Name: Quinoa Spring Roll Salad
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup uncooked quinoa; 1½ cups water; ¼ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ cup creamy peanut butter ((or sunflower seed butter)); 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 2 tablespoons water; 1 tablespoon honey; 1 teaspoon sriracha; 1 cup shredded, or very thinly sliced red cabbage ((¼ of a small head)); 1 cup shredded carrot ((2 medium carrots)); 1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper ((1 medium pepper)); 1 cup julienned cucumber ((½ English cucumber)); ½ cup thinly sliced green onion ((from 1 bunch)); ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro; ¼ cup chopped roasted peanuts ((for topping))

Recipe Overview

Why you’ll love it: Vibrant, colorful, and fresh, this quinoa spring roll salad has all the flavor and crisp texture of spring roll filling, without the fuss of rolling! A creamy peanut dressing brings it all together for the perfect light side dish or meal prep lunch.

How long it takes: 45 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: saucepan, mixing bowl, small bowl, whisk
Servings: 8

A bowl of quinoa spring roll salad with chopped red bell peppers, cucumbers, shredded carrots, purple cabbage, green onions, and crushed peanuts.

Perfect for Meal Prep!

This spring roll salad is for anyone who loves fresh, crunchy spring rolls…but absolutely does not love working with rice paper. (If you know, you know.)

It takes everything good about a spring roll, crisp veggies, bright flavors, satisfying textures, and turns it into an easy, filling salad. It’s perfect for meal prep because it keeps well in the fridge, and it goes great with soy glazed salmon!

What makes it special:

Wholesome and filling. Quinoa adds protein to this spring roll salad to keep you satisfied. There are lots of crisp veggies which bring so much flavor, vibrant colors, and loads of nutrition.
No rice paper! Rice paper can be a pain in the you-know-what (the soaking, the rolling, the inevitable tearing!). This recipe skips the wrapper in favor of the filling. And that’s the best part anyway!
Customizable. Swap in different veggies, add a protein, swap the quinoa for jasmine rice or Instant Pot brown rice, or try a different dressing. It’s hard to go wrong!

Ingredient Notes

This spring roll salad has 3 components. Here’s a break down of each:

Quinoa: You’ll need white or tri-color quinoa, water to cook it in, and kosher salt for seasoning.
Peanut dressing: Peanut butter is the base of this dressing; I recommend creamy, not chunky (you can also use sunflower seed butter!). To this, we add soy sauce (or tamari for a gluten-free version), fresh lime juice, honey, and sriracha. You’ll thin it out with water to make it pourable.
Salad: The salad consists of sliced red cabbage, carrots, red bell pepper (orange or yellow would also work!), cucumber, green onion, cilantro, and roasted peanuts for crunch.

How to Make Spring Roll Salad

Cook the quinoa. Put the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer and rinse it until the water runs clear. Then, add the quinoa, water, and salt to a saucepan and bring it to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and cool. (I transfer the quinoa to a large, shallow bowl to expedite the cooling process.)

A small bowl of salt, a bowl of uncooked quinoa, and an empty measuring cup are arranged vertically on a light surface.

A hand holding a fork fluffs cooked quinoa in a light-colored saucepan with a wooden handle on a white surface.

Make the dressing. Whisk all of the ingredients in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. The first time I tested this salad recipe, the appearance of the dressing looked grainy but I found that it smooths out as it sits for a few minutes.

Six small bowls containing srirachia, honey, water, peanut butter, lime juice, and soy sauce arranged on a white surface.

A clear glass bowl containing a scoop of peanut butter and a dark brown liquid, viewed from above on a light surface.

Assemble the salad. Toss the shredded red cabbage and carrots, chopped bell pepper , julienned cucumber, green onion, and cilantro with the cooled quinoa.

Assorted chopped vegetables and peanuts in small glass bowls, including shredded carrots, red cabbage, cucumber, green onions, red bell pepper, cilantro, and peanuts on a light background.

A bowl of quinoa, and colorful vegetables.

Dress and serve. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss again, ensuring that every bit is coated with the peanutty goodness. Add the peanuts as a garnish, and serve at room temperature or chilled.

A hand holds a bowl of quinoa salad with red peppers, purple cabbage, carrots, scallions, chopped peanuts, and a lime wedge, with another bowl and peanuts in the background.

Recipe Variations

Make it nut-free. Since my family has nut allergies, I wanted to try a nut-free version. I found that sunflower seed butter can be substituted for the peanut butter, and the salad turns out perfectly. You can either omit the peanuts, or swap in toasted sunflower seeds, pepitas, or sesame seeds.
Switch up the veggies. You could use regular green cabbage in place of the red cabbage. Try thinly sliced radishes, edamame, snow peas, or jicama—just keep the total at about 4 cups. For a little sweetness, try adding pineapple chunks or diced mango.
Add sesame flavor. Add a few drops of toasted sesame oil to the dressing or try replacing half the peanut butter with tahini.

Make It a Meal

Chicken. This quinoa spring roll salad would be awesome with Asian marinated chicken or grilled teriyaki chicken on the side, or even on top of the salad. I like to serve it with baked spicy Asian chicken wings, too!
Seafood. Bang bang salmon and kung pao shrimp will bring a little heat to your meal! Spicy garlic shrimp is really good, too. If you lean more toward salmon, try teriyaki salmon or orange-glazed salmon.
Plant-based proteins. I love this baked sesame tofu but you can’t go wrong with all purpose baked tofu or crispy air fryer tofu, either.

Storage

You can store this quinoa spring roll salad in an airtight container for up to 4 days. If you’re making it for meal prep, I recommend storing the dressing separately; the quinoa will absorb the dressing during storage, so it’s best added just before serving.