Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad
Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad has Mint, Cilantro, Sriracha and Peanuts, and this delicious and interesting salad has amazing Thai flavors. And if you’ve never tried Larb Salad, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try.
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When my niece Kara and I made this Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad a few weeks ago to update the photos, we were BLOWN AWAY by the flavors of this amazing salad. Both of us love the complex blend of flavors that make Thai food so good, and we think this salad tastes like the Thai food you might get in a restaurant. I ate my leftover salad cold for breakfast the next day, and Kara told me she also couldn’t wait to eat the leftovers!
I’m not claiming this is an authentic Thai recipe, but I did go to Thailand so I know this salad has enough Thai flavor to be called Thai-inspired! And it uses ingredients that I think will be available to most people. We increased some ingredients to make the Larb Salad a substantial main dish salad and doubled the amount of dressing when we updated the photo; I hope you will enjoy it as much as we did!
What is Larb Salad?
Larb Salad is a type of meat salad that came from Laos, and it’s widely eaten in Thailand and other parts of Asia. The word “larb” means chopped in Thai, so this is always a chopped meat salad.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- ground turkey
- Peanut Oil (affiliate link)
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- red onion
- Jalapeno pepper
- romaine lettuce
- cilantro (optional)
- fresh mint
- peanuts
- cut limes to squeeze on at the table (optional)
- fresh-squeezed lime juice (I used my fresh-frozen lime juice)
- fish sauce, preferably Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link)
- Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) (see notes)
- Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link)
What makes this Turkey Larb Salad so flavorful?
- To make this a flavor-loaded dish, first the turkey is seasoned with minced garlic, red onion, and chopped Jalapeno and then browned.
- Then you add the flavorful dressing made with lime juice, fish sauce, sweetener, and Sriracha Sauce; this dressing gives this salad that sweet-sour-spicy-salty flavor combination that Thai dishes are known for
- The finished salad includes chopped cilantro, chopped mint, peanuts, and fresh lime juice squeezed on at the table.
What other meat can you use for Larb Salad?
We made our version of Larb with ground turkey, but you can use ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork if you prefer.
How low in carbs is the Larb Salad Recipe:
This Larb Salad made with ground turkey only has 7 net carbs per serving.
Want more recipes using fresh mint?
If you’re a fan of the fresh mint used in this salad you might like to check out my post on Cooking with Fresh Mint.
How to make Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- This turkey used in the salad is loaded with flavor from Minced Garlic (affiliate link), minced red onion (or shallots), and minced jalapeno.
- Mix lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, and Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link).
- Mix the garlic, shallot, and jalapeno into the raw turkey.
- Heat the Peanut Oil (affiliate link) in a large frying pan, then cook the turkey over medium-high heat until it’s nicely browned, about 7-8 minutes.
- Turn off the heat and mix in about half the dressing mixture, stirring so it seasons all the meat.
- While meat cools Chop romaine, wash in a salad spinner or in the sink, and spin dry or dry with paper towels.
- Chop the fresh mint and cilantro. (I used my Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut thin strips of mint.)
- Cut up some fresh limes to squeeze on at the table, and chop some peanuts to garnish the salad.
- After the meat has cooled about 4-5 minutes, stir in the chopped mint and cilantro. (If you’re not a cilantro fan, I’d use thinly sliced green onion instead.)
- Fill a salad bowl with lettuce and top with the turkey mixture, then drizzle over a little more dressing if desired and sprinkle on peanuts.
- Serve with additional dressing for those who want it and fresh limes to squeeze on at the table.
More Recipes with Thai Flavors:
Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad
This delicious Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad is loaded with those Thai flavors so many people love.
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey
- 1 T peanut oil
- 1 T finely minced fresh garlic
- 1/2 red onion, minced (see notes)
- 1/2 fresh Jalapeno pepper, minced
- 8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
- 1 cup chopped cilantro (see notes)
- 1 cup chopped fresh mint
- 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (for garnishing salad)
- fresh cut limes to squeeze on at the table (optional)
Dressing Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
- 1/4 cup fish sauce (see notes
- 4 tsp. Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (see notes)
- 4 tsp. Sriracha Sauce
Instructions
- Prepare the minced garlic, minced red onion or shallots, and minced jalapeno.
- Mix lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, and Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) to make the flavorful dressing.
- Mix the minced garlic, shallot, and jalapeno into the raw turkey using a large spoon.
- Heat the peanut oil in a large frying pan, then cook the turkey over medium-high heat until it's nicely browned, about 7-8 minutes. Break it apart with a turner as it cooks.
- Turn off the heat and mix about half the dressing mixture into the cooked turkey, stirring so it seasons all the meat.
- While turkey cools chop the romaine, wash in a salad spinner (affiliate link) or in the sink, and spin dry or dry with paper towels.
- Chop the fresh mint and cilantro. (I used my Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut thin strips of mint.)
- Cut up some fresh limes to squeeze on at the table, and chop peanuts to garnish the salad.
- After the meat has cooled about 4-5 minutes, stir in the chopped mint and cilantro (or thinly sliced green onion instead if you're not using cilantro.)
