Its finally Spring! I live in Florida so we barely have to deal with any sort of cold front, but I’m so excited for the warmer weather. I’m also stoked to be sharing some awesome Spring recipes with y’all. The Spring season is a great time to add more recipes that include fresh and seasonal ingredients.
This crunchy asian quinoa salad is a perfect weekday lunch as it comes together in just over 30 minutes and is super meal prep friendly! Quinoa in itself has a distinct flavor that not everyone loves, but with all of the veggies, aromatics and the delicious ginger sesame dressing, this salad is hard not to love.
How to Cook Quinoa
I think one of the most important steps when cooking quinoa is making sure you don’t overcook it. No one likes mush quinoa!
- For every 1 cup of quinoa, add 2 cups of liquid (water or broth). I also like to follow the rule of adding 1 teaspoon of salt for every cup of grain.
- Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for 12 minutes.
- Then using a fork, fluff the quinoa and cool.
Tips/Substitutions
- If one of the things that holds you back from quinoa is the mushy texture, I recommend using Tri-Color Quinoa. The red quinoa in the blend has a much harder exterior, that prevents any mushiness when cooking.
- To Make it Vegan: Substitute the honey in the dressing for maple syrup, brown sugar or agave.
- To make it Gluten-Free: Substitute the soy-sauce for a gluten-free tamari or coconut aminos.
- The key to making this a crunchy asian quinoa salad, is using veggies that don’t go soggy easily. Vegetables like cabbage, broccoli, green beans, peppers. These all will hold up well for meal prep and when you add the dressing in.
Crunchy Asian Quinoa Salad
DifficultyEasy
Prep time20 minutes
Cook time15 minutes
Total time35 minutes
If you’re looking for the best spring salad recipe, you’ve found it.
This quinoa salad is crunchy, flavorful and filling!
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 Cup Quinoa, Uncooked
- 1 Cup Red Cabbage, Shredded
- 2 Carrots, Shredded
- 1 Orange Bell Pepper, Julienned
- 1 Jalapeño, Julienned
- 1/2 Cup Edamame
- 1 Cup Snow Peas, Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Cilantro, Chopped
For the Dressing
- 2 1/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar
- 1 Tsp Sesame Oil
- 1 Tsp Ginger, Grated
- 1 Tbsp Lime Juice
- 2 Tbsp Honey
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- Sesame Seeds
Instructions
For the Salad
- 1
Cook the quinoa according to the package and cool for 10 minutes.
- 2
In a large salad bowl, add the cooked quinoa and all of your veggies.
For the Dressing.
- 1
Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small jar and give it a good whisk or shake. Taste and adjust the last to your liking.
- 2
Toss the salad and the dressing all together and combine. Garnish with sesame seeds and enjoy!
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