My Favorite Tofu Quinoa Salad

Tofu quinoa salad with peanuts and kale in a serving bowl with pickled onions and a spoon.

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Meal Prep, Salad

Cuisine: East Asian, Fusion

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Prep Time: 1 10

Cook Time: 35

Optional chill time / resting time: 1

Total Time: 2 45

Servings: servings

Calories: 389kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

This vegan tofu quinoa salad is delicious, comforting, great for meal-prepping, packed with nourishing ingredients, can be eaten cold (without reheating), and very satiating!

EASY - Very easy recipe. There's a little extra prep involved with cooking the tofu and kale, but this adds tons more flavor. You can also add other vegetables and proteins to suit your taste.

This will serve 4, but can be easily doubled. I usually make a double batch and store in the fridge.

This recipe doesn't really contain gram measurements, as the amounts added to the salad are flexible. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions.

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Ingredients

To cook quinoa

1 cup quinoa I use tri color quinoa, but you can use any type
1 ¾ cup water
½ tsp salt optional
2 garlic cloves for a subtle garlic flavor, add more for a stronger flavor

Quinoa salad ingredients

340 g medium firm tofu you can also use firm tofu or extra firm tofu, 1 package
1½ tbsp soy sauce for the tofu, use GF soy sauce to keep it gluten free
1 bunch kale
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce for the kale, use GF soy sauce to keep it gluten free
⅓ cup roasted peanuts
2 long red chili pepper or 1 bell pepper (non-spicy option)
1 small bunch cilantro about ½ cup, roughly chopped
3 scallions

Miso sesame dressing

2 tbsp miso paste you can use white (milder flavor) or red (deeper flavor) miso, use a GF miso brand to keep this gluten free
¼ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
2 tbsp roasted sesame oil
1 tbsp honey use more if needed
1 inch piece of ginger sliced and finely chopped
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar or lime juice (use more if needed)
Salt or soy sauce to taste use GF soy sauce to keep it gluten free
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

Quinoa

Wash the quinoa in room temperature water, while agitating it. Wash it 3 - 4 times, until the water runs fairly clear and isn't frothy.
1 cup quinoa
Drain the water from the quinoa using a sieve.
Place the quinoa in a saucepan, along with the water, salt, and garlic.
1 ¾ cup water, ½ tsp salt, 2 garlic cloves
With the lid closed, place the saucepan on the stove on high heat to bring the water to a boil.
Lower the heat to a simmer and cook the quinoa for about 10 minutes with the lid ajar to let excess moisture evaporate.
After 10 minutes, if there is a visible amount of water present in the pot, remove the lid and cook the quinoa for about 5 minutes uncovered to allow some of the water to evaporate.
Place the lid back on and cook for a further 2 - 5 minutes (2 minutes for white quinoa, and longer for red or black quinoa).
Turn off the heat and keep the lid on the pot for about 5 minutes to allow the quinoa to absorb all the water and rest.
Fluff up the quinoa and set it aside for later.

Tofu

Remove the tofu from the package and drain the excess water in the package.
340 g medium firm tofu
Pat dry the tofu and cut it into small cubes (about 1 cm small cubes). Place the cut up tofu in a bowl.
Drizzle the soya sauce over the tofu and toss to combine. Let it sit for about 30 minutes (or overnight), only if you have time. Or you can move to the next step immediately.
1½ tbsp soy sauce
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium / medium high heat with a drizzle of oil.
When the pan is hot, place the tofu (without any liquid) in the pan. Make sure the tofu is in a single layer without over-crowding, so that the tofu pieces can become crisp. Cook in two batches if necessary.
Cook the tofu until at least 2 sides are golden brown and crisp. Place the tofu on a plate.

Kale

Strip the kale leaves from the hard stems. Wash and pat dry.
1 bunch kale
Layer the leaves on top of each other and cut into 1 - 1 ½ inch thick strips.
Heat the same pan that you cooked the tofu in, over medium high heat.
When the pan is hot, add the kale and garlic to the pan. There will be a lot of kale, but it'll reduce as it cooks.
2 garlic cloves
Sprinkle a little soy sauce (1 - 2 tsp) or a little salt, along with the sesame oil, and mix it in carefully with the kale.
1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp soy sauce
The kale will turn bright green and start to wilt. Once the kale is bright green in color and only partially wilted, remove from the heat.

Other ingredients

Chop the roasted peanuts, cilantro, and red chili pepper (or red bell pepper).
⅓ cup roasted peanuts, 2 long red chili pepper, 1 small bunch cilantro
Slice the green onions.
3 scallions

Assembly

Add the quinoa, crispy tofu, sauteed kale, peanuts, cilantro, red chili, and green onion in a large bowl. Toss to mix everything together.
Refrigerate until the dressing is ready, or needed.
When the dressing is ready, drizzle half of the dressing into the salad. Mix well and taste. Add more if you like.
Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for a few hours to allow the flavors to absorb and to serve the salad chilled.

Miso sesame dressing

Finely chop the ginger and set aside.
1 inch piece of ginger
Add the vegetable and sesame oil to a medium-sized bowl.
¼ cup vegetable oil, 2 tbsp roasted sesame oil
To the oil, add the miso and honey. Whisk really well to make the miso paste very smooth, and to form a creamy, smooth paste.
2 tbsp miso paste, 1 tbsp honey
Add the ginger and rice wine vinegar and whisk well to combine. The dressing will be fairly thick, so you can add a little water to thin it out if you like.
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
Taste and add more soy sauce or salt to season to your taste. Add more rice wine vinegar or lime juice to add more acidity.
Salt or soy sauce to taste
OPTIONAL - Coarsely grind the roasted sesame seeds before adding to the dressing. Or keep them whole.
1 tbsp roasted sesame seeds
Add the sesame seeds and stir them in.
Keep the dressing in a glass jar if you need to store it, or use it immediately.

Notes

Gluten free note

Use gluten free soy sauce to keep this salad gluten free.

Miso is not inherently gluten free, so make sure to you use a miso brand that is certified gluten free.

Related recipe

You can check out my detailed recipe guide on how to cook quinoa on the stove for more information.

Nutrition