This coconut Thai quinoa salad with lime and basil is a delicious, 15-minute dish made with coconut milk, lime, basil, crushed peanuts, green onions, garlic, ginger, toasted shredded coconut, and chopped green beans.
About this coconut Thai quinoa salad
I stumbled onto this coconut Thai quinoa salad and couldn’t put my fork down. A good indicator of recipe success—you keep going back for more. Even when you need to stop because the flavorful Thai creation you’re munching on is for supper…not a mid-day, post-shoot, eat-a-thon.
Yes, I have very little restraint in general, especially when face to face with a delicious Thai quinoa salad with lime and basil and so many other flavorful additions like crushed peanuts, green onions, garlic, ginger, toasted shredded coconut, and chopped green beans. Plus, the quinoa is cooked in coconut milk, making this quinoa salad just a little bit creamy and extra flavorful.
How to make this coconut Thai quinoa salad
Cook the quinoa.
- Grab a stovetop pot (on the small side) and add a small glug of olive oil and one cup of well-rinsed quinoa.
- Toast the quinoa for a couple of minutes on medium high.
- Now, add in one can of quality coconut milk, plus half a cup of water. Stir and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes (uncovered), or until all the liquid is absorbed. Remove from the heat, fluff with a fork, cover, and set aside.
While the quinoa is cooking, prep all the other ingredients.
- In a small stovetop pan over medium heat, add the shredded coconut and cook for 3-5 minutes, giving the pan a shake often, until the coconut is toasted and golden.
- Prep and chop the remaining ingredients: lime zest, peanuts, garlic, ginger, green onions, green beans, and basil.
- Next, toss it all together.
- Serve this salad up warm or at room temperature—it is tasty either way.
We paired this Thai quinoa salad with BBQ-grilled beef tenderloin and the combo was so good. Crispy tofu would also be a tasty combo.
If you give this coconut Thai quinoa salad a try, let me know in the comments below. I love to hear from you!
xo Bri
Looking for more healthy sides and salads? These these favs.
Coconut Thai Quinoa Salad with Lime and Basil
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa dry
- 398 ml coconut milk 1 can
- 1/2 cup water
- juice of 1 lime
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger minced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
- 1 cup fresh green beans chopped small
- 1/2 cup crushed peanuts roasted or raw
- 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut toasted
- 1/2 cup packed fresh basil leaves washed and roughly chopped
- kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- In a small stovetop pot over medium heat, add a small glug of olive oil and 1 cup of rinsed uncooked quinoa. Toast the quinoa for a couple of minutes.
- Add can of coconut milk, plus water to the pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until all the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
- While the quinoa is cooking, toast the shredded coconut in a dry small stove pot pan on medium heat until it becomes golden (about 3-5 minutes). Give the pan a shake for even toasting.
- Prep the remaining items: lime zest, juice, garlic, ginger, green onions, fresh green beans, crushed peanuts and basil. Add all to the warm quinoa, along with the toasted coconut. Add kosher salt to taste.
Notes
Did you make this recipe? Tag @mondaysundaykitchen on Instagram and hashtag it #mondaysundaykitchen!
This looks good but I’m confused — the title says quinoa and the recipe says cous cous. Hope this is just a typo. I am going to attempt tonight with quinoa! I think it will be delicious.
Hi! Total typo! It is indeed made with quinoa. I’ve updated the instructions. Thanks for pointing this out! xo Bri
Thanks for your recipe. I’m going to make with kaffir lime leaves — would I still need to add the lemon juice and zest?