Quinoa Salad with a Peanut, Ginger, and Soy Dressing

Look at all of those amazing colors! This salad is one of my absolute favorites - the different textures and flavors work together fantastically every time. In my experience, this is also a salad that keeps fairly well for a few days, so I love to make a huge batch to get all of the chopping out of the way at once.

Quinoa Salad with a Peanut, Ginger, and Soy Dressing

adapted from Ambitious Kitchen

Ingredients

¾ cup uncooked quinoa

2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup diced red onion

1 cup shredded carrots

½ cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup diced green onions

½ cup cashew halves or peanuts

Fresh lime

For the dressing:

¼ cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger (for best results, freeze the ginger after peeling and use a microplane!)

3 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon honey 

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon olive oil or more sesame oil

Water to thin, if necessary

Instructions

1. First, cook the quinoa. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 ½ cups of water to a boil. Add in quinoa and bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all of the water. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with fork; place in large bowl and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. You should have a little over 2 cups of quinoa.

2. Next, make the dressing: Add the peanut butter and honey to a medium microwave safe bowl; heat in microwave for 20 seconds. Add in ginger, soy sauce, vinegar, and oil(s) and stir until mixture is smooth and creamy. If you want a thinner dressing, simply stir in a teaspoon or two of water or olive oil.

3. Add as much or as little dressing as you’d like to the quinoa. You can add all of it, or just start with part of it and then mix in more to taste as you combine the remaining ingredients.

4. Next, fold the red pepper, onion, cabbage, carrots, and cilantro into the quinoa. Garnish with cashews and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature with lime wedges, if desired.

Definitely give this recipe a try! I love how the crunch of the cabbage, the sweetness of the bell pepper, and the sweet-and-savory dressing all come together in a wonderful combination. Plus, it's absolutely gorgeous :)