Thai Quinoa Salad (Vegan & GF)

This Thai Vegan Quinoa Salad recipe is a simple and delicious salad that is full of flavor, easy to make and perfect for meal prep! It’s loaded with fresh, crisp veggies, fluffy quinoa, and a peanut sauce you’re going to want to put on everything!

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Whether you cook for one or are cooking for a party, this Thai vegan quinoa salad has your name written all over it. It’s fresh, flavorful, easy to make and served cold so it’s perfect for on the go meals!

While it’s delicious exactly as it is, I love to pair it with some salmon, baked tofu, or grilled chicken for extra protein.

This recipe is naturally gluten free, vegan, easy to make and a total crowd pleaser. While traditionally served cold, you can easily turn it into a stir fry by adding some tofu or chickpeas!

Ingredients

• Quinoa: We’ll be using cooked, then cooled quinoa as the base of this salad.

• Carrots: You will need about 1-2 large grated carrots. You can grate them by hand or chop them into chunks and add the chunks into a food processor to make life easier.

• Cabbage: Red cabbage adds a nice color and crunch to the salad. I suggest using a mandolin to slice it very fine. I should note: red cabbage is not in fact red, it’s purple!

• Red Onion: Again, it’s purple, not red! Red onion works best in this recipe because of the flavor, but any type of onion will work.

• Cilantro: If you don’t like cilantro, you can sub for fresh mint or fresh chopped basil. You can also use both of those in addition to the cilantro.

• Red Pepper: Any type of bell pepper works well, but red adds a nice pop of color and compliments the other flavors really well.

• Edamame: You can sub the edamame for chickpeas, or use both!

• Peanut Sauce: This is a super simple peanut sauce made from a base of peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and lime juice. Make it spicy by adding some red pepper flakes!

How to make this recipe

The first step is to cook the quinoa. I find following the package instructions leads to mushy quinoa, so follow these instructions for perfect quinoa.

While the quinoa is cooking, prepare all veggies. I like to use a mandoline for the cabbage to get it very thin, but you can also just chop it small.

When the quinoa is done, let it cool before adding to a large mixing bowl. 

Add in all the veggies to the bowl once they’re chopped/diced.

To prepare the dressing, simply whisk all ingredients together in a bowl. Add more water as needed until desired consistency is reached. You can also add all of the dressing ingredients to a small mason jar and shake it really well until completely smooth.

Add the dressing to the salad bowl and toss to combine. Top with crushed red pepper flakes and peanuts and enjoy!

Because this recipe will have so much flavor once it is prepared, you don’t need to worry about adding any special seasonings to the quinoa itself while it cooks.

Usually, I like to cook quinoa in vegetable or chicken broth or add some spices for flavor, but regular water and a touch of salt is more than enough for this recipe.

Tips and tricks

• This vegan quinoa salad calls for peanut butter, but any nut butter will work well. My personal favorites are almond and peanut butter, but if you have any allergies, sunflower butter is great too.

• Once prepared, this salad will store in the fridge for 5-7 days. Keep it in an air tight container for best results.

• If you don’t like any of the veggies included in the recipe, you can leave them out or swap for chopped cucumber, broccoli, chickpeas etc. This recipe is very versatile!

• I almost always use low sodium soy sauce/tamari because I find the regular stuff to be a bit too salty. You can use either one and then add more salt to the final recipe if you think it needs it.

• If you already have quinoa prepared, one cup of uncooked (what this recipe calls for) is equal to about 3 cups cooked quinoa.

Try these recipes next!

• Butternut Squash and Kale Salad
• Apple Arugula Salad
• Mashed Chickpea Salad

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