Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
This Thai-flavored salad recipe is made with carrots, cabbage, snow peas, and quinoa, tossed in peanut sauce. Vegan, gluten free, and packs well for lunch.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 14, 2024
I tend to keep to myself, especially in yoga class. It’s not a very social form of exercise, you know? Last year, when I walked into my usual Tuesday evening yoga class and my instructor shouted, “COOKIE AND KATE,” I froze. Kim, a regular in the class, had learned about my blog through her co-worker, and she said, “I know her! I go to yoga with her!”
Then Kim told Kristina, the teacher, and then everyone found out. Including Amie, one of my favorite instructors, who is great friends with Kate Kasbee of Well Vegan. Kate lives in Chicago and was working on a cookbook called Frugal Vegan at the time.
Through the Amie-Kate connection, I got a sneak peek at Frugal Vegan and wrote a blurb for the back cover. “Frugal Vegan offers an incredible array of fresh and simple vegan recipes. Every single one of them manages to be easy to make, affordable and accessible, too.”
Kate came to town for Amie’s birthday party, so I met her for drinks, and a giant green bug landed in her herbed green cocktail. Are you still following? I can’t make this stuff up.
Kate and I bonded over the trials and tribulations of cookbook-making, our love for our funny-looking pups (meet Rex), and the green bug experience. We practiced our half-moon poses at Amie’s backyard birthday party the next day. Maybe I shouldn’t be so shy about my work, since it opens so many fun doors.
Today, I’m sharing a delicious recipe from Frugal Vegan, featuring cabbage, carrots, green onion, snow or snap peas, and cilantro—all fresh, affordable, and loaded with nutrients and fiber. Toss all of that in an addictive homemade peanut sauce for a crisp, colorful, Thai-inspired salad. Enjoy it as a light summer dinner, and pack up the leftovers for tomorrow lunch.
The book’s recipe calls for millet instead of quinoa. I picked up all of the other ingredients at the store, while assuming that I had millet in my pantry at home. I did not, so I used quinoa instead. Millet is less expensive but quinoa has more protein, so take your pick accordingly. It’ll turn out great either way. Enjoy, and be sure to check out Kate and Katie’s book, Frugal Vegan!
Watch How to Make Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
Please let us know how the recipe turns out for you in the comments!
Craving more peanut goodness? You’ll love these recipes:
- Peanut Slaw with Soba Noodles
- Thai Mango Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Peanut Dipping Sauce
- Thai Mango Cabbage Wraps with Crispy Tofu and Peanut Sauce
- Thai Panang Curry
Crunchy Thai Peanut & Quinoa Salad
This Thai-flavored salad recipe is made with carrots, cabbage, snow peas, and quinoa, tossed in delicious peanut sauce. This healthy salad is vegan, gluten free, and packs well for lunch. Recipe yields 4 salads.
Ingredients
Salad
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa or millet
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 cups shredded purple cabbage
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 cup thinly sliced snow peas or sugar snap peas
- ½ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup thinly sliced green onion
- ¼ cup chopped roasted and salted peanuts, for garnish
Peanut sauce
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (I love ginger so I used 2 teaspoons)
- ½ lime, juiced (about 1 ½ tablespoons)
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa: First, rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander under running water. In a medium-sized pot, combine the rinsed quinoa and 1 ½ cups water. Bring the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and gently simmer the quinoa until it has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the quinoa from heat, cover the pot and let it rest for 5 minutes. Uncover the pot and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Set it aside to cool. (Here’s how to cook millet.)
- Meanwhile, make the peanut sauce: Whisk together the peanut butter and tamari until smooth (if this is difficult, microwave the mixture for up to 30 seconds to loosen it up). Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until smooth. If the mixture seems too thick to toss into the salad, whisk in a bit of water to loosen it up (I didn’t need to do this).
- In a large serving bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, shredded cabbage, carrot, snow peas, cilantro and green onion. Toss to combine, then pour in the peanut sauce. Toss again until everything it lightly coated in sauce. Taste, and if it doesn’t taste quite amazing yet, add a pinch of salt and toss again. Divide into individual bowls and garnish with peanuts.
- This salad keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for about 4 days. If you don’t want your chopped peanuts to get soggy, store them separately from the rest and garnish just before serving.
Notes
Recipe minimally adapted from Frugal Vegan by Katie Koteen and Kate Kasbee.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup (or agave nectar) instead of honey.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to use certified gluten-free tamari, not soy sauce.
Recommended equipment: I used this mandoline to shred the cabbage (it’s dangerous; watch your fingers at all times!) and this julienne peeler to shred the carrots. (Those are affiliate links.)
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I can almost TASTE how satisfying and crunchy those veggies are! You are the queen of salads. <3
Haha! Thanks, friend. That should be the title of my next book. Kathryne Taylor: Queen of Salads.
Yum! These kinds of fresh salads are one of my favorite things about summer. I find that the main recipe is the sauce, and you can substitute different fresh veggies, depending what you bought at farmers market or are growing in your garden. With this one, I had kale and cukes in my garden, so I exchanged those for the cabbage and peas, and traded chunky peanut butter (b/c that’s what’s in my fridge) for the smooth, skipping the chopped peanuts. My family said it was as good as any salad at Whole Foods… and way cheaper. Thank you!
