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If your salad game has been feeling a ‘lil meh lately, buckle up—because this vegan Thai green papaya salad recipe is about to drop-kick your senses into another galaxy. We’re talking crispy, crunchy, spicy, tangy, and stupidly-delicious. It takes less than 30 minutes to throw together, and requires no fancy equipment. Just bold, punchy Thai street food magic, right in your own kitchen.
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Som Tam a.k.a Thai green papaya salad, originally comes from the Isaan region of Thailand. The name literally means "sour pounded," which is exactly what happens when you smash up that dressing. Like Lao papaya salad, it uses the tangy unripe papaya, not the sweet, orange-fleshed mature stuff.
This recipe is loaded with carrots, green beans, cherry tomatoes, and heaps of Thai basil and cilantro for that fresh, herby punch. Then, just when you think it can’t get any better—BOOM—roasted peanuts hit the mix, bringing that perfect salty crunch. Optional fried shallots? Highly recommended to balance the soft raw texture with a touch of crispy magic.
So, if you’re ready to say goodbye to boring salads forever and bring some serious Thai food energy into your kitchen, let’s get shredding.
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🥰Why you’ll adore this vegan Thai green papaya salad recipe
✊ Vegan AF & GF: Like all my vegan Thai recipes, this one ditches the fish sauce but keeps all the bold, punchy flavors intact. No soy sauce or wheat sneakin’ in here, too—just another solid pick for your go-to gluten-free vegan recipes.
⚡ Fast & Furious (in a good way): Even if you are slow as hell at cutting, this comes together in under 30 minutes. A perfect weeknight move when you need something fresh and exciting but don’t have time for a kitchen marathon.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide Like all the vegan recipes I share, this one has been put through its paces by a squad of recipe testers around the globe, ensuring it’s as foolproof as it is delicious. If they nailed it, you def. can too.
🙌 Learn to make restaurant-quality Thai food
This guide to my most popular vegan Thai recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🥗vegan green papaya salad Ingredients
Tamarind Concentrate
Tamarind concentrate is where the deep, tangy, slightly sweet punch comes from. It adds that rich, almost molasses-like complexity you’ll find in nam jim jaew, vegan nam prik pao, and tamarind chutney. There’s no real substitute for this, but you can make your own by pulsing up some softened, soaked, seeded tamarind pulp with boiling water.
Vegan Fish Sauce
Traditional som tam leans on fish sauce for that funky, briny depth, but this plant-based version brings all the complexity with none of the fishy business. Vegan oyster sauce can work, but it’s thicker and sweeter. For more heat, use vegan nuoc cham instead.
White Pepper
Way more subtle than black pepper, white pepper sneaks in with a gentle smokey warmth that lingers in the background, giving the dressing its smooth, balanced heat. It’s a key ingredient in other Thai dishes like tofu pad ped, pak boong, and vegan pad see ew.
Green Papaya
The crispy, juicy backbone of this salad, green papaya holds up to all that pounding (yes, go ahead and laugh) while drinking in the dressing like a pro. The best ones for som tam? Truly firm, tangy papayas with barely any seeds—those are the gold standard. You’ll also see them doing their thing in atchara, bringing that same fresh crunch to the table.
Green Beans
A little chew, a fresh snap, and the perfect contrast to the crunchy papaya. Thin haricot verts soften more quickly in the dressing (because they aren’t as meaty), while long beans—like the ones used in adobong sitaw and sayur lodeh work too. Just chop them down to size. You’ll also find green beans in Thai basil fried rice, green curry tofu, and vegan yellow curry.
Thai Bird’s Eye Chili
These small chilies bring the spice, giving the salad its signature kick. If you need to tone it down, swap in serrano peppers or mix ‘em with a milder chili. You’ll also find these in a ton of Thai recipes like vegan red curry, Thai eggplant curry, vegan massaman curry, and Thai spring rolls.
Roasted Peanuts
Crunchy, toasty, and straight-up addictive, peanuts add richness and contrast to every bite. Salted peanuts can vary kinda insanely in the amount of saltiness, which is why for consistency sake, I wrote this recipe with unsalted ones. Using ones the skins on or off is up to you—both add great texture and flavor.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
📖How to make vegan som tam
Nail this green papaya salad on your first shot by following these step-by-step photos with helpful tips. Or scroll down to the bottom of this page for the easy-to-print recipe card.
