Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad

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 dressing and topped with crushed peanuts, cilantro, and lime juice and will make a perfect addition to really any meal. It’s a salad that will wow your guests and your tastebuds! This Thai Peanut Quinoa Salad is gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan.

This recipe comes to us from Jessica Beacom & Stacie Hassing of The Real Food Dietitians.

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Ingredients:

For the Salad:

• ½ cup quinoa, uncooked
• 1 cup of water
• 4-5 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

For the 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

Directions:

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. 4. 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.