Welcome to my favorite summer salad of 2020. I cannot stop thinking about it, making it and eating it all over again.
I first started making this quinoa salad when Sidney was around 3 months old; I wanted a healthy meal prep lunch that was flavorful, healthy and nutritious but most importantly, I wanted a salad that would last for days in the fridge without getting weird. AND DAMN DOES THIS SALAD DELIVER.
I have a few other quinoa based salads on the blog that are fabulous, but this one really takes the cake. It’s bright, bold and full of flavor thanks to the nutritious quinoa that’s infused with fresh grated ginger, curry powder, garlic powder and earthy ground turmeric.
Oh, and let’s not forget about the beautiful veggies, fruits & herbs including red bell pepper, carrots, peas, red onion, dried cherries, cilantro and parsley. Once you take a bite, I promise you won’t be able to stop. Especially after you try my spicy maple glazed cashews!
Ingredients in curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad
This delicious vegan curry chickpea quinoa salad is loaded with a rainbow of veggies and an incredible blend of spices. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Quinoa: I love using regular, white quinoa, but tri color quinoa will work just as well.
- Water: for cooking the quinoa. You can also use vegetarian broth.
- Chickpeas: to add a delicious boost of plant-based protein. Feel free to use cooked chicken instead if you’re not vegan or vegetarian!
- Frozen green peas: I love the addition of peas in this recipe, but you can omit if you don’t have any.
- Sesame oil: a bit of sesame oil will help flavor the quinoa and infuse the spices. Feel free to sub olive oil.
- Fresh ginger: I highly recommend using freshly grated ginger in this recipe for incredible flavor.
- Curry powder: for that delicious, cozy curry kick. Feel free to add more than the recipe calls for if you love curry as much as I do.
- Turmeric: the ground turmeric really deepens the flavor in here and adds some amazing anti-inflammatory properties.
- Garlic powder: garlic powder adds a wonderful savory flavor to the salad.
- Salt & pepper: for the perfect amount of seasoning.
- For the add-ins: this quinoa salad calls for crunchy red bell pepper, shredded carrots, dried cherries, red onion, cilantro and parsley. The blend of veggies and herbs gives it a nice crunchy texture paired with fresh, bold flavor.
- Raw cashews: I love the crunch that the cashews give this salad. Feel free to omit if you want this to be nut free.
- Pure maple syrup: a tiny punch of sweetness from maple syrup goes a long way when you toast your cashews up.
- Cayenne pepper & sea salt: add just a bit of heat from cayenne, or just go for the sea salt if you’re sensitive to spice.
How to cook the perfect fluffy quinoa
- Use a 1:2 ratio for quinoa to liquid. In this recipe you’ll cook 3/4 cup quinoa in 1 2/3 cups water. I like to add a tiny bit more water to ensure the quinoa is super fluffy after you’re done cooking and it continues to steam in the pot.
- Add in quinoa and water to a medium pot and bring mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for exactly 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, remove from heat and fluff quinoa with a fork.
- Finally, replace lid and allow quinoa to steam for 10 more minutes.
Customize this curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad
- Switch up your protein. If you’re not vegan or vegetarian I think grilled chicken would be delicious in here. Try this marinade, too!
- Use the veggies you have on-hand. Shredded red cabbage, snap peas, green onion or even roasted broccoli or cauliflower would be delicious in this salad.
- Choose your sweetness. I love this salad with dried cherries, but feel free to use dried cranberries, raisins, golden raisins or chopped dates for little bites of sweetness throughout.
- Switch up your nuts. I recommend using already roasted nuts if you want to sub. Honey roasted peanuts, cashews or pistachios would be great options.
How to store quinoa salad
This delicious vegan curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad gets even better over the course of a few days as it marinates in the spices. Store it in an airtight container (or a few meal prep containers like these) for up to 5 days and enjoy all week long. It’s perfect for meal prep as a side dish or a main dish, and you can easily make it the night before.
