A great tip to make this recipe even easier is to chop all of the veggies the day before. Also, cook the quinoa the night before so it can cool in the fridge. You can also make the peanut dressing several days in advance, if you want. Store it in an airtight container, in the fridge.
Add the dressing to the salad gradually, to taste. You may not want to use it all. Also, I wouldn’t add the dressing until right before you’re going to serve the salad. And my last tip: save the cashews until the end, right when you’re ready to serve, so that they stay crunchy.
Consider trying these popular salad recipes:
- Classic Wedge Salad
- Healthy Chicken Pasta Salad
- Creamy Pesto Tortellini Pasta Salad
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
- Waldorf Salad
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Recipe
Thai Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 heaping cup red cabbage , shredded
- 1 red bell pepper , diced
- 1/4 cup red onion , chopped
- 1 cup carrot , shredded
- 1 cup edamame , shelled
- ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
- 2 green onions , chopped
- ½ cup cashew halves
For the dressing:
- ¼ cup peanut butter , crunchy or smooth
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sriracha hot sauce
- water to thin if necessary
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package directions. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.
For the dressing:
- Add peanut butter and honey to a microwave safe bowl and heat in microwave for 10-20. Stir until smooth.
- Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and sriracha and stir until smooth and creamy.
- If necessary, thin the dressing by adding a little more olive oil or some water. Taste and add more hot sauce, if desired.
- Drizzle half of the dressing over the cooked and cooled quinoa. Toss to combine.
- In a large bowl combine the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, edamame, and cilantro.
- Fold in the quinoa. Add as much of the remaining dressing as you'd like (to taste). Add cashews and garnish with green onions. Enjoy.
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Really yummy bowl, perfect for a light bright meal.
I added 1 cup of diced cooked rotisserie chicken and mixed it with the cooked quinoa and dressing. I felt like the dish was tasty without it, but definitely preferred it with the chicken. I probably wont use the red onion next time.
Really good. I tweaked the sauce to taste and added chicken. Even my 1 and 3 year old liked it. Great recipe.
This was delicious. Made a little extra sauce, which was perfect. Will definitely be making it again.
Hi! Can you recommend one of your chicken recipes that would compliment this well?
Here’s a link to all my chicken recipes. It honestly could go great along side just about anything. Here’s other Thai recipes as well if that helps 🙂
I was looking for a Thai peanut dressing and found this one! Wow! It’s an absolute new favorite dressing in our house! I used crunchy peanut butter and for the sriracha sauce I replaced it with a homemade hot sauce I make. It tastes great! I’m sure it would still taste great with sriracha sauce. What’s also nice about it is you can make it whatever consistency you want thick or thin. I’m sorry I can’t give a comment on the rest of the salad yet, but since the sauce is amazing I’m sure the rest is!
This is really good!
My new favorite recipe! I topped it with grilled shrimp.
All of my friends now have this recipe. Thank you!
My new favorite recipe! I topped it with grilled shrimp. Prep was time consuming but worth it. All of my friends now have this recipe.
Thank you!
My daughter can’t have honey. Can you recommend a substitute?
You could leave it out or use any other sweetner 🙂
I am also allergic to honey so whenever a recipe calls for it I substitute the good natural maple syrup. Works pretty well for me for most things.
Delicious, and quick to make.
Loved this. Easy to make and delicious!
This looks delicious. Can it be used for meal prep for the week if I hold off on adding the dressing and cashews until mealtime?
Yes, that would work great! Enjoy!
So tasty! Loved this salad. I also added radishes
This was a delicious salad, will definitely make it again! Yummy!
I made a few changes because I bought red quinoa so to ajust the colors I used green cabbage, sweet frozen thawed corn instead of the red pepper, macadamia nuts instead of cashew because thats what I had. Everything else was the same .. i did add more salt and some lime juice. Hubby loved it and so did I. Delish !
I made this for a family gathering this weekend (trying to bring something healthy to the table). It was the second time I made it and I really enjoy it. I did just want to remind myself the next time I make it that I want to reserve the cashews until I am almost ready to serve. I made it the day before and the cashews got softer than I like (otherwise I thought it was fine to make it ahead).
That’s a great tip to reserve the cashews until the end! Glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting!
I made this tonight & it is delicious! The only thing I added was the zest & juice from 1 lime. Thanks for a great recipe! I will be making this again & again!
Love it!
Made this tonight….a lot of prep work, but tastes delicious
6 WW points. Going to try it tonight.
Try this today, taste awesome, a keeper! 🙂
Thanks Robin! Glad you liked it!
I just made this and it is absolutely fabulous 🙂 Perfect amount of kick from the Sriracha and just great flavors. Thank you!!
I’m so glad you liked it! Thanks for coming back to comment!! 🙂
Looks delish but wonder what the calorie count is for a single serving?
Hi Dottie, you can find nutritional information for the recipe http://myrecipemagic.com/recipe/recipedetail/thai-quinoa-salad
Thanks!
This was delicious and highly adaptable to what you have on hand. I used mung bean sprouts instead of edamame, green cabbage, apple cider vinegar and all sesame oil…and added sliced radishes to the mix. This is a keeper that I will certainly make again. I wonder, would it keep in the fridge for a few days?
Thanks Regina, I’m so glad you liked them! And your adaptions sound wonderful! Thanks for your nice comment 🙂
I made this tonight- it’s FABULOUS. I didn’t have carrots or edamame so I added chickpeas. I will definitely make this again! Thank you so much. I shared on my Fb page with a link back to your blog! 🙂
I made this tonight- it’s FABULOUS! I didn’t have carrots or edamame so I added chickpeas. I will definitely make this again!! Thank you so much. I shared on my Fb page w/a link back here. 🙂
Thanks so much Jennie! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Very nice, I need to get some quinoa!
I cannot wait to try this recipe! It looks absolutely delicious….especially the dressing. YUM! I’m going to share this on my blog with a link back. Thanks so much for sharing!! Great Blog!!
Looks divine!!!!! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Holly! Hope you love it!
Gorgeous colors! Pinning this for sure!!
I love how colorful it is too! It’s delicious!