Loaded with a rainbow of crunchy vegetables and a creamy spicy peanut dressing, this Thai quinoa salad is about to be your new lunch go-to!

Our colors factor is off the freaking charts today. I don’t know about you but the more colorful a salad is, the more likely I’m gonna eat it and in copious amounts.
The best part about a salad like this one is that not only is it packed full of fresh veggies but it’s also got quinoa sliding in for duty making everything protein-packed and SUPER filling.
Anyways, this quinoa salad ticks all those boxes and then some. It’s on for permanent lunch duty in my house.

Keep reading for all the meal prep options as well because trust me, there is nothing better than having all the makings for this salad armed and ready in your fridge for a week of lunches.
This Quinoa Salad features…
- Fluffy quinoa and crisp cabbage, carrots, and sweet pepper
- Lots of aromatic flavor from fresh green onions, cilantro, and ginger
- A creamy peanut butter dressing with just a hint of heat

Making the Quinoa Salad
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Jalapeno
- Peanut butter
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Rice wine vinegar
- Vegetable oil
- Fish sauce
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Quinoa
- Carrot
- Cabbage
- Sweet pepper
- Green onions
- Cilantro
- Peanuts
How to Cook Quinoa
You will need about 4 cups of cooked quinoa for this salad. Cooking the quinoa is a quick process that you can do in minutes and it stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days.
To make 4 cups quinoa, combine 1-1/2 cups dry quinoa and 3 cups water in a saucepan with a few pinches of salt and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and allow to simmer 10-15 minutes until quinoa is fluffy and most of the water has evaporated. Allow to cool before assembling salad.

Tips for Perfect Quinoa Salad
- Use fresh garlic and ginger in dressing – this adds a ton of amazing flavor that can’t be replicated unless you’re using it fresh.
- Blend dressing – you can use a food processor or blender for this step. Make sure you scrape down the sides as necessary until dressing is completely smooth.
- Pay attention to knife cuts – I recommend using a box grater to shred carrots, uniform 1/4-inch cubes for peppers, and then finely sliced cabbage, green onions, and cilantro.
- Dress salad just before serving – wait to add the dressing until ready to serve salad so all the ingredients stay crisp and fresh.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this salad.
- Add protein – add cooked shredded chicken or turkey for added protein.
- Use different vegetables – try adding diced cucumber, broccoli, avocado, or baby spinach.
- Adjust heat level – you can skip the jalapeno for a heat-free salad or up the heat level by adding red pepper flakes to taste in addition to the jalapeno
Make Ahead Instructions
Follow these instructions for time-saving make ahead tips.
- Make the quinoa – cook the quinoa and store in refrigerator up to 6 days.
- Prep all the vegetables – shred the carrot, chop the sweet pepper, cabbage, green onion, and cilantro. Toss vegetables with cooled quinoa and store in refrigerator up to 4 days.
- Make the dressing – make the peanut dressing and store in refrigerator up to 1 week.
- Assembly – when ready to serve, portion out your desired amount of the quinoa/vegetable mixture and top with a few drizzles of peanut dressing and salt/pepper. Garnish with chopped peanuts, toss salad, and serve immediately.

One bite of this dynamite salad is all its gonna take for you to be hooked! The crisp vegetables pair so wonderfully with the fluffy quinoa and every bite is exploding with flavor from that creamy, dreamy peanut dressing.
Your lunch game may never be the same and that’s a good thing.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More lunch-worthy salads to make next!
Thai Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
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Ingredients
Spicy Peanut Dressing
- 1 small jalapeno or serrano pepper, minced
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar
- 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
Thai Quinoa Salad
- 4 cups cooked quinoa
- 1-1/2 cups shredded carrot
- 2 cups shredded purple or green cabbage
- 1 medium sweet pepper, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
- 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
- 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
- 1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Spicy Peanut Dressing
- In a blender or food processor, blend all dressing ingredients until smooth. Season dressing with salt and pepper to taste and store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Thai Quinoa Salad
- In a large serving bowl, combine all salad ingredients. Drizzle dressing over top and toss to evenly combine salad. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately and enjoy!
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