Yesterday’s lunch was inspired by Julie Hasson’s Peanut Sesame Noodles. I halved the dressing and swapped the noodles and peanut butter for quinoa and cashew butter. I also added some red bell pepper (capsicum), carrots, and purple cabbage for color, and some additional raw cashews for extra crunch. The result is an Asian Cashew Quinoa Salad that you’re sure to love.
I really like this salad – it’s fresh and colorful, and exactly the type of thing I look forward to having for lunch or a light dinner. It’s also a fancier version of the Spicy Peanut Quinoa Salad that I make so often.
Notes – Asian Cashew Quinoa Salad
- Swap the nuts. Feel-free to use almond butter & slivered/halved almonds OR peanut butter & peanuts instead of the cashew butter & cashews.
- Add some tofu cubes. Just quickly sautéed in sesame oil and Tamari for an extra protein punch.
- Julienne the carrots. You can shred the carrots but for a more professional look, julienne them with a julienne peeler or mandoline. Just remember to use a protective glove if you use the mandoline!
Looking for more quinoa salads?
- Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Creamy Avocado Dressing
- Black & White Bean Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Mango, Cucumber, Avocado & Black Beans
- See all my vegan salad recipes
Asian Cashew Quinoa Salad
This bright salad is creamy yet crunchy – my idea of a perfect lunch! Vegan and Gluten-Free
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad, Main
- Cuisine: Asian, Thai, Vegan
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups finely cut purple cabbage
- 1 cup julienned or shredded carrots
- 1 red bell pepper (capsicum), diced
- 2 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
- 1/2 cup cashews (or peanuts)
Dressing
- 1/4 cup cashew butter (or peanut/almond butter)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (or 1 tsp dried ginger)
- 3 tbsp tamari (light soy sauce)
- 2 tbsp agave (or maple syrup)
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp crushed red chili pepper (or 1 tsp Sriracha sauce)
Instructions
- Place the quinoa along with 2 cups salted water in a medium saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce to the lowest heat setting. Simmer until water is completely absorbed and quinoa is fluffy, about 20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk the dressing ingredients together.
- Add the quinoa to the dressing and mix well to combine.
- Add the veggies, onions, cilantro and cashews.
Notes
Adapted from http://www.juliehasson.com/2012/10/peanut-sesame-noodles
Keywords: asian, capsicum, carrot, cashew, cilantro, easy, favorite, gluten-free, low-carb, make-ahead, nut butter, quinoa, stove top, thai, vegan, salad
Absolutely delicious!! It is so similar in taste to the sesame ginger dressing from Lighthouse. So glad to have found this ♡♡ My 8 year old loved it!!!
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Yay! So glad to hear it. Thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
This is one of my favorite things! Amazing flavors! Thanks so much for this!
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My friend brought this to a recent get together and I asked her for the recipe because it is seriously the best salad I’ve ever eaten. I’ve just made it again for dinner tonight. Thanks and I look forward to discovering your other recipes!
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Great salad!! I am a raw food eater so sprouted the quinoa instead of cooking it – delicious!!!! Thanks heaps from New Zealand 🙂
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Hi sis,
I’m pretty much making this now on a weekly or biweekly basis (again tonight).
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I’ve made this twice — and we really like it! I will make it often. Since we are not fans of fresh cilantro, I left it out — but may add it in the dressing at some point. I made the dressing in a food processor and it was really convenient. This is the third salad I’ve made from your website — and they are all favorites of our family! Thanks so much for posting as we are learning to eat more healthily.
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AMAZING!! This is my new fave recipe
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Just made this. Delicious! Would be nice with some mango mixed through too.
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Literally one of the best recipes I’ve ever discovered on the internet. You could bottle the sauce. We made it for the first time last week, and loved it so much we made again tonight. It’s going into the rotation for good. Thanks so much!
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This is delicious! I squeezed a little lime over it as well. Wonderful! Thanks for the recipe.
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I made the salad the second time now and again, everybody liked it a lot:) Thank you so much for this outstanding delicious recipe!
A quick pic of mine: http://i.imgur.com/zXItZno.jpg
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Yum, looks awesome! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for sharing your comments and photo too!
