SPRING ROLL SALAD calories and nutrition facts. Disclaimer: for most accurate macronutrients and caloric breakdown, it is recommended that you input each ingredient into your MyFitnessPal food diary.
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. It’s my passion to create dishes that can be shared with others. Tell me something you loved or just say hi!
what a GREAT recipe! Nothing like eating the rainbow!
sooooo fresh! I ate them in lettuce cups and it reminded me of something you could order at a beach front resturant — TASTY
Great for meal prep. I enjoyed mine cold from teh fridge for 3 days after making and it was still super crunchy and tasted the same as day 1