- Fill a salad bowl with lettuce and top with the turkey mixture, then drizzle over a little more dressing if desired and sprinkle on peanuts.
- Serve with additional dressing for those who want it and fresh limes to squeeze on at the table.
Notes
You can use about 1/2 cup chopped shallots instead of red onion if you prefer. I used my fresh-frozen lime juice for this recipe. If you're not a cilantro fan I'd use thinly sliced green onion. I would use Red Boat Fish Sauce (affiliate link) which is gluten-free and Paleo. I'm a fan of Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) but use any sweetener of your choice. If you don't have Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) use another type of Asian hot sauce.
This recipe adapted from Thai Ground Pork Salad from Food and Wine.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1 large saladAmount Per Serving Calories 614Total Fat 43gSaturated Fat 9.8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 28gCholesterol 180mgSodium 1645mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 4.3gSugar 3.6gProtein 50g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Switching the traditional brown sugar for an approved sweetener makes this Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad salad a great choice for low-carb diets and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet. This recipe is low in carbs for Keto, but people following that diet might prefer to use ground beef for more fat.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Salad Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for This Recipe:
This amazing Larb Salad with Thai flavors was first posted in 2013. The recipe was last updated in 2024.
30 Comments on “Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad”
I do love this Turkey Larb! Especially in summer. Thai is my favourite, but this was a relatively recent discovery. Thank you! Gorgeous photos too.
Thanks Susie; so glad you like it!
Is it 1/2 red onion minced OR 1/2 cup red onion minced? Since you can substitute 1/2 CUP shallots minced, I am thinking that 1/2 CUP red onion would be the amount.
Sorry I confused you. I think 1/2 of a red onion minced = about 1/2 cup, but for shallots they are smaller so you need to give the amount in cups. It doesn’t need to be an exact measurement, just close to 1/2 cup.
Made this for dinner tonight and it was terrific!! Â Definitely adding it to my Faves list!
Amanda, I LOVE this recipe so much! So happy to hear you enjoyed it too.
Oops, that is totally a screw-up on my part. The original recipes called for shallots. But when I made it this time I only had red onion so I used that. I will edit to clarify that either one is okay. So glad you enjoyed it.
This looks amazing!!! Is there an alternative for the fish sauce? My husband is allergic to fish ðŸ˜
I haven’t tried any of them myself but I know there is such a thing as Vegan fish sauce, both to purchase or to make yourself. I bet you can find a substitute in Google that would work.
What about very low fat ground beef (I don't do poultry)? Or ground pork? Looks yummy!
I'm sure both of those would be good.
Thanks Cynthia. I would probably just eat this as a whole meal, but if you want a side dish, some kind of slaw would be good, maybe Spicy Lime Coleslaw. Really any kind of salad with Asian flavors would be good.
Kalyn,
I love this recipe. What would you recommend as a side dish for it?
I've made this about 5 times since discovering this recipe. It's now become a (crave-able) staple for me! Thanks!
Thanks Carolyn. If only you did live closer, then we could cook together! Glad you like the salad.
Congratulations on the successful move, Kalyn! I can just imagine the boxes piled high everywhere. Good luck with all of that! wish I lived closer and I'd come help you unpack the kitchen or something.
Thanks for this larb recipe – I so rarely make Thai because of my hubby's diabetes since Thai food often contains sugar, but this recipe will work. I'll be trying it soon.
Happy unpacking .. . .
Thanks Zerrin. Slowly but surely I am getting a functional kitchen again.
Congrats on your new house Kalyn! Hope you can easily unpack boxes and start enjoying your new kitchen! This salad sounds so tasty! Healthy and filling! Love the flavor party in it!
Thanks everyone for the nice thoughts about this recipe and the new house.
Hi Kalyn! I am new to your blog (and to the blogosphere). I really like your blog..the wonderful stories shared and the beautiful pictures are awesome. I need to get back into eating healthy again, and I'm so glad I found your site to add to my resource for healthy cooking.
I'm so happy for you Kalyn! Your new house sounds wonderful!!
Can't wait to try this salad, Kalyn. Welcome back and good to see you yesterday.
Another fantastic recipe from you, Kalyn. I'm so excited for you and hope that you are settling into your new home easily.
Wow Kalyn, that salad dressing sounds wonderful and low cal. I will be making soon.
Thanks!
You beat me… I think I had 13 boxes of cookbooks, but now I don't remember for sure. I do have pictures to refresh my memory, but moving is so hard, I rather not look at them…
good luck with your new place, it's exciting to start a new phase!
Loved this recipe, I am a Sriracha-addict and a lover of laarb in all its forms. Have not done it with turkey, genius!
Again, congratulations on the new house. This is a beautiful recipe. The meat-lover in me is loving how it looks, and the dieting me isn't protesting because it's turkey and it's a salad. Thanks for sharing this despite your being busy settling in.
Thanks Alyssa, and I have to say, my family is the best!
I love Larb and how you lightened and brightened this version up Kalyn. Congrats again on the new house – your family sounds awesome!
Taya, thanks! And the cookbooks are definitely more organized than most of my stuff.
Looks and sounds delicious! Welcome back and hope the move went well. I am sure you are glad that at least everything is moved in…now to organize the cook books, lol!