This light and refreshing crunchy quinoa salad is paired with a flavorful creamy peanut dressing. Naturally vegan, healthy yet utterly delicious !
If you are looking for salads that are actually delicious, definitely give this Thai quinoa cabbage salad a try ! This salad features crunchy raw veggies and fluffy quinoa tossed in a super creamy and rich vegan peanut sauce.
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🥜What you will need
🥕Substitutions / Add-ins
- To make this oil-free, omit the sesame oil in the peanut sauce.
- Make this gluten-free by using gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.
- Substitute peanut butter with cashew butter to make this peanut-free.
- Crunchy peanut butter can be used in place of the smooth one, but increase the amount to 4 tablespoons instead of 3.
- Any kinds of quinoa can be used like red quinoa, black quinoa or tri-colored ones.
- You can substitute or add in other suitable veggies in place of the ones mentioned in this recipe. Some of the veggies that works well in this peanut quinoa salad are bell-peppers, green peas, corn kernels or green cabbage.
🔪How to make
Start by cooking quinoa. Place quinoa in a fine mesh colander and rinse it thoroughly under running water for at least 30 seconds, using your hands to swish it around. Pour it into a medium pot or pan together with 1 cup of water.
Bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle simmer. Place the lid on and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.
Remove pan from heat and let quinoa sit for 5-10 minutes, before fluffing them up using a fork.
In the meantime, make the peanut salad dressing by combining all ingredients needed.
Place the chopped veggies and quinoa into a large salad bowl. Pour in the peanut sauce and toss to coat. Give it a taste and add more soy sauce, if needed.
Serve this Thai quinoa cabbage salad immediately, or let it chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours if you prefer it to be cold.
🥗How to serve
- Serve it up with some plant protein like this gochujang tofu or Indonesian sambal tempeh to make this a more substantial meal.
- This Thai peanut cabbage salad makes a really great side dish or appetizer.
- Top them with some crunchy roasted peanut chickpeas to give them more texture and flavor.
- Or, if you are planning to have an Asian-themed dinner, pair them along with this stir-fry rice vermicelli, Thai green curry fried rice and / or rice paper rolls.
❔Commonly asked questions
This step is necessary if you want to remove the nutty and bitter taste from quinoa. Rinsing them will remove its natural coating, saponin, that is what cause quinoa to be bitter.
But if you like the earthy taste of quinoa, then rinsing it is not a must.
Yes, this Thai quinoa cabbage salad is freezable. To freeze, portion it up in sealed containers and they can now be frozen for up to a month.
To reheat, let them thaw in the fridge overnight or on countertop for a few hours. You can now heat them up either on stovetop or in the microwave.
Yes, you can definitely replace quinoa with rice, and both brown and white rice will work fine. Cook your rice according to package instructions before adding it in into this salad.
This salad can be served either warm or cold, depending on personal preference. If you prefer it to be warm, heat them up in the microwave before serving. On the other hand, let them sit in the fridge for 1-2 hours before enjoying if you like them cold.
This crunchy quinoa peanut salad contains about 10g of protein per serving.
🍽More healthy vegan lunches
If you did make this recipe, it will be awesome if you would leave a rating and review in the comments ! Do tag me on instagram @myplantifulcooking, I would really love to see your recreations. 🙂
📖 Recipe
Crunchy Thai Quinoa Cabbage Salad
Ingredients
For the peanut dressing
- 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter*
- 1 ½ tablespoon soy sauce / tamari
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon chili powder ( optional )
For the salad
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups shredded red cabbage
- 1 medium carrot shredded
- ½ cup frozen edamame
- handful of chopped peanuts ( to garnish )
Instructions
- Start by cooking quinoa. Place quinoa in a fine mesh colander and rinse it thoroughly under running water for at least 30 seconds, using your hands to swish it around. Pour it into a medium pot or pan together with 1 cup of water.
- Bring mixture to a boil, then lower heat to a gentle simmer. Place the lid on and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the quinoa has absorbed all the water.
- Remove pan from heat and let quinoa sit for 5-10 minutes, before fluffing them up using a fork.
- In the meantime, the peanut salad dressing by combining all ingredients needed and boil frozen edamame in hot water for 1-2 minutes.
- Place the chopped veggies and quinoa into a large salad bowl. Pour in the peanut sauce and toss to coat. Give it a taste and add more soy sauce, if needed.
- Serve immediately, or let it chill in the fridge for 1-2 hours if you prefer it to be cold.
Such a healthy and delicious salad!Thanks for sharing.
Its my pleasure !
Wow, what a colorful and healthy looking salad! I can't wait to try this!
Thanks ! Hope you like it
Love this recipe Meesha! Loving Asian flavoured salads and using ingredients that are not quintessentially Asian. Fell like that is such a great fusion of ingredients and produce! I'm Malaysian and I certainly don't miss the "too hot to walk outside" heat!
Thanks ! Haha its sure hot out here 🙂
What a delicious quinoa salad. And I especially like the crunch of it. Thank you for sharing!
I LOVE quinoa salads, but have never tried one with Thai seasonings! This would be so great to have stocked in the fridge for lunches, especially when it's too hot to cook. Thanks for this recipe!
Its my pleasure ! Hope you like it 🙂