Thai Cashew Quinoa Salad

A friend recommended this dish on Pinterest. I’m a big fan of her Chinese noodle salad, so I figured if she liked this, then it had to be good!  It’s so fresh and crunchy—and I LOOOOOOVE all those colors! I tweaked the recipe a bit to add a little more heat to balance out the sweetness of the dressing.

INGREDIENTS:

¾ cup uncooked quinoa
1 heaping cup shredded purple cabbage
1 red bell pepper, diced
½ red onion, diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup edamame, shelled
½ cup cashew halves
½-1 cup chopped cilantro (we like a lot of cilantro)
¼ cup diced green onions

For the dressing:
¼ cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp ginger
3 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp olive oil
2 tsp sriracha
Water to thin, if necessary

DIRECTIONS:

Cook the quinoa according to package instructions—it should make about 2 cups when cooked. Set aside in the pot.

Add the peanut butter and honey to a small microwave safe bowl and nuke for about 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, olive oil and sriracha and whisk until smooth and creamy. If necessary, thin the dressing by adding a little more olive oil or some water.

Drizzle half of the dressing over the cooked quinoa & mix to coat.  Then in a large bowl, combine the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, edamame, cashews, and cilantro. Fold in the quinoa.  Add as much of the remaining dressing as you’d like (to taste). Garnish with green onions. Chill until ready to eat.

We served it with some grilled chicken, and topped the chicken with a little bit of the leftover dressing.

NUTRIFACTS: (salad only)

Calories 234.3

  Total Fat 9.5 g

  Saturated Fat 1.4 g

  Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4 g

  Monounsaturated Fat 2.7 g

  Cholesterol 0.0 mg

  Sodium 485.6 mg

  Potassium 160.5 mg

  Total Carbohydrate 29.1 g

  Dietary Fiber 3.4 g

  Sugars 6.4 g

  Protein 10.0 g