Thai Inspired Quinoa Salad

This Quinoa Salad is one of my all-time favorite meal prep lunch recipes. Why? Because it is super simple, quick to make, and packed with so much flavor. Let’s be honest, no one likes to spend hours in the kitchen prepping lunches. We are busy people, we need recipes that are quick and simple to prepare. Otherwise, we will not make it and just end up with a bland sandwich from the cafeteria for lunch again. If you agree, then this recipe might be your favorite meal prep lunch soon too. 

Before we go into how to make this Thai-inspired Quinoa Salad Recipe, I want to talk about a small but crucial step of the recipe: washing the quinoa. For the longest time, I did not wash my quinoa before cooking it. Simply because I didn’t know that one should do that. I almost stopped eating quinoa because I did not really like the taste of it. Most of the time it had a slightly bitter taste to it. Then one day, I watched a friend preparing quinoa and noticed that she was washing the quinoa for a few minutes before boiling it. I asked her why she was doing this and she told me, to prevent the quinoa from tasting bitter. This blew my mind! I had no idea that quinoa didn’t have to taste bitter. So if you haven’t been a big fan of quinoa in the past because you didn’t like the bitter taste, give it another try but make sure to wash the quinoa before boiling it.

Another thing I love about this Quinoa Salad is that the recipe is easy to adapt. Just swap out any veggies you don’t like or don’t have at home. Simply swap them out for something else, pretty much anything goes here. I like to add radish sprouts to this Quinoa Salad as it gives it some extra crunch and also adds a hint of spice but Alfalfa, Lentil or Broccoli sprouts are also great options.

Let’s make this Quinoa Salad

Step 1 – Cook the quinoa

When cooking Quinoa, it is very important to rinse the quinoa first until the water runs clear. Don’t skip this step, your quinoa will turn out to taste bitter. Add the rinsed quinoa to a pot and add the water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until the water has been fully absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat, cover with the lid, and let it steam.

Step 2 – Chop the veggies

Shred the cabbages, grate the carrots, cut the snow peas and scallions. Set aside in a big bowl.

Step 3 – Make the peanut sauce

For the peanut sauce, combine peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, freshly grated ginger, and lime juice in a glass jar. Mix well to achieve a creamy and smooth texture (add some water if the texture is too thick).

Step 4 – Combine and garnish

Add the cooked quinoa to the bowl with the veggies, add the cilantro (set some aside for garnishing) and cover everything with the peanut dressing. Roughly chop the peanuts and add about 2/3 to the bowl. Mix until everything is well combined and give it a taste. Add some salt and pepper if it’s not quite there yet. Distribute into a bowl and garnish with the rest of the cilantro and peanuts. And of course with some fresh sprouts. Radish sprouts go very nicely but Broccoli, Alfalfa and Lentil sprouts are also a great choice!