If you have been following me for a while, you know that I am a huge fan of quinoa salads and make them often. I know you like them too because my Mediterranean Quinoa Salad, Avocado Quinoa Salad, Quinoa and Kale Salad, Quinoa Black Bean Avocado Salad, and Butternut Squash Quinoa Salad recipes are some of the most popular recipes on Foolproof Living.
This Thai Quinoa Salad recipe, packed with good-for-you and colorful veggies and a delicious peanut sauce, is the newest addition to the collection.
This crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad recipe is made with my all-time favorite creamy vegan Thai salad dressing, Sesame Ginger Dressing, fluffy quinoa, and fresh veggies. In my humble opinion, this hearty salad is addictive, but in a good way. Packed with a ton of everyday vegetables and topped off with roasted nuts (including but not limited to cashews, almonds, and peanuts), it is wholesome, vegan, and gluten-free.
What is in This Recipe?
As in most salad recipes, this easy Thai vegan quinoa salad has 2 sets of ingredients; The salad dressing and the salad ingredients.
- Asian Sesame Ginger Dressing: For the dressing ingredients, you will need creamy peanut butter (or almond butter would also work), maple syrup, rice vinegar, tamari (or soy sauce), sesame oil, fresh garlic, fresh ginger and chili pepper sauce (like Sriracha or sambal oelek). If you need information on making ahead or storing this dressing recipe, be sure to check out my recipe post on how to make sesame ginger dressing.
- Salad Ingredients: In terms of the salad ingredients, you will need 3 cups of cooked quinoa, purple cabbage, carrots, red bell peppers, scallions, cucumbers, edamame, cilantro (optional), and roasted nuts like O Organics Cashews, Peanuts, and Almonds (for extra crunch).
Substitutions and Helpful Notes For The Ingredients:
- Red Cabbage: As I mentioned in my No Mayo Coleslaw and Greek Yogurt Coleslaw recipes, the secret to making cabbage salads work is to slice the cabbage as thinly as you can. This Thai cabbage salad is no different. Because doing so allows the cabbage to soften as soon as it is mixed with the salad dressing and turns it into a soft yet still crunchy salad ingredient. If you do not have purple cabbage, you can use green cabbage instead.
- Green Onion: Scallions are a classic for any salad, but you can also use thinly sliced red onion.
- Shelled edamame: I consider edamame a staple ingredient for any of my Asian-style salad recipes (i.e. Asian Chicken Salad recipe). However, if you cannot get your hands on it, you can use sugar snap peas instead or omit them altogether.
- Quinoa: I used 3 cups of cooked tricolor quinoa, but any type of quinoa (tricolor, white, and red quinoa) would work in this recipe. I usually cook quinoa in bulk and freeze it to have it on hand fast.
- Use almond Butter instead of peanut butter: You can use almond butter and peanut butter interchangeably in this recipe. I love using Open Nature’s almond or peanut butter as it is made with nothing but nuts and a bit of sea salt. Not to mention it is super creamy.
- Lime Juice: Don’t have rice vinegar? In a pinch, you can use an equal amount of freshly squeezed lime juice or apple cider vinegar instead.
How To Make?
- Cook the quinoa: I believe that the best way to make quinoa taste good is to cook it in the vegetable broth after rinsing it. I cooked my quinoa in a pressure cooker (in my instant pot), but you can cook it in a rice cooker, microwave or on the stovetop as well.
- Make the Thai Peanut dressing: While the quinoa cooks, make the dressing. Place all salad dressing ingredients in a jar (or a small bowl) and give it a whisk until it is creamy.
- Assemble the salad: Place the now-cooked quinoa in a large salad bowl and top it off with all the chopped veggies.
- Drizzle it with the dressing: Pour the spicy peanut dressing over the salad and give it a gentle toss.
- Garnish & Serve: Top it off with chopped O Organics organic roasted almonds and cashews with sea salt (for extra crunch) and chopped fresh cilantro (optional).
What to serve it with?
This crunchy Thai quinoa salad is a meal-worthy salad that you can serve by itself. However, I also love to serve it as a vegetable side dish with my Thai Lemongrass Chicken or Orange Ginger Chicken.
Additionally, if you are serving it during the BBQ season, you can easily pair it with Grilled Mahi Mahi or Grilled Shrimp Skewers for a healthy meal that is guaranteed to impress.
Make Ahead & Storage:
Can I make it ahead, you ask? You sure can. As a matter of fact, this Asian Quinoa Salad recipe is one of my favorite meal prep lunches. Simply store it in individual airtight containers in the fridge and enjoy it throughout the week.
If you decide to do so, I highly recommend storing the dressing separately and tossing it with the salad right before serving it.
And if you end up with leftovers of this quinoa cabbage salad, simply store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to two days.
