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This was fantastic. Took it for lunch today and was super proud of myself for the healthy deliciousness that I had.
Jennifer
This recipe is sponsored by ALDI
Quinoa Crunch Salad?
With loads of crunchy fresh veggies like carrots, bell peppers, cabbage, and edamame?
Plus juicy fresh mango?
And fluffy quinoa tossed with a few handfuls of chili lime cashews?
Covered in a just-the-right-amount-of-spicy peanut dressing?
Um, let me think. HARD YES.
I’m a big fan of crunch salads – see also this Thai Noodle Salad which is so punchy and delicious that it still visits me in my dreams sometimes, and the Crunchy Shrimp Salad which is basically an excuse to eat those home-fried wonton strips on top, and then this Cashew Crunch Salad which was the cold, sweet-and-savory magic I needed to get through my summer pregnancy – complete with retro chow mein noodles and everything.
This crunch salad is no exception to the Lindsay-Loves-Crunch-Salads Rule. It is a rainbow to behold.
Bonus is the fact that many of our essential ingredients were purchased – for a steal – at the grocery store adored by everyone and their mom: ALDI.
My personal favorite thing about ALDI is that I can AFFORDABLY stock up on the healthy eating basics, including organics because life is awesome. Like, we’re talking multi-huge-bags of quinoa, dried mangoes, canned beans, and chili lime cashews that are sitting in my pantry aka basement.
My second favorite thing about ALDI is that I can now use Instacart to deliver it right to my house. This is a relatively new thing in my life (ALDI + Instacart), and you guys, I legitimately never go to the store anymore. There’s a tiny baby in my house. There’s a 30% chance that I’m dressed in real clothes. It’s fifty million degrees below zero.
We’ll take the delivered-right-to-your-door thing. ♡
And you can too! Right here, right now. If you’re a first-time ALDI Instacart shopper, you can grab $10 off your first three ALDI orders of $35 or more with the code ALDIPOY. Pretty great, right?
I know technically we’re not to Friday’s meal prep recipe yet, but may I suggest this recipe, in little (er, HUGE) pre-portioned containers, waiting for you for lunch this week?
Fresh veggies, powerhouse quinoa, peanut dressing and bites of crunchy and sweet… you were made for this moment.
Check Out Our Video For How To Make Quinoa Crunch Salad:
Quinoa Crunch Salad with Peanut Dressing
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 huge servings 1x
Description
Quinoa Crunch Salad! Crunchy rainbow veggies, juicy fresh mango, fluffy quinoa, chili lime cashews, and some creamy peanut dressing.
Ingredients
Quinoa Salad:
- 2–3 cups shelled edamame
- 2 cups Simply Nature Organic Quinoa
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1–2 bell peppers, diced
- 2 ripe mangoes, diced
- 3 carrots, shredded
- half a head of purple cabbage, shredded
- sliced almonds, peanuts, cashews, etc. (I used the addicting Southern Grove Chili Lime Cashews from ALDI)
Peanut Dressing:
- 1/2 cup Simply Nature Creamy Peanut Butter
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 1/3 cup vinegar (white distilled or rice vinegar)
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1–2 tablespoons chili paste like sambal oelek
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 knob of fresh ginger, peeled
Instructions
- Cooked stuff: Cook the quinoa and edamame according to package directions.
- Veggies: Chop everything up. It will take a little while. Put on some good music and light a candle and a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt.
- Dressing: Give it all a whirl in the food processor or blender.
- Serve: Assemble individual salads, or toss it all together.
Notes
If You Want To Be Extra: This is really good with a handful of dried fruit thrown in the mix. Dried mango, golden raisins, dried cherries… all good choices.
Storage: I stored all the veggies together in one container, but I kept the quinoa and the dressing separate. It should last you for the week!
Dressing: If you find yourself with extra dressing (I never do, but I’m a dressing hog), you can also freeze it for another time!
Amounts: If you want to be very methodical about it and make sure you get your 6 servings balanced out, you’ll use about 3/4 cup quinoa, 1/4 cup dressing and 1+ cup veggies per salad.
Nutrition Info: Most of the calories come from the quinoa and dressing. To make this a lower-calorie salad, use less dressing or higher veggies than quinoa.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Category: Salad
- Method: Chop
- Cuisine: Asian-Inspired
Keywords: quinoa crunch salad, quinoa salad, peanut dressing
Thank you to ALDI for sponsoring this post!
One More Thing!