Definitely! This one is great for using up any produce you have on hand.
I’m so incredibly excited to try this. I’m always on the lookout for a hearty delicious salad that satisfies my taste buds and this looks like it fits the bill!
Yes! I hope you get the chance to try it, Lauren.
This sounds so good! I’ll be making it for my lunches next week! I’ve been needing and looking for more recipes like this. Meals that I can throw together easily and that keep well in the fridge for lunches. Thank you!
Awesome! Report back on how it turns out, Laura. :)
This salad is incredibly delicious and filling! A little labor intensive without fancy tools but totally worth it. For those asking about alternatives for or the exclusion of cilantro, I left it out (forgot to buy some). The salad is so good, I don’t think I would change it at all, although the addition of kale is intriguing.
Thank you Kate for sharing the recipe. I love the salad recipes I have tried so far and am excited to try more….. and I can’t wait for fall to try some of your soup recipes!
Hi I often substitute fresh basil for cilantro, esp in salads. Works great! My son refers to cilantro as “the herb of the devil” haha.
This is just a good idea. A tasty, colourful, good idea, which is second only to sparkly good ideas on my idea hierarchy.
My scarlet kale is just coming on strong now [’twas a late planter], so I think I’ll tenderly massage some of that for this salad, too.
Garden-fresh kale sounds like an excellent addition to this salad, Sara.
I have a sister that absolutely loathes cilantro, but I know she would love everything else in this salad. Can you recommend a suitable substitute for the cilantro?
Thanks!
Hi Lara. I have a strong aversion to cilantro, too. Just leave it out. I did and the recipe was great. :-)
Thank you so much!
See my comment to Laura above :).
Looks wonderful…I want to make this (I have the appliances..LOL) could you tell me what you cut most of the veggies on and what the carrots were shredded with….I am sure it was with a food processor but I am not sure of the blades…those carrots look amazing!!!!
Hi, Lee! I shredded the cabbage on a mandoline, and julienned the carrots with a julienne peeler. You can find links to the tools in the recipe notes!
I’m not a huge fan of peanut butter/peanuts but love cashewbutter. How do you think it would taste Substituting a smooth cashew butter instead?
I think that’d work beautifully, Ali!
I prepared this salad for tonight’s dinner and it was absoluely delicious!!!! The peanut salce tastes amazing!
Thanks, Cristiane! So glad it turned out great.
Made this tonight. It was fantastic.
Great! Thanks, Michelle.
Received my newsletter email today and knew I had to make it tonight for dinner. Tremendously delicious recipe that was quickly devoured. Making it again tomorrow!
Cool! Good to hear it was a hit, Dorenda.
My son has a peanut allergy, would this work with almond butter instead?
Yes, I’d use cashew butter & Almond butter.
I think it would, Audrey!
Have you tried sunflower nut butter if that’s an option for him? I find it tastes so similar!
I would love a post on your pantry…your staples, your must haves. I’m sensing you have like a stockpile of quinoa!
Thanks! I discuss my on-hand items in my book, but I can certainly do a blog post about it, too.
Made this for dinner tonight when a friend came over. Even my four-year-old loved it! He is not always into raw veggies, but upon the first bite, exclaimed, “I like this! Yeah, I love it!” and had a second helping. We did leave the cilantro on the side for him. Will be making this again very soon.
Awesome! The four-year-old taste test is a tough one, so I’m glad this passed. ;)
Sounds great. Thank you for saying how long it keeps. As the only vegetarian in the house, recipes that are for more than one that don’t keep well, or freeze, are just overlooked. Great to know that it keeps for four days.
Sure, of course! I’m cooking for one over here, so I *always* have lots of leftovers. I’m glad it’s helpful!
I’ve never tried peanut sauce until now, but it’s already on my cooking bucket list, after seeing this recipe. Thanks for sharing it, Kate, I bet it’s delicious!
I hope it turns out well!
Looks delicious! Can you tell me what tool you used to shred the carrots? I have the rinkon julienne peeler, but find it is hard to shred the whole carrot. Just wondering if you used the same.
Hey, Hallie! I linked to the tools I used in the recipe notes. :)
Sounds like you made not one, but several sweet, new friends! I love seeing other entrepreneurial women reaching out a hand to each other…as it should be. I’ll have to check out Kate’s book (loving yours). I’ve got my eye on this salad. I’ll make it with edamame instead of snow peas to add about 4 more grams of protein per serving. Am looking forward to this!
I dig women helping women, too, and am part of lots of groups with that very goal in mind! I think you’ll love Kate’s book.
Anything with Thai peanut flavors is going to be a favorite of mine! I could so go for some of this right now!
Thanks, Tori! I hope you get a chance to try it.
Love the Thai flavors and all those crunchy veggies!
Me, too! I hope you get a chance to try it, Gerry.
This looks so good! Thanks for sharing.
I hope you get a chance to try it, Meaghan!
Count me in! Love this!
