Panera is known for their whole-food approach to fast food and the Spicy Thai Salad With Chicken (without chicken for me), is one of my favorite items on the menu. Crisp lettuce with charred red pepper, carrots, and edamame, and crunchy toasted almonds and wonton strips is the salad I order every single time. The spicy, sweet, tangy dressing with a hint of ginger brings the whole thing together. If you can't make it to Panera to try this amazing salad, I've worked on developing this copycat Panera spicy Thai salad for you to try at home.
This post may contain affiliate links. I may be compensated when you purchase through these links, at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This recipe is not affiliated with Panera Bread, the company, and is my best guess at one of my favorite recipes offered in their delicious restaurants.
Copycat Panera Spicy Thai Salad
Gosh, this is my favorite salad at Panera...it's so good. They really have the best fast food out there (for foodies). I have to admit something though- I sometimes get the "You Pick Two", always the 10 Vegetable Soup (copycat recipe here), and the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (copycat recipe here). But THEN...I also get a whole Spicy Thai Salad.
Soup, salad, sandwich, boom.
But then...I feel like a straight-up criminal inside the Panera because like...doesn't everyone eat a dainty $20.00 half sandwich and half soup only? Is every single person in line staring at me because I broke the "You Pick Two" law that may or may not be a figment of my own imagination? Oh, and I get the chicken on the side so my husband can eat it...I should say that over my shoulder next time, that way it won't feel so blasphemous deep down in my starving soul. I've lost touch with reality a little bit in the Panera line. I'm okay though, everything's fine. It's going to be okay. I'm just embarrassed that I'm hungrier than every single person at Panera.
The good news is this: this is an easy salad to make at home. Super simple ingredients like red pepper, carrots, edamame, almonds, won ton strips on the salad. There are two dressings and that is the only time-consuming part of this Panera spicy Thai salad recipe. Double the salad dressing recipes and have this all week for lunch. That makes it all easier. And go ahead and make my Panera 10 Vegetable Soup and Mediterranean Veggie sandwich with it for the week...and ANSWER TO NO ONE!
INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING YOUR OWN PANERA SPICY THAI SALAD
- Lettuce + Cilantro: Romaine lettuce, but you can use iceberg if that's what's around. Don't skip the cilantro, it adds a fresh bite.
- Red Pepper/Carrots/Edamame: All are perfectly charred on a grill. We are sautéing ours today but if you can grill a big batch and then use them in the salad all week. You can also freeze them to thaw out later.
- Toasted Almonds and Won Ton Strips: The crunchy part of the salad. I am making the strips fresh today but you can also buy them from the store.
- Sesame Oil + Rice Vinegar: The base of that delicious dressing.
- Sweetener: I am using Swerve sugar substitute but you can use sugar if that works for you.
- Bird's Eye Chili: I am using a rehydrated dried chili, but you can also substitute using a fresh chili or a habanero chili.
- Lime juice + Soy sauce + coconut milk: In both dressings.
- Onion + Garlic Powder: In the peanut dressing.
HOW TO MAKE THIS COPYCAT SALAD AND PANERA SPICY THAI SALAD DRESSING
Making the Panera Spicy Thai Salad at home is so easy!
- Saute or Grill: Saute the carrots, red pepper, and edamame on medium-high heat for ...minutes or until they become softened. OR (more authentic) grill the vegetables until softened and slightly charred.
- Fry: Prepare the won-ton strips by sautéing in shallow oil
- Toast: Toast the almonds over medium heat almonds until barely browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Prep the dressing: Whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette. Separately, blend the ingredients together for the peanut dressing.
- Toss: Toss lettuce and vegetables together with the vinaigrette dressing, top with almonds, and crunchy won ton strips.
- Drizzle: Drizzle the peanut dressing on top.
- See Recipe notes below for notes about adding chicken.
THIS COPYCAT PANERA SPICY THAI SALAD GOES GREAT WITH:
- Copycat Panera 10 Vegetable Soup
- Copycat Panera Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich
- Thai Pumpkin Laksa
- Air Fryer Salmon With Thai Vermicelli
- Pineapple Rum Goldeneye Cocktail
- Boozy Cranberry Orange Sparkle (cocktail)
Hey- you’ve made it this far, and now we’re BFFs. If you make this copycat Panera Spicy Thai Salad recipe, I would love for you to give it a star rating below (scroll down to the comments). P.S. What makes me happiest is hearing from you! Make sure you follow me on Instagram (please tag me!), Pinterest, and Facebook too!
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Copycat Panera Spicy Thai Salad
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 salads 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Panera is known for its whole-food approach to fast food and the Spicy Thai Salad With Chicken (without chicken for us), is one of my favorite items on the menu. Crisp lettuce with charred red pepper, carrots, and edamame, and crunchy toasted almonds and wonton strips is the salad I order every single time. The spicy, sweet, tangy dressing with a hint of ginger brings the whole thing together. If you can't make it to Panera to try this amazing salad, I've worked on developing this copycat Panera spicy Thai salad for you to try at home.
Ingredients
FOR THE SALAD:
2 medium heads of romaine lettuce, trimmed and chopped
2 cups cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 ½ cups baby carrots, sliced
1 cup edamame
5 Won Ton wrappers cut into strips, or store bought crispy won tons
1 Tbsp oil for the Won Tons
¼ cup sliced almonds
FOR THE THAI VINAIGRETTE:
4 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
4 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp lime
4 tsp sweetener (I used Swerve sugar substitute)
4 Tbsp water
1 birds eye chilis (depending on the desired level of spicy), finely chopped
FOR THE PEANUT DRESSING:
¼ cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp sweetener (I used Swerve sugar substitute)
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp minced onion
2 Tbsp light coconut milk
2 tsp lime juice
1 birds eye chili
pinch of salt (no more than ⅛ tsp)
Instructions
- Saute or Grill: Saute the carrots, red pepper, and edamame on medium-high heat in oil for 8-10 minutes or until they become softened and slightly charred, OR (more authentic) grill the vegetables until softened and slightly charred.
- Fry: Prepare the won-ton strips by sautéing in shallow oil
- Toast: Toast the almonds over medium heat almonds until barely browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Prep the dressing: Whisk together ingredients for the vinaigrette. Separately, blend the ingredients together for the peanut dressing.
- Toss: Toss lettuce, cilantro, and vegetables together with the vinaigrette dressing, top with almonds, and crunchy won ton strips.
- Drizzle: Drizzle the peanut dressing on top.
- See Recipe notes below for notes about adding chicken.
Equipment
Notes
*We didn't make chicken with this because we don't eat chicken but we have had this with chicken plenty of times before becoming vegan. If you plan on having chicken, each salad gets about 4oz of chicken. You can use pre-cooked chicken or marinate and cook it yourself. I believe they use a citrus marinade (orange juice, vinegar, sugar, dried basil), and it seems baked. I hope that helps!
**I am not entering nutrition data for this salad because there are too many variables and some leftover peanut dressing (yum).
***If you can't find birds eye chilis, you can use 1 tsp of finely minced habanero pepper, the flavor is almost the same.
- Category: Lunch
- Method: Assemble
- Cuisine: Thai American
Keywords: panera spicy thai salad, panera spicy thai salad with chicken, panera spicy thai salad dressing, panera bread recipes, spicy thai salad panera,
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