This recipe is part of our collection of best healthy vegetarian recipes. Check it out!
This was outrageously good!! Like the kind of salad you wish you could find at a restaurant. My husband, who is pretty picky, was blown away by this recipe and gave it a 10/10.
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!
Everything looks delicious!
Another amazing salad from you!
How big of a “knob” of ginger do you recommend?
I can’t imagine using more than half an inch. Do all the other oils dilute the ginger?
About an inch!
This salad looks as good as it tastes which is super delicious. Since we can’t get the chili lime cashews in Canada I used roasted unsalted cashews tossed in chili lime spice mix from TJs and a bit of olive oil. Also added chopped dried apricots – perfect!
This recipe just didn’t do it for me. I love almost everything POA recipe I’ve tried, but this one, while very healthy, wasn’t pleasant to my palette. I had to force myself to finish it. The dressing is where the flavor needs to be, but it just tasted like very salty peanut butter added to lots of veggies. I still love you, though!
This is one of our family go-to recipes! We love it so much. The peanut dressing is the perfect combo of salty and sweet and spicy. Don’t skimp on the mango — the little juicy bites are a fun surprise mixed in with the crunchy veg. We make this OFTEN. Great for meal prepping lunches, too.
Loved this simple lunch that made for easy lunch planning! The peanut sauce was so tasty!
This was delightful! We didn’t have ripe mangos (because ripe mangoes, much like ripe avocados are elusive and you have to plan for it) it was still delicious. I cannot wait to experience it in its full glory. I am also looking forward to adding some dried fruits as suggested. What a romp.
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All you need after a hectic day, or for a fresh start, is a fistful of raw cashews, and you’ll see the magic grow. Be it your desserts, or your nut spreads, have the Cashews in there and enrich what you’re having, further. Most demanded and most enjoyed, cashews aren’t to be missed out, rather be a habit of all. Buy where do they actually came from? Let’s dive in deep to know it all!
Great Recipe. Your recipes are the inspiration for other food bloggers. Thanks for creating Ideas.
This salad is so yummy! It’s so colorful and always a hit! I always make a double batch of the dressing and end up drizzling it all over any veggies I have in my fridge over the next week.
Just made this! Added avocado. This sauce/dressing is AMAZING!!! I want it on everything.
A delicious and filling lunch! Five stars!!
Super delicious! Thank you for sharing!
This was so good and refreshing – which refreshing isn’t something I’d normally pair with peanut butter anything, haha. Easy to pull together, and just really good.
This was the first POY recipe I’ve made and one of my favorites! I’ve made it a couple times now for meal prep work lunches. Warning: this makes A LOT! I’d say closer to 8 servings. Also, the chili-lime cashews are perfect for this recipe. They are seasonally available at Aldi but I’ve found them year round at Trader Joe’s.
can’t use anything to do with sesame seeds or sesame oil what could I substitute this with?
You can try vegetable oil or canola oil and leave out the sesame seeds.
Loved this recipe for the bright flavors, different textures, and nutritional value! I did sub pineapple (because the store was out of mangoes) and added a little more honey to the dressing. Leftovers are even better the next day 🙂
I made this for work and it was so delicious. The sweet, savoury, crunchy and soft combination with the creamy yet slightly spicy dressing made this a joy to eat plus it’s so filling! I honestly think I can easy get 10 servings out of it too! Lunch and dinner for the week? Maybe, maybe!
Glad to hear it, Danielle! Thanks for the comment!
Hallelujah for recipes like this making plant-based eating enjoyable. This was delicious! And I was shocked that even my kids gobbled it up. I made the dressing w/out the sesame oil (the peanut butter had plenty), just added some water instead. Didn’t miss the oil! Thank you for creating wonderful content, and for plant-based January!
I’m so sad I didn’t try this salad sooner. This is definitely going into my rotation. After prepping all the ingredients, it was so easy to meal prep extra salads for lunches at work. And y’all – THE DRESSING. I skimped at first thinking the flavor might be overpowering, but nope. More is more. You will want to keep eating just so you can have more dressing. Altogether, this was delicious, beautiful, and satisfying, plus easy to customize. (My kids chose their own toppings, and I added some grilled chicken.)
Delicious! Hands down the best salad I have ever have!
Yay! So happy to hear this, Allyson!
Love it! I just made it for my mom for an early Mother’s Day dinner and she loved it too and took leftovers. (This makes a TON!!! Probably easily 8 servings for most people)
Glad to hear it, Linnea!