When I am deciding on a recipe to serve at a gathering, I look for two things: lots of color and dishes that I can make earlier that day. I’ve made Ambitious Kitchen’s quinoa salad multiple times for parties and it was always a favorite.
This time around I wanted something a little more appealing than a side salad. Lettuce wraps are a great solution for an easy to eat appetizer or a way to switch up your bagged lunch. Don’t skip over Veggies Don’t Bite’s creamy sriracha sauce. It’s made from ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry. You may be tempted to half the recipe (I was), but trust me, follow the recipe. Finally, a sriracha sauce without mayonnaise or sour cream!
Not only will this nutty, Thai inspired recipe impress your guests with its rainbow of colors, its protein packed ingredients will keep them full, but wanting more!
Ingredients:
Quinoa:
- 3/4 cup of uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup of red cabbage, chopped
- 1/2 of a red onion, diced (splash with a tbsp of lime juice)
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 cup of shredded carrots
- 1 cup of edamame, shelled and cooked
- 1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup of green onion, diced
- 1/2 cup of roasted cashew pieces
- 10-12 lettuce cups (I bought living butter lettuce)
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter
- 1 1/2 inches of ginger, peeled and grated
- 3 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of lime juice
- 1 tbsp of red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp of sesame oil
- water, if necessary
Creamy Sriracha Sauce:
- 1/2 cup of tahini
- 1/2 cup of vegetable broth
- 3 tbsp of sriracha, less if desired
- 4 tsp of apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
Serves 10-12 lettuce cups, about 3-4 people for lunch or great as a starter!
Cook quinoa according to package. Cool and refrigerate. Prep other ingredients for the quinoa.
Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. If peanut butter is hard to disperse, add a tsp of hot water. More if needed. In a medium sized bowl, combine all the quinoa ingredients with the dressing until thoroughly mixed. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Lastly, blend or mix by hand the creamy sriracha sauce (my tahini was a little chunky so I used an immersion blender). Keep sauce refrigerated. You’ll have left over sriracha sauce, but it won’t last long. It’s that good!
To serve, place about 2 heaping spoonfuls of quinoa mixture in a lettuce cup and drizzle with sauce!
