Fed up with boring green salad? Try this fresh and spicy papaya salad with smoky roasted peanuts and a lime chilli dressing. Fresh, vibrant and healthy.
When it’s treat night we often get a takeout from an Asian place downtown. They serve a great vegan Puffed Tofu in Coconut Curry Sauce. It is delicious and I always order their papaya salad to go with it.
Last time I ate it, Idecided that I wanted to recreate my own version of the salad at home so I could eat it more often!
My version isn’t exactly the same but it is super tasty and brings together similar flavours and textures. I hope that you will enjoy it.
This Spicy Papaya Salad is
zingy
fresh
aromatic
with a bit of heat and a bit of crunch from a sprinkling of sweet & smoky roasted peanuts.
When you are shopping for your papayas make sure you buy nice bright green ones. I know that in most instances ripe fruit is best, but in this salad we want unripe green papaya.
This salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days but I advise that you keep the peanuts separate in a sealed jar until you serve, otherwise they tend to go a bit soggy.
If you love salads that are a bit our of the ordinary then be sure to check out my Minted Watermelon Salad.
Spicy Papaya Salad
Ingredients
- 62g | 1/2 cup of raw peanuts
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika (use chilli powder or regular paprika if you don't have this)
- pinch of salt
- 2 green papayas
- 1 - 2 red chillis finely chopped (use as much as you are comfortable with and remove the seeds if you want to limit the heat)
- 1 handful of fresh mint
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro
- juice of 1 large lime
Instructions
- Add the peanuts to a small bowl.
- Add the maple syrup, smoked paprika and a pinch of salt and stir well to coat.
- Heat a small pan over a medium heat.
- Once hot pour in your peanuts and roast over a medium heat for 4 - 5 minutes, shaking them around every minute or two.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- Cut your papaya in half and remove the seeds with a spoon.
- Shred your papaya into matchstick style pieces or if you have a spiralizer spaghetti type strands are nice.
- Put the papaya pieces in a large bowl.
- Chop your herbs finely and add them to the papaya.
- Add the red chilli.
- Roll the lime hard across the work surface a few times to release the juice a bit before you cut it. Squeeze the lime juice over the salad and stir well to combine.
- Serve with the roasted smoky peanuts sprinkled over the top.
Long time vegan, creator of A Virtual Vegan & author of the book 
