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Healthy, hearty, and loaded with colorful veggies this Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad is as scrumptious as it looks. It’s tossed in a flavorful peanut Thai dressing and topped with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and sesame seeds.

Prep: 30 minTotal: 30 min
Servings: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

For the Salad: 

  • ½ cup quinoa, uncooked 
  • 1 cup of water
  • 45 cups shredded mix of cabbage (any color), carrots, broccoli slaw
  • 1 cup sliced snap peas
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 6 green onions, thinly sliced 
  • ½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
  • ½ cup dry roasted peanuts*, rough chopped + additional for topping
  • 2 tsp. sesame seeds
  • Lime wedges 

Dressing:

  • ⅓ cup natural peanut butter* 
  • ¼ cup coconut aminos (may sub tamari)
  • 3 Tbsp. lime juice
  • 2 tsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 ½ tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. minced fresh ginger (may sub ¼ tsp ground ginger)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (may sub ½ tsp. garlic powder)
  • ½ tsp. red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp. sea salt
  • Warm water if needed

Instructions

For the quinoa: 

  1. Rinse the quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer with water.
  2. In a small pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and water. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Gently reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until all water is absorbed. 
  3. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot, and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool. 

For the salad and dressing: 

  1. In a bowl combine the cabbage mix, snap peas, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, peanuts, sesame seeds, and cooled quinoa.
  2. For the dressing, combine all of the ingredients and whisk mix together well. If needed, add warm water 1 teaspoon at a time to achieve a smooth dressing like consistency. This will depend on the consistency of the peanut butter used. 
  3. Pour dressing over the salad and stir gently to combine. 
  4. To serve, top with chopped peanuts, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime juice.

Notes

How to store: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

*for peanut-free use sunflower seed butter and sunflower seeds.

Nutrition Information

  • Serving Size: 1/6 of recipe (1 1/2 cups)
  • Calories: 270
  • Fat: 16 g
  • (Sat Fat: 2 g)
  • Sodium: 450 mg
  • Carbohydrate: 23 g
  • (Fiber: 5 g
  • Sugar: 5 g)
  • Protein: 10 g

Dietary

© The Real Food Dietitians
Recipe By: Stacie Hassing