Quinoa Edamame Salad With Miso Dressing

This quinoa edamame salad recipe is made with colourful, crunchy vegetables like cucumber, celery, carrots, and purple cabbage. Tossed in an Asian-inspired miso sesame ginger dressing, this healthy salad recipe is so flavourful and PACKED with plant-based protein!

This asian edamame salad is filled with the most colourful rainbow of vegetables and packed with SO much flavour thanks to one of my favourite miso sesame and ginger dressings. It reminds me of those store-bought salads, but made from the comfort of your own home!

This recipe is completely plant-based and packed with both protein, fiber, micronutrients, and antioxidants. As a dietitian, I’m thrilled to share that both edamame and quinoa are nutrition powerhouses – I outline their nutrition benefits below if you’re interested in learning more.

Thanks to its protein, fiber, and healthy fat content, this salad is very filling and satisfying. You can enjoy it as a main meal and it’s great as a make-ahead option (packed lunch idea, anyone?)

PS. If you like the flavours of this salad dressing, I also use it with my popular Warm Mushroom Salad! It’s another vegan salad recipe that you may love 🙂

What is this edamame salad made of?

1. Edamame: Edamame are whole, immature soybeans that have a distinct bright green colour. They are commonly found in the frozen section of your grocery store (with the rest of the frozen vegetables). Make sure you purchase shelled edamame, rather than the edamame in its pods!
2. Quinoa: Quinoa is a gluten-free whole grain that works wonderfully in salads. If you’d like to swap it for another grain, this salad would certainly work with something like wild rice or farro. If you have 2 cups of pre-cooked/leftover quinoa on hand, this is a great use for it!
3. Carrots: I purchased pre-shredded carrots for this recipe, which are commonly found in the produce aisle with the other varieties of carrots. It helps to make prep a little faster and less messy, but you are welcome to shred your own carrots in a food processor or box grater. Otherwise, you could also chop them up into small pieces instead of shredding.
4. Cucumber: Feel free to use a long English cucumber or the smaller Persian cucumbers. When purchasing, I always recommend feeling the ends of the cucumber to make sure they’re firm and not mushy (a sign that they are too ripe/soft)!
5. Celery: We only need 1 cup of diced celery for this recipe, so you are welcome to purchase a whole bunch OR individual stalks (2-3 should be adequate!) When shopping, try to find a bunch of celery that is looking quite “fresh” – not too many browned spots or broken stalks. Dirt is ok and natural – just be sure to give it a good rinse.
6. Red bell pepper: Feel free to use an orange or yellow bell pepper instead, if desired.
7. Purple cabbage: Purple cabbage goes great with this salad and makes it so colourful. With that said, if you do not enjoy or digest cabbage well, feel free to swap it with something like chopped kale (those pre-cut tuscan kale varieties would be great here).
8. Green onion (scallions): We’ll only be using the green tops here, for added flavour. TIP: when you’re done dicing the tops, place those white bulbs in a glass filled with water and place the glass near a window – you will be shocked at how quickly the green tops grow back. I always do this and I love having extra green onion on hand!
9. Peanuts or cashews: I like to use raw, unsalted varieties but you are welcome to use roasted ones as well. Feel free to choose one or the other nut, or a mix of both. For a nut-free option, you may leave these out or replace with seeds like pumpkin or sunflower. The added crunchy texture works wonderfully!
10. My homemade miso sesame ginger dressing, which contains olive oil, toasted sesame oil rice vinegar, miso paste, garlic powder, and ground ginger!

Step-by-step: how to make edamame salad

Edamame Nutrition Benefits

Quinoa Nutrition Benefits

More Asian-inspired salads:

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