This quinoa edamame salad is a fresh and vibrant dish packed with protein-rich edamame beans, crisp cucumber, and shredded carrot.
Tossed in a flavorful soy sesame salad dressing, it brings delicious Asian-inspired flavors to every bite.
Easy to make and full of wholesome ingredients, this healthy quinoa edamame salad is perfect for meal prep, lunch, or a light dinner.
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How do you prepare quinoa?
Quinoa is easy to prepare on the stove, Instant Pot or a rice cooker.
You have to be a bit careful, however, because overcooked quinoa can be soggy and sticky.
To get perfectly fluffy quinoa, don’t cook it like pasta in a large amount of water.
Cook quinoa like basmati rice; in just the correct amount of water, covered, and with a couple extra minutes at the end to steam.
The first step to preparing quinoa is to place it in a strainer and rinse it under cool water.
This is because quinoa has saponins that will give it a bitter, soapy taste if you don’t rinse it off.
Next, you can optionally choose to toast your quinoa. Toasted quinoa has a nutty flavor that adds extra dimension to the normally somewhat bland quinoa.
A good ratio of water to quinoa is one cup quinoa to one and a half cups of water.
Place both the water and quinoa in a pot and bring to a boil. Place the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to a gentle simmer.
Simmer the quinoa for 10 - 15 minutes until the water is absorbed.
Turn off the heat but leave the lid on the pot and allow the quinoa to steam for another 5 minutes.
Now you can remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork for perfectly cooked, tender, not sticky grains (well, technically seeds).
How do you dress a quinoa salad?
Since quinoa has a rather neutral, bland flavor, quinoa salad can take on a lot of different dressings.
It particularly works well with acidic, vinegar- or citrus-based vinaigrettes.
For this quinoa edamame salad, I have made a very delicious sesame soy dressing.
It’s bright, umamai, sweet and sour and super easy to make.
Ingredients
This quinoa edamame salad has few ingredients but delivers with big, bold flavors!
Quinoa: Any type of quinoa will work for this recipe. I used basic white quinoa but red or mixed quinoa will work just fine.
Edamame: Shelled frozen edamame can be found with the frozen vegetables.
Carrot: Carrot, edamame and mint are a delicious combination of ingredients that I discovered when I made these edamame mint wontons.
Cucumber: Cucumber adds nice juicy freshness to this salad.
Herbs: A lot of the flavor in this salad comes from the fresh herbs. I use equal amounts of chopped cilantro and mint.
Peanuts: For crunch (and flavor), half a cup of chopped peanuts is added.
Sauce: The sauce is easy to make with just soy sauce or gluten-free tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil, maple syrup and a neutral oil. I use sunflower oil but canola, avocado, vegetable oil, etc. will work. Personally, I think olive oil has too strong of a flavor for this delicate sauce.
How to make quinoa edamame salad
This quinoa edamame salad is quick and easy to make. It’s ideal for a light weeknight main dish or as a simple side or potluck contribution.
Quinoa: This salad can be ready in the time it takes to cook the quinoa!
As previously mentioned, for perfectly cooked quinoa, there are certain steps to follow.
Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it under cool water, rubbing the quinoa between your fingers. This is remove the bitter compounds.
Place the quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
After 10 minutes, or when all the water is absorbed, turn off the heat but leave the pot covered for another 5 minutes.
Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl to cool.
Prep: While the quinoa is cooking, prepare the veggies.
If your edamame is frozen, thaw it according to the package directions. Usually that means boiling it for 3 minutes.
Peel and grate the carrot. Peel, if desired, the cucumber and cut it into thin slices.
Roughly chop the peanuts and finely chop the cilantro and mint.
Dressing: Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl or mason jar and mix it well.
Combine: I prefer to wait until the quinoa is mostly cooled before adding the veggies so that the cucumber doesn’t go soggy.
Combine all the salad ingredients in a large bowl and drizzle over the dressing while tossing to combine.
Variations and substitutions
Veggies: I’ve kept this quinoa edamame salad simple with just a couple of veggies but feel free to add more. Shredded green cabbage or purple cabbage, diced avocado, chopped red bell pepper, green onion or red onion are popular additions. Swap the peanuts for cashews or slivered almonds.
Dressing: Possible additions to the soy sesame dressing are minced fresh ginger, garlic, or sesame seeds. I’ve seen spicy versions with sambal or sriracha. Instead of maple syrup you can use agave or white sugar. Instead of rice vinegar try lime juice.
FAQs
Soggy quinoa is usually caused by too much water and/or overcooking it. It’s best to use the correct ratio of quinoa to water rather that cooking it like pasta in a large pot of water. Also, quinoa only needs 10 - 15 minutes to cook. Any longer and the grains begin to break down and become soggy. Finally, the last 5 minutes of steaming is important to allow excess moisture to evaporate and dry out the grains.
Quinoa has bitter compounds called saponins that can make your quinoa taste like soap. Simply remove these compounds by rinsing your quinoa in cool water before cooking.
Soaking quinoa is not a necessary step and I never do it. For some people, however, soaking quinoa can improve digestibility and improve the nutrient profile.
Make ahead and storage tips
This salad can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
However, the cucumber and peanuts will lose some of their crunch.
If you are making this to eat later you can keep the quinoa and veggies in separate containers until ready to serve then toss everything together.
How to serve quinoa edamame salad
I take this salad alone as a light lunch or as a side dish to veggie burgers or tofu such as this maple chili tofu or this lemon tofu.
It will also pair nicely with a soup such as this Greek chickpea soup or this spinach tortellini soup.
Try it alongside wraps like these smoky tofu wraps or these Mediterranean wraps.
Quinoa Edamame Salad
Ingredients
For the salad
- ¾ cup (150 grams) uncooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups (350 ml) water
- 1 cup (160 grams) shelled edamame
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
- 1 medium cucumber, peeled and sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped mint
- ½ cup (80 grams) roughly chopped peanuts
For the dressing
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil such as sunflower, canola, etc.
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse it, agitating it with your fingers, under cold water.
- Transfer to a pot with the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes or until the water is absorbed. Turn off the heat, but do not uncover the pot, and allow the quinoa to steam for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, if your edamame is frozen, thaw it according to the package directions, prepare the veggies and make the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a bowl and mixing well.
- Transfer the cooked quinoa to a large bowl and allow to cool. Add in the remaining salad ingredients and dress the salad while tossing everything together.
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