More quinoa recipes to try
Avocado Blueberry Quinoa Salad
Fiesta Mango Black Bean Quinoa Salad
Healthy Enchilada Chicken & Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers
Famous Crunchy Cashew Thai Quinoa Salad {vegan & gluten-free}
Balsamic Chicken Berry Quinoa Salad
See how to make this curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad:
I hope you love this vibrant curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad. If you make it, please leave a comment below and rate the recipe — I really appreciate it! xo.
Vibrant Curry Cashew Chickpea Quinoa Salad
Vibrant curry cashew chickpea quinoa salad packed with veggies and delicious flavor from curry powder, fresh ginger, turmeric and sweet and spicy maple glazed cashews. This wonderful vegan curry chickpea quinoa salad is easy to make for the perfect main meal or healthy side dish!
Ingredients
- For the quinoa:
- ¾ cup quinoa
- 1 2/3 cup water
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- ¾ cup frozen green peas, thawed
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil (or sub olive oil)
- ½ tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon curry powder, plus more if you want a really big curry punch!
- ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the mix-ins:
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- ½ cup shredded carrots (from 1 large carrot)
- ½ cup dried cherries (or dried cranberries)
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion
- 1/3 cup finely diced cilantro
- 1/3 cup finely diced flat leaf parsley
- For the maple cayenne toasted cashews:
- 3/4 cup raw cashews
- ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
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Add in quinoa and water to a medium pot and bring mixture to a boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and cook for exactly 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove from heat and fluff quinoa with a fork, then replace lid and allow quinoa to steam for 5-10 more minutes. While quinoa is cooking you can chop all your veggies.
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Once quinoa is done cooking, stir in chickpeas, peas, sesame oil, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
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Next stir in red bell pepper, shredded carrots, dried cherries, red onion, cilantro and parsley.
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Finally make your maple cayenne toasted cashews: place cashews in a skillet over medium heat. Toast cashews for 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently until they turn slightly golden brown and fragrant, then turn off heat and immediately add in maple syrup, cayenne pepper and sea salt. Stir for 30 more seconds to coat cashews, then transfer to a plate or piece of parchment paper to cool for a few minutes. Cashews may stick together so try to spread them in an even layer when they are cooling.
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Top quinoa with cashews and serve! Serves 4 for a main meal or 6 as a side. I suggest waiting to add cashews until you are ready to serve so they stay nice and crunchy.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
39 comments
Wow! I’m so excited to make this! Have been in a HUGE cooking rut and this just looks so easy & delicious. Thank you, thank you!
So happy you found this one! Let me know how it goes 🙂
I usually don’t post reviews of recipes that I don’t make exactly- but I felt the changes I made didn’t alter the recipe too much so here you go! I love curry- so I thought this was fabulous. When looking at the recipe, I realized I had most, but not all ingredients needed to make this. I am a very literal cook- usually don’t modify recipes because I’m very uncreative lol! I made the quinoa with the substitution of the squeeze ginger because my fresh ginger was moldy. That was the only change I made to the quinoa. I didn’t have dried cranberries, but had dried currants and used those instead. I didn’t have cashews, but had pine nuts and used those instead. Although I didn’t do the maple syrup on them because I wasn’t sure how they would hold up. I didn’t have carrots or cilantro so had to leave that out as well. Also- used leftover chicken since I didn’t have chickpeas. This is very, very good and a great way to use up some things you probably already have on hand. I need to learn to let go and just throw some things together because I end up throwing away so much food- which I hate! Thank you for a great recipe!
Perfect! This one’s great for customizing with what you have on hand 🙂 glad you loved it!
This looked so good that I made it (and ate some) right away—at 7:30 a.m.—ha! Delicious. I especially love the maple cayenne cashews. I also added some red grapes right before serving.
Thanks for another excellent and healthy recipe!
Love it! Such a great lunch (or breakfast haha)
Your recipes never disappoint. This was AMAZING! The sesame oil and maple cayenne glazed cashews add such a nice touch- even my kids loved it! I can’t wait for leftovers tomorrow, lol!
