Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Red Curry Dressing

GFGluten Free

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This Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Red Curry Dressing is colorful, crunchy, and full of hearty, mouth-watering flavors. Packed with wholesome ingredients, this dish is vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free!

This colorful Rainbow Quinoa Salad is the perfect balance of textures and flavors! Crunchy veggies combine with hearty quinoa and a creamy, tangy Red Curry Dressing to make an appetizing and satisfying salad. It’s perfect for meal-prep, an easy dinner, or for entertaining or hosting.

rainbow quinoa salad in large serving bowl with wooden salad spoons on marble background

INGREDIENTS FOR RAINBOW QUINOA SALAD WITH RED CURRY DRESSING

ingredients for rainbow quinoa salad in small white bowls on marble background

This recipe comes together using simple, colorful, whole-food ingredients. It’s just as tasty as it looks – I promise! Here’s what you’ll need:

For the Red Curry Dressing:

  • Coconut Milk is oh so creamy, making it a great base for our simple red curry dressing.
  • Creamy Peanut Butter is salty, nutty, and full of healthy fats, making this creamy dressing even more hearty and satisfying.
  • Thai Red Curry Paste: packs all of the curry spices into an easy-to-use paste that mixes right into our dressing!
  • Lime gives this creamy dressing a tangy finish and brightens up all of the flavors of the curry paste.

For the Salad:

  • Quinoa: a hearty, protein-packed base for our salad that adds the perfect balance of fluffy and crunchy texture.
  • Crunchy Veggies: I used Shelled Edamame, Red Cabbage, and Carrots for this recipe. Cucumber would also be a great add-in, as well as sliced sugar snap peas, or substitute my Crispy Tofu for the edamame!
  • Cilantro adds a burst of freshness and brightens up all of the flavors in the salad.
  • Roasted Cashews: Who doesn’t love a crunchy topping? Roasted nuts like cashews or peanuts are the perfect finishing touch for this recipe.

One of my favorite aspects of this recipe (besides how delicious it is ????) is how easily you can customize it. I love using whatever fresh veggies I have on hand for the salad, and the dressing can easily be switched up as well. See my substitution notes at the bottom of the recipe for inspiration!

HOW TO MAKE RAINBOW QUINOA SALAD WITH RED CURRY DRESSING

ingredients for rainbow quinoa salad organized in large serving bowl before mixing together with dressing on the side

Making this Rainbow Quinoa Salad is as easy as 1, 2, 3…4! You simply cook your quinoa, make your dressing, toss everything together, and garnish with a handful of roasted cashews!

  1. Cook quinoa and set aside to cool.
  2. Blend all of the dressing ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth.
  3. Add all of the salad components to a bowl, drizzle on the dressing, and toss until well-combined.
  4. Sprinkle roasted cashews on top and serve!

two bowls of rainbow quinoa salad with forks on marble background

This is one of my favorite fuss-free recipes for meal-prep. Everything in this dish will last a while in the fridge without getting soggy, so it’s perfect for fresh meals all week! You can easily pop all of the salad components into a mason jar or storage container for a great portable on-the-go meal idea, and it will stay delicious in the fridge for up to 5 days.

rainbow quinoa salad in large serving bowl with wooden salad spoons on marble background

If you’re looking for more hearty salad recipes, you’ll also love this Curried Lentil Salad with Roasted Cauliflower, this Buffalo Cauliflower Pasta Salad, and this Vegan Taco Pasta Salad!

Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂

Print

Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Red Curry Dressing

This Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Red Curry Dressing is colorful, crunchy, and full of hearty, mouth-watering flavors. Packed with wholesome ingredients, this dish is vegan, gluten-free, and oil-free!