Step One
The Whisk Takers:
In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, tamarind concentrate, sugar, vegan fish sauce, garlic, white pepper, and salt until the sugar fully dissolves. Set aside.
Step Two
Grate Expectations:
Using a mandoline slicer, julienne peeler, box grater, or sharp knife, julienne or shred the green papaya into thin strips.
Step Three
Stirring Up Trouble:
In a large mixing bowl, combine the shredded papaya, carrot, green beans, cherry tomatoes, bird’s eye chili, shallot, cilantro leaves, Thai basil, and crushed peanuts.
Step Four
Slaw and Order:
Pour the prepared dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly.
✅ If you aren’t squeamish about it, use your hands to gently squeeze and massage the salad, helping the dressing penetrate the vegetables for deeper flavor.
Step Five
Bowl Appétit:
Serve at room temperature or chilled, garnished with fried shallots, additional crushed peanuts, extra chilies, and fresh cilantro as desired. It's great as a standalone salad, or over greens drizles with Thai salad dressing.
💡Serving Ideas
Som Tam’s bold, spicy, and savory flavors make it a killer match for both creamy tom kha and spicy tom yum soup.
If you're all about rice, serve it with green curry fried rice, tom yum fried rice, or classic khao pad. You can also go for some coconut jasmine rice to soak up all that flavor.
Papaya salad is a nice light starter fro when you serving a heavier meal, like noodles. Rock it before a big ol' bowl of Thai peanut noodles, pad mee, or Thai basil noodles.
Don’t forget to wash it all down with a cold Thai iced tea!
👉Top tips
- Go For Unripe Papayas: The papaya’s crunch is the heart of this salad, so get the freshest one you can find. Ripe papaya turns this salad into a mushy overly-sweet mess.
- Massage The Salad: After you toss the veggies with the dressing, give it a good squeeze and massage. This helps the acidity and flavors really get into the papaya and carrots.
- Use A Sharp Knife Or Mandoline For Precision: That perfect julienne cut? It’s all about sharp tools. A dull knife will mash the papaya instead of slicing it cleanly. I am all about the last, easy way, and always usea mandoline slicer. But it can turn into a crime scene real quick if you're not attentive and super-careful.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Toss the papaya and veggies with the dressing right before serving to keep everything crisp. If it's been sitting for more than twelve hours, the salt will pull extra moisture from the papaya, turning things a little swampy. You might need to drain off some liquid and adjust the seasonings before serving leftovers.
Not unless you wanna have a friggin' nasty pile of gross old garbage on your hands. Freezing papaya turns it into mush, and this salad’s all about that crispy crunch.
To store leftover green papaya salad, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Keep the dressing separate to prevent the salad from becoming soggy. The papaya and other vegetables are best enjoyed fresh, so the sooner you can eat it, the better.
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Som Tam (Thai Green Papaya Salad)
Equipment
- Julienne peeler optional
- Box grater optional
Ingredients
Dressing:
- ¼ cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar coconut sugar, or palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon vegan fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
Salad:
- 1 lb. Green papaya skin and seeds removed (about 8 packed cups shredded)
- 1 cup carrot julienne cut or shredded
- 1 cup green beans cut in 1-inch sections
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 4 bird’s eye chili or to taste, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup shallot thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro leaves chopped
- 1 cup thai basil leaves chopped
- ⅓ cup unsalted dry roasted peanuts crushed
Optional Garnishes:
- Fried Shallots
- Additional crushed peanuts
- Additional sliced bird’s eye chilies
- Cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, tamarind concentrate, sugar, vegan fish sauce, garlic, white pepper, and salt until the sugar fully dissolves. Set aside.
- Julienne or shred the green papaya using a mandoline slicer, julienne peeler, box grater, or sharp knife.
- Place the cut papaya strips in a large bowl with the carrot, green beans, cherry tomatoes, bird’s eye chili, shallot, cilantro leaves, Thai basil, and crushed peanuts.
- Pour the dressing over the salad and toss thoroughly to ensure even coating. Squeeze and massage the salad to get the acids from the dressing to penetrate into the vegetables.
- Serve room temperature or chilled, optionally garnished with fried shallots, crushed peanuts, chilies and cilantro.
Notes
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Reshyll says
This som tam recipe has the perfect kick. I could eat this every day and never get bored.