Quinoa Edamame Salad

Quinoa Edamame Salad- An action-packed, hearty salad made with Edamame, Quinoa, and rainbow veggies. It's a great option for potlucks and a side salad for dinners. Or a large dinner!

Super simple, filling Vegan salad that's gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free.

I think a salad recipe is a hit if it tastes better than all the other stuff on the table. This is one of those salads.

Did you know one cup of shelled edamame has 16 grams of protein?

This is a great way to switch up your quinoa and edamame game. It's a flexi salad. You can add any other veggies you like. Peppers, carrots, and steamed beans- all of this will work with it.

Quinoa soaks up the dressing, which makes the salad delicious! It's my go-to healthy ingredient to make salads with.I have a rotating list of quinoa recipes like this Mexican quinoa bowl, my easy quinoa & avocado salad , and our fall-themed roast pumpkin quinoa salad.

Ingredients for this Super Salad

The great part about this salad is that most of the ingredients are easily available. Some, like edamame, can be bought frozen and used over a couple of months.

Here is the list

Edamame - Pre cooked.I use the frozen blanched kinds. All I have to do is, throw it in water for 10 minutes to thaw it.If you have fresh edamame- Click here to find out how to cook fresh edamame.

Lately, I have been enjoying the Trader Joe's edamame in the vegetable section. It's pre-cooked and shelled. You can keep it in the refrigerator, so no thawing needed.

You can also eat edamame as a snack - steamed edamame with sea salt or make this air fryer salty and spicy edamame in the shell.
Quinoa- Pre-cooked quinoa. Here is how to cook quinoa in the instant pot or you can buy precooked microwavable quinoa too.
Cabbage - Cabbage gives a good crunch to this salad. Purple cabbage gives a nice color. If you can't get your hands on the purple one, you can use the green one too.
Cherry Tomatoes- You can use regular tomatoes too.
Cucumber- This is the most versatile volume ingredient.It gives a great crunch and freshness to the salad.I use them with the skin.

Feel free to add colorful peppers,steamed peas, broccoli, or any other veggie you fancy!

Salad Dressing

You can use virtually any dressing with this salad.My usual go to salad dressing is a simple lemon honey/maple syrup vinaigrette.

It's very simple to put together.It gives this fresh quinoa salad the lift it requires. That said, feel free to use any store-bought salad dressing.

Here are the dressing ingredients

• Olive Oil - Use the best you can.Ideally cold pressed extra virging oil.You can also substitute it with avocado oil.
• Lemon- Juice of half a lemon.About 2 tablespoon of juice. Reduce if you dont like your dressing to be sour.
• Honey or Maple Syrup Best you can afford.
• Thyme- Dry thyme.It will pack in a lot more action than fresh.
• Salt
• Pepper

If you like the crunch of nuts, add a handful of slivered almonds or pistachios on top.

How to make Quinoa Salad with Edamame

Oh, this step is simple. If you are a visual person, watch the video.It really helps to see the texture and colours you want to achieve.

One important tip: Whenever you make a salad, Use the biggest bowl you have.This way, your salad doesn't spill all over the table.Yes, it sounds basic, but I can't tell you how many times I have used a small bowl first, only to switch to a larger bowl to mix the salad.

Storing & Leftovers

Unlike lot of other salads, this salad stores pertty well.All of the ingredients can sit in the dressing and not wilt.This makes this dish a great make-ahead salad.

You can easily carry the salad to the office without worrying about it becoming soggy.

If you have loads left, store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days. That's usually my limit for uncooked produce.

If you liked this salad recipe, do take some time to leave a comment.I really appreciate it!

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More edamame and tofu recipes

Are you as into vegan protein as I? Here are some of my high-protein vegan recipes

A Note on Edamame

You can buy frozen edamame or fresh. It's usually available in the frozen section. Sometimes you can get fresh edamame in the vegan or asian stores.It's a popular Japanese snack, usually steamed in the pod, along side a chili sauce. You dip the sauce in, put the edamame in your mouth, pod and all, suck the beans out.It's a entralling experience!

If you are new to Edamame, you can read my detailed guide on Edamame here.

It cannot be eaten raw. You have to boil, blanch, or microwave it for a bit.The outer covering is in edible and is often used as a vehicle to carry flavor.

Edamame is a great Vegan high-protein source, which makes this salad score very high protein points.

Also! If you haven't tried Air fried ddamame, then you must! It's such a delicious, high-protein snack!