Thai Quinoa Salad

Everyone always loves this Thai Quinoa Salad recipe that perfectly balances fresh, crunchy vegetables and quinoa, drizzled with a delicious peanut sauce.

Do you love Thai food as much as I do? Try this Spring Roll Bowl, Fresh Spring Rolls, or Drunken Noodles (Pad Kee Mao)!

Why I love this recipe:

• Healthy – This Thai Quinoa Salad is just as delicious as it is healthy! I like to make a big batch for meal prep lunches during the week.
• Fresh – All of the vegetables make the salad not only beautiful but so fresh and delicious. The combination of red bell pepper, purple cabbage, onion, carrots, edamame, cilantro, and green onion bring so many delicious flavors together.
• Flavorful – The homemade peanut sauce blends all the flavors together and really makes this the best quinoa salad!

How to make Thai Quinoa Salad:

Cook Quinoa: Prepare quinoa according to package directions. You should have a little over 2 cups of cooked quinoa.

Make Sauce: 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.

Pour Sauce on Quinoa: Drizzle half of the Quinoa salad dressing over the cooked and cooled quinoa. Toss to combine.

Chop Vegetables: In a large bowl combine the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, edamame, and cilantro. 

Combine: Fold the quinoa into the vegetables. Add as much of the remaining dressing as you'd like (to taste).

Serve: Add cashews and garnish with green onions right before serving this healthy quinoa salad. Enjoy!

Tips for Success:

A great tip to make this Asian quinoa salad 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.

Make Ahead Instructions:

To Make Ahead: The veggies, quinoa, and peanut sauce can all be made in advance to make this quinoa salad even more effortless! Store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge.

Recipe Variations:

• Chicken Quinoa Salad: To make it even more filling, feel free to throw in some chopped grilled chicken or air fryer tofu.

More Favorite Salads:

• Pomegranate and Pear Salad
• Cold Noodle Salad
• Brussels Sprout Salad
• Chicken Pasta Salad
• Southwest Quinoa Salad
• Cucumber Onion Salad
• Burrata Salad

Recipe

4.89 from 69 votes

Thai Quinoa Salad

Everyone always loves this Thai Quinoa Salad recipe that perfectly balances fresh, crunchy vegetables and quinoa, drizzled with a delicious peanut sauce.

Print Pin Review

Author Lauren Allen

Course Main Course, Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine Thai

Servings 6

Calories 278

Prep 15 minutes mins

Cook 20 minutes mins

Total 35 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ¾ cup quinoa , uncooked
• ▢ 1 heaping cup red cabbage , shredded
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper , diced
• ▢ 1/4 cup red onion , chopped
• ▢ 1 cup carrots , shredded
• ▢ 1 cup edamame , shelled
• ▢ ½ cup fresh cilantro , chopped
• ▢ 2 green onions , chopped
• ▢ ½ cup cashews , halves

For the dressing:

• ▢ ¼ cup creamy peanut butter , crunchy or smooth
• ▢ 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon honey (or sub maple syrup)
• ▢ 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.
• Make sauce: 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.
• Combine veggies: In a large bowl combine the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, edamame, and cilantro. 
• Add quinoa and as much of the remaining dressing as you'd like, to taste. Add cashews and garnish with green onions. Enjoy.

Notes

Make Ahead Instructions: The veggies, quinoa, and peanut sauce can all be prepped in advance to make this quinoa salad even more effortless! Store everything separately in airtight containers in the fridge.

Chicken Quinoa Salad: To make it even more filling, feel free to throw in some chopped grilled chicken.

Gluten-free Adaptations: use gluten-free soy sauce.

Macros Recipe Adaptation

Add 12 ounces cooked chicken breast.

Per Serving Amount

270 grams

Macros

349kcal, Fat: 14g, Carbs: 30g, Protein: 27g (serves 6) | MFP: Thai Quinoa Salad (TBFS Macros)

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 11gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gSodium: 372mgPotassium: 535mgFiber: 5gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 4321IUVitamin C: 29mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 3mg

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I originally shared this recipe January 2017. Updated January 2023.

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