I think you will!
Ha, I love how you got outed at yoga! I’ll have to get this book, it looks awesome! xo
So embarrassing at the time, but I’m glad it happened! Kate’s such a good friend. You’d love her book!
Such a perfect protein-packed meatless dish!This Peanut dressing sounds unreal!
It’s addictive, I mean it.
I was bragging about this salad even before trying it! I was at my local food coop shopping for the ingredients and the cashier was looking at the interesting array of produce I had. I right away told her about the blog, the other recipes I had tried and how I’ve never been disappointed, all in what seemed was one breath! She too will try this recipe! I feel like I’ve done my good deed for the day! Oh, and yes, this salad IS delicious!
Aw, thank you for sharing my blog with others, Lillian! I hope you loved the salad.
LOVE all of the different textures!!
YES no boring salads here!
This looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to try it!
Let me know how it goes!
This salad is DELICIOUS!!! It’s crunchy and packed with flavor.
Thanks, Marjorie! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it.
Loving the crunch and how vibrant this salad is!
Thanks, pal! I thought it was a great, summery combination of crunchy and colorful.
All those colours are just incredible – exactly what you need for a salad! And you can’t go wrong with a Thai-inspired peanut sauce!
This looks beautiful, Kate! It’ll definitely be my packed lunch for work next week. Can’t wait to try it!
Hi! What other grain do you think would work in this salad? Thank
You!
Millet! :)
Eating it right now and had to pick up my phone mid-chew to thank you. It’s delicious!
This was to die for! Made it exactly as written. You always get the sauce to salad ratio just right!
Also wanted to let you know that I bought my close friend the cookbook for her birthday and she’s already been delighted by several recipes. It’s awesome!
Madeline, thank you so much for sharing the book with your friend! I really appreciate it. So glad you loved this recipe. :)
As soon as I read this recipe I decided to make it for dinner. It was delicious thank you for posting. I did sub sun butter and sunflower seeds for the peanuts, which worked perfectly. The sauce was thick so I just added a tablespoon of water as suggested. Love the crunch from the snow peas don’t leave them out.
Added edamame, substituted blanched broccolini for the cabbage, and cashews instead of the garnish peanuts. Delicious! Thanks for your inspirational recipes!
I made this salad today, and it is delicious!! I subbed a red bell pepper for the snow peas and skipped the cilantro (not a fan of cilantro). My sister recently switched to a plant-based diet, and I sent her the link to your recipe. I think she’ll like it as much as I do!
WOW! Sounds good. Salad is one of my favorite food. I will try this salad for next weekend. I will add spicy peanut.
Wow, I have been following your recipes for awhile now. I had never tried one but this one I just had to try. I LOVED IT. Thank you so much for this great recipe. I look forward to trying some other recipes as well.
My sister made this for our Thai-themed Game of Thrones night last night and it was a MAJOR hit! Not only was the salad amazing cold and fresh, but this morning I heated the leftovers and topped them with an egg for breakfast. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Loved this. Made with Almond butter as I have a peanut allergy. So good! But I do have a question though and it’s a silly one, how do you shred your carrots into those loooooong shreds? Thanks
Hey Lani, I used a julienne peeler! You’ll find a link to it under the recipe notes.
This is SO BOMB!!! I love it! New go-to lunch, probably forever.
This was very tasty! However, maybe it was just my soy sauce, but I would suggest adding it slowly. I thought that 3 TBS made the sauce too salty. But the creamy sauce and crunch veggies were delightful!
Hey Elena, did you use reduced-sodium soy sauce? I always recommend working with reduced-sodium so you have more control over the salt factor.
absolutely delicious – my family and i loved it!! i used cashew butter (can’t have peanuts) and cashews instead of peanuts for sprinkling on top. i will definitely be making this again and again. thank you! :D
Another great salad! I’m trying to reduce my added sugar intake so I didn’t add any honey. Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. I didn’t miss the sugar. It really tasted wonderful.
I made this last night and LOVED IT! I used a grater to shred the cabbage and that was a mistake – it ended up really, really small pieces and turning a little brown. Not nearly as beautiful as the pictures here. So, next time (and there will be a next time) I will chop it instead.
At first I thought maybe there needed to be more sauce, but nope. It was just right. Even my carnivorous husband loved it (in fact, this is the third of your recipes we’ve made lately and he’s loved them all).
From another Kansas Citian, thanks for these amazing, delicious recipes!
I love this recipe so much I made it two days in a row. I am not vegetarian or vegan but I am trying to incorporate more veggies in my cooking and this works so well. It is filling without meat. I had never used quinoa before and I loved how easy it was to make. I saved some plain cooked quinoa out to feed to my granddaughter who is a year-old and she liked it mixed with a bit of applesauce.
So thank you for your efforts. I enjoy your blog and tryng new foods.
Hands down best peanut sauce ever. The salad was great too!
I made this for lunch for the week. This recipe is amazing! So delicious and so healthy!
Kate, this recipe was delicious (I didn’t expect anything less, though)! I loved the crunchiness of all the ingredients and the nutty flavor. It made for a healthy lunch this week!