  • Author: Caitlin Shoemaker
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 Minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 4 to 6 1x
  • Category: Main
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale

For the Red Curry Dressing:

For the Salad:

  • 1 cup (175 g) dry quinoa
  • 12 ounces (340 g) shelled edamame, defrosted if frozen
  • 1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
  • 2 carrots, peeled and grated or finely chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 bunch cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1/2 cup (75 g) roasted cashews (or peanuts)

Instructions

  1. Cook the Quinoa: add the quinoa, 2 cups of water, and a pinch of salt to a medium saucepan over high heat. Once boiling, cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before removing the lid and fluffing with a fork; set aside to let cool.
  2. Make the Dressing: in the meantime, add the coconut milk, peanut butter, red curry paste, maple syrup, lime juice, garlic, and ginger to a high-speed or bullet blender. Process until smooth, 45-60 seconds. If the dressing is too thick for your liking, you can thin it out to taste with extra coconut milk or water.
  3. Make the Salad: while the quinoa is cooking & cools off, prep the salad ingredients. Add the cooled quinoa, edamame, cabbage, carrots, bell pepper, and cilantro to a large bowl and top with 1 cup (235 ml) of the dressing. Toss until well combined, then top with roasted cashews.
  4. Serve: divide the salad onto serving plates and top with additional dressing, if desired. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • Curry Paste: make sure the curry paste you are using is vegan, as some contain seafood. I used the Thai Kitchen brand for this recipe!
  • Substitutions: feel free to swap out or add in any of your favorite veggies! You could also replace the edamame with my Crispy Tofu. If you have a nut allergy, replace the peanut butter with sunflower butter, and the toasted nuts with 1/4 cup sesame seeds.

Keywords: quinoa crunch salad, vegan quinoa salad, asian quinoa salad, red curry salad, thai quinoa salad, healthy quinoa salad

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About the Author

Hey there, I’m Caitlin! I make easy-to-follow, wholesome, and budget-friendly vegan recipes that are mostly gluten-free and refined sugar-free. I’m also an avid yogi, love the great outdoors, am chocolate-obsessed, and enjoy eating almond butter straight off of the spoon.

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Comments

  1. Just made this today. Overall pretty good but I wanted it to be spicier.

    If I make again I’ll tweak the dressing by using less peanut butter, double the lime juice, and add a small jalapeno.

  2. This is my new favorite! I added a green onion and used PB 2 which worked well. Thanks for a great one!!

  3. I need a substitute for the peanut butter due to an allergy. Which nut butter would you suggest? I was thinking cashew ?

    1. Cashew butter is a great choice as a substitute for peanut butter in the recipe. It’s creamy and has a mild flavor that should work well with the other ingredients. So, for the Red Curry Dressing:

      1/3 cup (80 g) creamy cashew butter

      Follow the rest of the recipe as usual.

      Other alternatives:

      Almond Butter: Almond butter has a slightly nutty and rich flavor, making it a suitable substitute. Use an equal amount of almond butter in place of peanut butter.

      Sunflower Seed Butter: If you’re looking for a nut-free option, sunflower seed butter is a great choice. It has a creamy texture and a mild flavor that should work well in the dressing. Use the same amount as peanut butter.

      Remember that each alternative may have a slightly different taste and texture, so choose the one that best suits your preferences and any potential allergies.

  4. This was dee-lish! Beautiful, bright, colorful, healthy, and the dressing was off the hook!!! Husband and I can’t wait for dinner tomorrow when we will eat the rest of it. Oh my this is a keeper!!!

  5. Hi! It would be wonderful if there was an alternative to the canned coconut milk? Something lighter? Please let me know I cant wait to try this!

  6. Amazing! The dressing is so addictive! I brought this over to my family dinner and my non-vegan aunt, who thinks salads are just boring bowls of lettuce, went for second helpings. This salad is the definition of delicious!

    1. So glad to hear that even your aunt loved the recipe, Sabrina. Thank you so much for the feedback! 😊

  7. Delicious salad. Gets even better in the fridge. All of your recipes are always fabulous. Can’t wait to get your new cookbook in the mail!

    1. Best dressing EVER! My hubby and I both agreed this salad is amazing especially the dressing. Felt like it was a dish we would have been eating at a fancy restaurant. Thank you for this recipe, this will definitely become a staple recipe at our house!