A Few Helpful Tips & Variations:
- Taste for seasoning: I highly recommend giving a taste to the salad before serving it. I used a minimal amount of tamari sauce in the recipe below to make it work for everyone. However, as someone who is addicted to salt, I use almost double the amount of tamari when I make this salad for us.
- Turn it into a Thai Chicken Quinoa Salad: If I am serving this for my meat-loving husband, I usually bake split chicken breasts or air fryer chicken legs, cut (or shred) them into cubes, and incorporate them into the salad.
FAQs
Thai Quinoa Salad is an Asian-styled salad made with crunchy vegetables like cabbage, bell peppers, and cucumbers, and drizzled with a spicy peanut sauce that is flavored with ginger, garlic, and sesame oil.
One of my favorite things about this Thai quinoa recipe is that it can be served warm, room temperature, or cold. If I am serving it as a main dish, I usually serve it warm. I love that the freshly cooked and still warm quinoa absorbs the dressing right away and makes it incredibly delicious and creamy. However, it makes a great salad when served cold as well, which is why I usually make it a part of my weekly meal prep and store it in individual containers.
Check Out These Products and More in Shaw’s:
There you have it friends, a Thai-style crunchy quinoa salad recipe that you can make all year round. I love shopping at our local Shaw’s and appreciate that they have a great collection of organic ingredients that I can use in my everyday cooking. If there is one in your area, be sure to check out their products.
Other Quinoa Recipes You Might Like:
If you liked this easy quinoa salad recipe, I suspect that you are like me; a fan of quinoa salads and include it in your weekly meal prep.
- Quinoa Stew
- Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
- Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl
- Perfectly Seasoned Quinoa recipe
- How to flavor quinoa?
- Can’t get enough? Check out the rest of my Healthy Quinoa Salads
If you try this Thai Quinoa Salad recipe or any other recipe on Foolproof Living, please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It is a great help to others who are thinking of making the recipe. And if you took some pictures, be sure to share them on Instagram using #foolproofeats so I can share them on my stories.
Thai Quinoa Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For The Peanut Butter Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons Open Nature® almond or peanut butter*, (unsweetened/unsalted)
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or honey
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons tamari, or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 teaspoon chili pepper sauce I used Sriracha – optional
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
For The Salad:
- 3 cups cooked quinoa, warm or cold
- 3 small carrots, peeled and shredded
- 1 cup red cabbage, sliced thinly
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 5 stalks of scallions, sliced thinly (both green and white parts)
- 2 Persian cucumbers, peeled and cut into small pieces
- 1 cup edamame or sugar snap peas
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 cup roasted and lightly salted nuts, chopped ( I used cashews and almonds)
Instructions
- To make the dressing: Place all the ingredients in a jar and whisk until emulsified.
- To make the salad: Place the quinoa, carrots, cabbage, bell pepper, scallions, cucumber, edamame, and cilantro in a large salad bowl.
- Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Give it a toss. Garnish with cashews and almonds. Serve.
Video
Notes
- Make Ahead: This salad is one of my favorite meal prep lunches because it stores well. Simply make the salad and dressing. Place the salad ingredients in individual meal prep bowls and store them with the dressing on the side. When ready to serve, drizzle it with the dressing and toss.
- Storage: You can store the leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days in the fridge. When ready to serve, give it a mix, give it a taste, and season with salt, if necessary.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I have made this salad numerous times – exactly as written – and it is outstanding. Love the blend of flavors and the crunch from multiple ingredients. The dressing is absolutely amazing!
That makes me so happy AShley. Thanks for comin by and taking the time to leave a review.
Absolutely delicious!
I am happy to hear that Melissa. Thank you!
Saving this recipe! However, not a fan of edamame. I’ve been to Thailand several times (two months this past winter), and have never seen edamame in anything. Even if I had, there is something about the texture of them that I do not like..haha.
Hello Colleen,
Happy to hear that you like this recipe.
The good thing is that you can make this Asian salad without edamame and would still taste very good.
Thanks for coming by.
This was absolutely amazing! A big hit with my whole family.
Great to hear that! Thanks Liz.
Made this last night and thoroughly enjoyed it; eating it, prepping it and looking at it. In fact it’s so good I decided that I am going to bring it to a potluck next week. I found it to be substantial enough to be a vegan main dish. I am excited to eat my leftovers for lunch today.
This makes me so happy to hear Lori. Thanks for coming by and taking the time to leave a review.
Cheers!
This salad is AMAZING. The dressing is so good. I made it for mom — who tends to be picky — and she said it was as good as a restaurant. Made multiple times and is always a treat.
This is music to my ears Traci. So happy to hear that both you and your mom enjoyed it.
I appreciate you taking the time to leave a review.
I hope you get to try some of my other quinoa salad recipes on the blog.
Cheers!