This looks perfect and I am bringing to a family potluck with vegans, and meat eaters. The only change I plan to make is using mint instead of cilantro because my brother hates cilantro. I love it, so will try that another time!
Is this a good make-ahead dish? How many days do you think it would stay wonderful?
Can’t wait to try it. Looks delicious!
I’d say you can make it a couple days ahead and it would be fine…
I am a newly converted vegan so finding my way in terms of recipes etc. and this is one of the best salads I have ever had! (Including when Il was eatng meat)
Great flavour, easy to make, and also great the next day for lunch. Working my way through your recipes and all wonderful..
Congrats Angela on a great website and quality recipes that actually taste great!
Hope you are enjoying Sydney…I am an expat Aussie livng in Saskatoon Canada for a few years and loving it!
Cheers
Jane
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Congrats on going vegan! I’m so glad you like the salad. Enjoy your time in Canada, eh?!
Just made this today for lunch. Its so easy to make and taste great. Thank you 🙂
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Glad to hear it. Thanks for writing 🙂
Just made this and it’s delish!! Thanks for sharing your recipes!!
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You’re so welcome. Glad you liked my recipe and thanks for taking the time to let me know 😉
Thank you for your recipe. My husband and I enjoyed this. Added raw walnuts, some broccoli. Thanks again!
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Yum! Those are great additions. Glad to hear it was a hit and thanks for taking the time to comment 🙂
[ Smiles ] Oh, this vegan recipe looks simple and easy to follow.
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Thanks!
This was over-the-top deeeelicious!
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Yay! So glad to hear it. Thanks for writing 🙂
I cant wait to try this!
I like Quinoa taste good and high in protein and fiber. Always looking for new ideas!
Let me know when you do. I’m a big quinoa lover as well 🙂
This looks amazing too! You’ve got some fantastic quinoa recipes – I’ll definitely be trying some out!
Thank you! Let me know when you do 🙂
Gorgeous styling and photos.
More better than relying junk and fast food.
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i can taste this salad in my mouth.
Ha ha! I hope it tastes good 🙂
Hi Angela,
Congrats on making it onto the BerryRipe list. I was chuffed that my blog is up there too. Your recipe s look divine, so I’ll keep in touch!
Cheers
Lynette
the vegan style revivalist
Hi Lynette – this went to my Spam folder for some reason. Thanks so much for writing, and congratulations to you as well 🙂
This looks delicious! Really like the site. Beautiful pictures! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thanks so much! Adding yours to my RSS reader now 🙂
This looks delicious and easy to prepare. I think I may have to whip this up for my daughter’s lunch box this week!
Hi Kristen – Please let me know what you guys think of it. I love your blog name, BTW. Adding it to my RSS reader now 🙂
Oh man I think peanut sauce can successfully be put on any food 🙂 This looks great. I’ll definitely be trying out this dressing!
Agreed! Let me know if you try it 🙂
That looks outstanding! Just bookmarked it 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you! Great to hear from you! I need to go pay you a visit, it’s been too long 🙂
Thank you Angela for continually inspiring and uplifting me with your creativity. I love taking on the creations you come up with – this looks absolutely delicious and refreshing! I’ve never used quinoa in Asian dishes!
You’re so sweet Rika! Let me know if you try it, it’s my new fave 🙂
Just made this recipe (found it through a google search) to take to a family gathering. I am vegetarian and often need to bring my own food, so this is perfect! The dressing tastes wonderful, can’t wait to try it all together 🙂 I did improvise and use peanutbutter instead of cashew butter and I bought a bag of rainbow slaw mix (red cabbage, cauliflower, carrots, etc.) instead of buying just red cabbage and carrots because I’m lazy 😉 We’ll see how it turns out!
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Hi Carrie! I’ve used rainbow slaw in a pinch for recipes like this – it works wonderfully! Hope the salad was a hit 🙂
Your quinoa salad looks so good Angela!! I am going to make that this week. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Hi Julie! You beat me to the punch – I’m just now heading over to your blog to leave a comment now. And I’m honored that you’d drop by here! Thanks for creating such comforting and delicious recipes. You rock!