Description
This bright and cheery Thai-inspired quinoa lentil salad is packed with crunchy veggies and fragrant herbs in a tangy Thai Dressing. The lentils and quinoa cook together at the same time! Vegan & gluten-free.
Ingredients
Units
- 3/4 cup white quinoa
- 1/2 cup black lentils (see notes)
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 5 cups veggies- shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, red peppers, English cucumber, or sub snow peas, radishes, jicama (crunchy veg works best here)
- 1/2 cup mint, torn
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (or sub with Thai Basil)
- 1/2 cup green onions
Thai Dressing
- 1 medium orange- zest and 1/4 cup orange juice
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free liquid aminos like Braggs
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemongrass, very finely chop or use lemongrass paste
- 1 teaspoon grated garlic
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or sambal oelek,
- 1 lime- 1 tablespoon juice and wedges
- Optional Garnishes: roasted chopped peanuts, lime wedges.
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa & lentils. Rinse the black lentils and quinoa in a strainer for one minute. Drain well and place in a medium pot with the water, salt, and olive oil, and mix. Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover tightly and lower heat to med-low- and gently simmer for 12-14 minutes, or until all the water is gone. Fluff with a fork and let cool.
- Prep your veggies, shredding and slicing. If meal prepping this, cut the cucumbers a little thicker so they hold their crunch.
- Zest the orange and set the zest aside.
- Make the dressing, placing the ingredeints in a small bowl- orange juice, olive oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, maple syrup, rice vinegar, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, Sriracha, lime juice and whisk.
- Combine. Place the cooled quinoa and lentils in a large bowl. Add the shredded veggies, herbs (save a little for the garnish), and green onions. Pour in the dressing and orange zest and toss well to combine.
- Season. Taste, adjust salt, heat (add more sriracha or cayenne), lime, or sweetness (orange juice) to taste.
- To serve, sprinkle with fresh herbs, chopped toasted peanuts, and lime wedge.
Notes
Lentils: small lentils (black and green) can cook at the same time with the quinoa- they both take roughly 10-15 minutes. Large brown lentils take 25 mins to cook and will need to be cooked separately, or pre-cook them in the same allotted water, covered for 10 minutes, before adding the quinoa. You also can leave the lentils out and only use quinoa- using a ratio of 1 ¼ cups quinoa to 2 cups water.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 211
- Sugar: 5.6 g
- Sodium: 281.7 mg
- Fat: 8.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 26.7 g
- Fiber: 4.4 g
- Protein: 6.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg