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.
This salad is the best of all worlds: healthy, tasty and easy to make. Especially if you do a little meal prep…
Meal Prep
I often use the tips I share in my Vegan Meal Prep post 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 healthy 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 Thai Quinoa Salad recipe as much as I do. If you make this recipe, let me know what you think by ★ star rating it and leaving a comment below.
Share your pictures of any of my recipes on Instagram and use #vnutrition or tag @v.nutrition so I won’t miss it!
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.
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
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Add all salad ingredients to a bowl.
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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.
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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.
You might also like…
Spiralized Thai Salad
Easy Vegan Pasta Salad
Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Mary Ellen Valverde MS, CNS, LDN is a Licensed Nutritionist and Certified Nutrition Specialist who helps clients regain their energy, confidence and health by adapting and enjoying a plant-based diet. By uniting her functional nutrition education with her passion for plants and mindfulness, Mary Ellen offers a completely holistic and science-based approach to designing a healthy, plant-based life. When she’s not reading up on the latest nutrition research, you can find Mary Ellen doting on her two rescue shih tzus, creating the perfect vegan mac & cheese, or exploring the world with her husband.
This looks delicious!!!! I love quick meals like this- especially with peanut butter. *drools*
thank you Randi! Peanut butter is amazing!
This looks great! Always looking for an excuse to eat more peanut butter dressing!
Thanks Vicki!
This meal is right up my alley! I love love love thai food – and this is definitely a healthier spin. Thanks for sharing such a creative recipe. Can’t wait to try it.
Thank you so much Jen! Thai food is one of my obsessions! I hope you enjoy if you get to try it!
Thanks so much Jen! Thai food is sooo good!
I love Thai flavours and the look of this dish!
Thanks Kari!
Chickpeas and quinoa are my true kitchen staples, so this salad would be right up my street! Great dish for a meal prep too.
Thank you so much Tania! I always have those on hand as well!
Yum, this looks awesome. Agreed on any sort of peanut butter recipe – thanks!
Thanks Christine!
This dish really does have it all, doesn’t it? COLORFUL! Love it! And that sauce….YUMMO!
Sorry it’s been so long since my last comment! I have been reading here and there 🙂 Hope you are well!
Thanks Jennifer! Hope all is well with you too!
sounds like a great lunch for gym days!
Yes totally!
I just tried to make peanut sauce last night and it didn’t go well. LOL I’m excited to try this recipe next time!
I love thai cuisine. This must taste amazing 🙂 It is on my list 🙂
Thanks so much Jasmin!
I made this salad (I used the food processor to slice the cabbage and grate the carrots) while hubby made the peanut butter dressing. We doubled the recipe because I love having extra salad in the fridge! It was so super quick and easy (I already had boiled some quinoa earlier in the morning) and tastes great! I love the Thai inspired dressing!
Sound like you and your husband have salad making down pat! Having that quinoa ready is a huge time saver! So glad you enjoyed!
I found your recipe on http://www.thishealthykitchen.com and it was so easy and quick to make. I used the food processor to slice and shred, while hubby made the dressing. It was so delicious and well received by our guests as well. I love the Thai inspired dressing!
I’m so glad you liked the salad Ang! What a great idea to use the food processor to slice and shred – I’m totally doing that next time!
Hi, I feel like I am being silly here but do you cook a cup and a half of quinoa or do you need a cup and a half of the cooked stuff if that makes sense? Also if the later how much uncooked do I need? Thanks! x
No not sill at all, Lydia! That probably means I’m not explaining myself as well as I should in the post. The cup and a half is if the quinoa is already cooked. Quinoa usually triples when it’s cooked so cooking about a half of a cup with 1 cup of water should give you 1.5 cups cooked.
Brilliant, thank you! As you can see me and quinoa are relatively new friends 😉 Love the recipie and can’t wait to try it x
Sometimes quinoa can be fickle but you’ll get used to cooking it after a while. I hope you enjoy when you get a chance to try it!
How much is one serving? Like in cups?
Hi Luna, I would say about a cup to cup and a half but I haven’t really measured. I usually just separate the whole thing into 4 servings.