So happy to hear that! Perfect leftovers 🙂
This was a great tasty recipe and I modified it slightly based on ingredients I had at home. I never cook with onions, so that was omitted. I don’t have sesame oil and used grapeseed oil. Otherwise, all other ingredients were used. I added new ingredients: yellow peppers, broccoli, barley, edamame, black beans. I have enough meals or sides for this week and will add grilled chicken breast or wild salmon to compliment. Your recipes are always easy and healthy for my needs! Thank you!
Perfect! So glad you loved this one (and other recipes here!)
Yum! We made this for a Fathers Day BBQ! I’m vegetarian, so I always bring a filling vegetarian side dish that can serve as my main. Yummy and filling. I served it over a bed of lettuce!
Love that! Perfect side or main dish 🙂
One of the yummiest salad i’ve made and eat! So So good!
So happy you loved it!
Love this salad! The flavors and textures are amazing. Didn’t have quinoa so I used farro. Perfect to make for a picnic or lunch at the beach!!
Ooo love the idea of using farro! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I love it! I didn’t have all the ingredients so I modified it a little bit – used frozen corn instead of peas, didn’t add cherries, used some lettuce I had in my garden for the greens, subbed golden syrup for maple syrup, and used 1/8 tsp smoked paprika + 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper on the cashews because I’m a bit of a wuss when it comes to spices! I also added some lemon juice at the end because it was still a bit spicy for me haha. It turned out delicious 🙂 It is a very easy recipe and works well to sub different ingredients you have in the kitchen!
I’m glad those swaps worked out well! Such a great lunch 🙂
This salad is simply amazing!!! I did not have cilantro and green peas on hand, so I replaced them with dill and edamame, it was so good! It is perfect that the salad can stay in the fridge for a few days without going bad, that’s the recipe I need 🙂
Thank you so much for the recipe!
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!
I was really excited when I found the recipe as I love salads with quinoa. We really enjoyed the recipe and I will definitely make it again. I only omitted the peas. But I was kind of looking for a dressing so I added olive oil and a decent squeeze of lemon juice.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
Really delicious! My whole family loved. The cashews are a nice touch. I will definitely be making this again! I had some fresh mint I added but otherwise made it just as written. Thanks for such a great recipe
Perfect! So happy to hear that!
This recipe was delicious, the ingredients all melded well together and the cashews were an amazing addition. The only adjustment I’d make would be to add a little acidity, some lime juice or apple cider vinegar!
So glad you enjoyed! And that sounds perfect 🙂
This a a great lunch that is easy to meal prep. I leave the cashews separate and add just before eating so they stay crunchy.
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed this one 🙂
Soso yummy!! Never made anything curry before and this was beyond easy to follow!
Amazing! Glad you loved it!
Delicious recipe! Thank you!
Glad you liked it!
This is my absolute favorite lunch to meal prep lately, it is SO delicious! I typically eat it over a bed of spring mix/spinach for some added greens but it is perfect for an on-the-go lunch. Honestly, my favorite part is the maple cayenne cashews…I could eat these every day! Would highly recommend this recipe to anyone looking to spice up their meal prep. I’ve already shared it with all my family and friends. Thanks, Monique!
So happy to hear that! And love the idea of adding some greens 🙂
This was soooo good! I subbed the dried cherries for a perfectly ripe chopped nectarine and added the juice of half a lime that was left over from the previous day. Will definitely make this again!
Love it! Glad you enjoyed!
This salad is to die for. Making it again for a second time in two weeks.
Amazing! Happy to hear that 🙂
I forgot the peas! But it was still delicious. I made this to eat on over the next three nights of night shift. Overnight eating is tricky because if it’s too fatty, I get sleepy and I work in critical care (on the designated covid unit- eep!). The only problem is that I want to eat all the cashews instead of putting them in. I could stand a little heavier spice so them next time I make it I might do heaping measurements of each. But this is a very refreshing and filling recipe that I’m sure will be just the right fuel for this sleepy ol girl tryna work the night shift again.