Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad features a colorful mix of veggies tossed with healthy quinoa and delicious, creamy almond dressing for a quick and easy vegan lunch, dinner or meal prep!
Calling all quinoa lover’s, I have another delicious quinoa salad for you!
You may already be familiar with this Garden Quinoa Salad, Kale Quinoa Salad, Greek Quinoa Salad, Apple Harvest Quinoa Salad, or easy Lemon Quinoa & Chickpea Salad!
This crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad is full of color, texture and flavor, and is another great addition to the growing collection of heart healthy, quinoa salads on TSV!
What’s to love? It’s:
- quick, easy and ready in about 30 minutes.
- loaded with healthy fiber and protein.
- great for weekly meal prep.
- grain free, gluten free, and oil-free.
- simple and delicious!
So without further ado, let’s get to it!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Quinoa is cooked and tossed with a variety of colorful veggies then drizzled with a creamy nut butter dressing creating an irresistible salad that is sure to be a new favorite to your quinoa routine.
Here is everything you will need:
- Quinoa – use white or tri-color
- Red bell pepper
- Cucumber – use regular, English or 2 – 3 Persian cucumbers
- Carrots – use shredded for ease
- Red cabbage
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Lime
- Nut butter – peanut, cashew, almond, or sunflower butters all work great
- Ginger
- Tamari – sub with soy sauce, namu shoyu, or coconut aminos
- Pure maple syrup – can sub with coconut nectar or date syrup
How To Make Thai Quinoa Salad
Making this quinoa salad is super easy, requiring only a few steps. For the full printable recipe, see the bottom of this post.
- Make the almond-lime dressing. Whisk together the peanut butter, lime, ginger, tamari and maple syrup in a small bowl.
- Cook the quinoa. Cook on the stovetop or use this Instant Pot Quinoa recipe.
- Prep the vegetables.
- Assemble salad. Add the chopped vegetables to the bowl with the quinoa (shown above), give a good toss to combine.
- Top with dressing. Drizzle with the dressing (shown below), or what until your individual portion is served.
And now you are ready to enjoy!
Top Tips
- Nut allergies? For those who have nut allergies, when making the dressing use sunflower butter.
- Add more protein. For more fiber and protein, add 1 ½ cups of edamame or chickpeas.
How To Store Leftovers + Meal Prep
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days in a covered container.
- Meal prep: This quinoa salad is great for weekly meal prep! For easy, toss the salad with the dressing before storing. You may even like to double the dressing to have some on the side for drizzling overtop when serving.
More Healthy Salad Recipes
- Farmer’s Market Salad
- Raw Vegan Taco Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Orange, Cranberry + Mint
- Thai Crunch Salad
- Easy Lemon Asparagus Pasta Salad
- Crunchy Romaine Salad + Almond-Lime Dressing
If you try this quinoa salad recipe or have a question let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintCRUNCHY THAI QUINOA SALAD
Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad features a rainbow mix of crisp and crunchy veggies tossed with a creamy almond dressing for a healthy vegan lunch, dinner or meal prep!
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 - 6 1x
- Category: Entree, Salad
- Method: simmer, mix
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried quinoa
- 1 ¾ cups of water
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 large red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- ¼ red cabbage, shredded
- 2 – 3 scallions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup cilantro (lightly packed), chopped
- handful of peanuts or cashews, optional
- 4 tablespoons nut butter (peanut, almond, cashew, or sunbutter)
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon tamari, nama shoyu, soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 1 inch knob of ginger, minced or grated
- 1 – 2 limes, divided
- mineral salt, to taste
Instructions
Quinoa: In a medium pot, add quinoa, water, and garlic powder, bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove cover, fluff with a fork and let rest for 10 minutes. Alternatively, if you have a pressure cooker, this Instant Pot Quinoa Recipe is super easy!
Dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the nut butter, pure maple syrup, tamai, ginger, juice of 1 lime. Add a little water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to thin. Taste for flavor, season with salt to taste.
Assemble salad: In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked quinoa, bell pepper, cucumber, carrots, cabbage, scallions, and cilantro. Drizzle with the nut butter dressing and toss to combine. Alternatively, toss the quinoa and veggies, and add dressing once plated.
Serve: Spoon into individual bowls, top with optional crunchy nuts and squeeze of lime.
Serves 4 – 6
Store: Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 – 5 days.
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Audrey says
Just curious if you could substitute PB2 powder in the dressing in some way?
Julie | The Simple Veganista says
Great question, Audrey! I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t say. I’m not sure if the powder thickens, but if you are up for an experiment, go for it!
Meredith says
This was incredible! I switched out peppers for raw broccoli, added chick peas, and topped it with avocado. So yummy! 😋
★★★★★
Willa says
Absolutely delicious, refreshing, nourishing, and satisfying! I made 2x the sauce, as other folks suggested, which is perfect, because that sauce is key!
★★★★★
Rex Lopez-Henthorn says
Wonderful, filling, and fast. I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would. I changed the dressing slightly by adding chilli flakes and some sesame oil.
★★★★★
MeLisa says
This salad is amazing! It’s so flavorful and best of all healthy! The peanut sauce is spot on and you can play with whatever veggies you have. I’m new to trying vegan recipes and this is definitely one I’ll make over and over. Try it!
★★★★★
Lisa says
THis is SOOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOD! Like drink the dressing good! I used creamy peanut butter and honey instead of syrup (cuz I’m allergic to syrup) and it is AMAZEBALLZ! Make it. You’ll love it! Thanks for the recipe :)
JESSICA says
This recipe is amazing. I will be adding this to the rotation often. Great flavors. Added a little Sriracha. Delicious!
★★★★★