Easy Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing

This Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad is gluten-free, easy to make, and deliciously healthy. This salad combines quinoa, chickpeas, carrots, cabbage and cilantro is is topped with a creamy peanut sauce for a quick meal.

I’ve been getting more and more emails looking for easy yet tasty plant-based meals. I hear you – that’s all I want to make as well!

If you’ve been a VNutrition reader for a while, you probably know I’m a Thai food fanatic. My Thai Basil Noodles and Spiralized Thai Salad are two of my favorites.

I also love any sort of peanut sauce I can get my hands on. I even made my own Easy Peanut Sauce to throw on just about anything I can think of.

So it won’t surprise you that I combined all of my favorite Thai flavors into an easy to make meal that can be ready in about 15 minutes –> my Thai quinoa salad!

Quick & Healthy Dinner

Easy needs to be the name of the game. With a full time job, nutrition clients, and working on new recipes/nutrition posts for my site, there’s not much time in the day to be messing around if I actually want to spend some time with my loved ones.

Thats why I use the tips I share in my Vegan Meal Prep post so often. I want to make everything easier for mealtimes.

By pre-making the quinoa and peanut sauce on the weekend you’re basically set for an easy dinner or lunch. You would just have to slice the veggies which you can do in minutes with a mandolin (check out my must have kitchen tools for a plant-based kitchen).

Another option for those veggies is to buy them already sliced. My grocer has both carrots and red cabbage pre-grated/sliced. It saves so much time and hassle on a busy night.

A Protein-Packed Meal

People are always asking me: “Will I get enough protein on a plant-based diet?” and I always answer that they will so long as you’re eating a healthy, well-rounded meal.

My Thai Quinoa Salad includes both quinoa AND chickpeas, both of which add lots of protein.

Quinoa is considered a “complete” protein because it contains all the essential amino acids that our body can’t made itself. It also contains good amounts of folate, magnesium, iron, fiber and zinc.

Besides protein, chickpeas are a heathy source of carbohydrates, fiber, manganese, and folate.

Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad

I’m not going to lie, this Thai Quinoa is a LOT like my spiralized Thai salad flavor-wise BUT I know everyone doesn’t have a spiralizer… plus sometimes you want a little bit of a heartier dish which this is.

I love this recipe because of the low stress and overall tastiness of it. It’s perfect for a quick dinner or easy lunch to take to work.

If I know I’ll be storing the salad in the fridge for a few days, I keep the peanut dressing separate so things don’t get too soggy.

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do. If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback and rating.

Share your pictures of any of my recipes on Instagram and use #vnutrition or tag @v.nutrition so I won’t miss it!

5 from 3 votes

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Easy Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing

This Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad is gluten-free, easy to make, and a deliciously healthy. This salad combines quinoa, chickpeas, carrots, cabbage and cilantro is is topped with a creamy peanut sauce for a quick meal. 

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine Thai

Keyword easy quinoa salad, Thai quinoa salad

Prep Time 15 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 222.5 kcal

Author Mary Ellen

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups cooked quinoa
• 1 can (15 oz) chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 2 cups red/purple cabbage
• 1 large carrot grated (about 1 cup)
• .5 cup cilantro chopped

Creamy Peanut Dressing

• 1/4 cup peanut butter (the creamy kind)
• 3 TB vegetable broth or water (more if needed)
• 2 TB tamari
• 2 TB fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 TB rice wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp sriracha (optional but tasty)

Instructions

1. Add all salad ingredients to a bowl.

2. In a separate bowl whisk the ingredients to make the peanut dressing. Add more veggie broth or water if you would like a thinner consistency. Note: you might not need all of the dressing. 

3. Add dressing to salad ingredients and toss until combined. Salad will last in the fridge for about 3 days.*

Recipe Notes

*  If I'm going to store the salad in the fridge for a few days, I'll keep the peanut dressing separate so things don't get too soggy.

*  Nutrition info is for the salad only. Peanut sauce nutrition info can be found on my peanut sauce recipe page.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Chickpea Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing

Amount Per Serving

Calories 222.5 Calories from Fat 34

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 3.75g 6%

Potassium 9mg 0%

Total Carbohydrates 39g 13%

Dietary Fiber 9g 36%

Protein 10g 20%

Vitamin A 225%

Vitamin C 37%

Calcium 8%

Iron 30%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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Spiralized Thai Salad

Buffalo Chicken Rice

One Pot Lemon Pasta

Mary Ellen

Mary Ellen Valverde MS CNS LDN received her Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from the University of Bridgeport. As a Certified Nutrition Specialist, Mary Ellen helps fight chronic disease through a plant-based diet and uses a functional approach to nutrition and wellness to help uncover the root cause of imbalances that may be impacting health.