Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad (Video)

Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad has Mint, Cilantro, Sriracha Sauce, and Peanuts, and this delicious low-carb salad has the Thai flavors so many people love. 

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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!

Larb Salad is a type of meat salad that came from Laos, and it’s widely eaten in Thailand and other parts of Asia. We made our version of Larb with ground turkey, but you can use ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork if you prefer. The turkey is seasoned with minced garlic, red onion, and chopped Jalapeno and then browned. Then you add some of 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.

And the finished salad includes chopped cilantro, chopped mint, peanuts, and fresh lime juice squeezed on at the table. Can you tell why I’m saying this is loaded with amazing flavors? 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 this 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 ingredients do you need for this 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)

How to make this salad:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. This turkey used in the salad is loaded with flavor from Minced Garlic (affiliate link), minced red onion (or shallots), and minced jalapeno.
2. Mix lime juice, fish sauce (affiliate link), Golden Monkfruit Sweetener (affiliate link) or sweetener of your choice, and Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link).
3. Mix the garlic, shallot, and jalapeno into the raw turkey.
4. 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.
5. Turn off the heat and mix in about half the dressing mixture, stirring so it seasons all the meat.
6. While meat cools Chop romaine, wash in a salad spinner or in the sink, and spin dry or dry with paper towels.
7. Chop the fresh mint and cilantro. (I used my Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut thin strips of mint.)
8. Cut up some fresh limes to squeeze on at the table, and chop some peanuts to garnish the salad.
9. 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.)
10. 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.
11. Serve with additional dressing for those who want it and fresh limes to squeeze on at the table.

More Delicious Ideas with Turkey:

Cheesy Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Sweet Potato Mushroom Ground Turkey ~ Reluctant Entertainer
Thai-Inspired Ground Turkey Stir-Fry with Basil and Peppers ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen
Greek Turkey Burgers with Yogurt and Feta ~ The Perfect Pantry
Ground Turkey Green Chile Tacos with Avocado Salsa ~ Kalyn’s Kitchen

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Yield: 4 large salads

Thai-Inspired Turkey Larb Salad

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 7 minutes

Total Time 37 minutes

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

1. Prepare the minced garlic, minced red onion or shallots, and minced jalapeno.
2. 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.
3. Mix the minced garlic, shallot, and jalapeno into the raw turkey using a large spoon.
4. 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.
5. Turn off the heat and mix about half the dressing mixture into the cooked turkey, stirring so it seasons all the meat.
6. 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.
7. Chop the fresh mint and cilantro. (I used my Herb Scissors (affiliate link) to cut thin strips of mint.)
8. Cut up some fresh limes to squeeze on at the table, and chop peanuts to garnish the salad.
9. 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.)
10. 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.
11. 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:

4

Serving Size:

1 large salad
Amount 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.

Did you make this recipe?

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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.

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 to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there. 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.

Historical Notes for This Recipe:
This amazing salad with Thai flavors was first posted in 2013; last update June 2020.

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