Thai Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs and Lime Vinaigrette
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Packed with protein and fresh veggies, this flavorful Thai quinoa salad is a healthy eater’s dream!
This vibrant and fresh Thai Quinoa Salad is adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, Raising the Salad Bar by Catherine Walthers. Similar to my Southwest-style quinoa salad, it’s a healthy eater’s dream: flavorful, chock-full of protein and veggies, satisfying, and low in fat. I usually make it as a light lunch, but you can also serve it alongside other Asian-style dishes for dinner—or make it a meal in itself by adding cooked shrimp, crab, or lobster.
“Delicious! This is a go-to recipe for my family. Great salad to pack and go.”
What You’ll Need To Make Thai Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa: The base of the salad, quinoa is a high-protein seed that’s fluffy and slightly crunchy. Though it looks like couscous and is eaten like a grain, it’s actually related to leafy greens like spinach and Swiss chard.
- Bell Pepper, Carrot, and Cucumber: A trio that adds sweetness, crunch, color, and crispness to the salad.
- Scallions: Contribute a mild oniony sharpness.
- Cilantro and Mint/Basil: Offers a fresh, herby flavor typical of Thai cuisine.
- Lime Juice: Adds acidity and brightness.
- Fish Sauce: Not fishy but savory and salty, this dark, pungent condiment is frequently used in Southeast Asian cooking. If possible, buy a brand imported from Thailand or Vietnam. And don’t worry about buying a large bottle—it keeps forever.
- Vegetable Oil: The base of the dressing; blends the flavors together and coats the salad ingredients.
- Sugar: Counteracts the acidity and saltiness of the salad, adding a touch of sweetness.
- Red Pepper Flakes: Lends a spicy kick.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by cooking the quinoa. The key to success is not following the package instructions, which always call for too much liquid and result in mushy quinoa. The ideal ratio is 1 cup of quinoa to 1-2/3 cups of liquid. Simply combine the water, salt and quinoa is a pan and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer, cover the pan and cook until the quinoa is done, about 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the little white “tails” sprout from the grains.
While the quinoa cooks, prepare the vegetables. For the cucumbers, I like to use English (or hothouse) cucumbers because the skin is edible and you don’t need to peel them. They’re sometimes called seedless cucumbers but you still need to seed them, otherwise, they’ll make your salad watery.
Slice the red pepper into bite-sized pieces, thinly slice the scallions and shred the carrot.
Next, make the dressing by combining the fresh lime juice (no bottled stuff!), sugar, vegetable oil, red pepper flakes and fish sauce in a small bowl.
Whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
Combine the quinoa with the dressing, vegetables and fresh herbs.
Toss the salad.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with more fresh herbs, if desired.
You May Also Like
Thai Quinoa Salad with Fresh Herbs and Lime Vinaigrette
Packed with protein and fresh veggies, this flavorful Thai quinoa salad is a healthy eater’s dream!
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed (or pre-washed)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized strips
- 1 carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
- 2 scallions, white and green parts, finely sliced
- ¼ cup freshly chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped mint or basil (optional)
For the Dressing
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice, from 3-4 limes
- 2½ teaspoons Asian fish sauce
- 1½ tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you don't like heat)
Instructions
- Add quinoa, salt and 1⅔ cups water to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked. You'll know it is done when the little "tails" sprout from the grains. (If necessary add 1 to 2 tablespoons more water if the quinoa is not cooked by the time all the liquid is absorbed.) Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool in the refrigerator.
- In the meantime, make the dressing by combining the lime juice, fish sauce, vegetable oil, sugar and crushed red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Whisk until the sugar is dissolved.
- Once the quinoa is cool, add the red bell peppers, carrots, cucumbers, scallions, fresh herbs and dressing. Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, sugar and lime juice if necessary (I usually add a bit more of all). Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This salad keeps well for several days in the fridge.
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 263
- Fat: 8g
- Saturated fat: 1g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Sugar: 10g
- Fiber: 5g
- Protein: 7g
- Sodium: 603mg
- Cholesterol: 0mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Best, most flavorful quinoa recipe I’ve made (and I’ve tried plenty)! The Thai flavors are spot on. Thank you…followed recipe exactly and it was perfect.
Love this recipe. Don’t skip out on the fish sauce it makes this dish. The combo of the lime, sugar and fish sauce is perfect. I always make extra of this so i can take it for lunch the next day. While I’ve made it with both mint & cilantro i really prefer the mint!! This recipe made my husband a convert to quinoa.
Delicious! I reduced the fish sauce to one teaspoon due to my husband’s preference and it still tasted “Thai” enough. Makes a huge amount.
Fantastic recipe- you can vary the veggie ingredients a little and still great- I had no lime but used lemon instead. Still delicious!
Is there a substitute for the fish sauce in the dressing or does that make it yummy? Can’t wait to make this salad with all the wonderful reviews. Thanks!!
Hi Coleen, the fish sauce adds a wonderfully authentic Thai flavor to the salad so I would recommend it. You can use soy sauce instead — the salad will still be good, but it will lack that traditional Thai flavor. Hope you enjoy!
Thanks again for this great recipe!! It’s been requested that I bring it to another summer party. It’s always a huge hit!!
Hi Jenn-Is there a vegetarian substitute for the fish sauce?
Hi Paula, you can use soy sauce instead. The salad will still be good, but it will lack that traditional Thai flavor.
Have you ever tried FUSH sauce? It’s a vegan alternative. Available on Amazon and expensive, but you only use a little bit at a time.
Loved this recipe, but added a bit of chopped jalapeno to suit my taste…
Delicious dish!!! I added some crushed up peanuts which tied in perfectly with the dressing.
Hello Jenn…I want to make this salad this weekend and can’t decide if I want to use basil or mint since I love them both. Have you ever tried using both? Which do you prefer if using only one? Thanks…..am enjoying your recipes immensely.
Hi Judy, that’s a tough call as I really don’t think you could go wrong! If I had to choose, maybe I’d suggest mint. Hope you enjoy!
I made recipe yesterday using both basil and mint…..it was sooooo good. Could have eaten whole thing myself!
Made this recipe yesterday and added both basil and mint … soooooo good. I didnt want to share with anyone.
This recipe was absolutely delicious! I just made it for our annual Mother’s Day bbq and everyone loved it. I used mint but I’m sure it would be delicious with basil as well. Also I used extra virgin olive oil in the dressing but that is the only change I made. I love that you can make a filling meal out of this salad without feeling weighed down. Thank you for sharing this delightful recipe!