Thai Coconut Quinoa Bowl (Printable)

Creamy coconut quinoa topped with colorful vegetables and zesty peanut dressing. Ready in under an hour.

# What You'll Need:

→ Coconut Quinoa

01 - 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
02 - 1 cup coconut milk (full-fat or light)
03 - 1 cup water
04 - ½ teaspoon salt

→ Vegetables

05 - 1 cup red bell pepper, thinly sliced
06 - 1 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
07 - 1 cup cucumber, thinly sliced
08 - 1 cup purple cabbage, shredded
09 - ½ cup edamame, cooked and shelled
10 - 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
11 - 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

→ Peanut Dressing

12 - ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
13 - 2 tablespoons soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
14 - 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
15 - 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
16 - 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
17 - 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
18 - 1–2 tablespoons warm water (as needed to thin)

# How to Make It:

01 - Combine quinoa, coconut milk, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
02 - While quinoa cooks, slice red bell pepper thinly, julienne or shred carrot, slice cucumber and purple cabbage. Cook edamame if not already prepared.
03 - In a small bowl, whisk together peanut butter, soy sauce, rice vinegar, lime juice, maple syrup or honey, and sesame oil. Add warm water one tablespoon at a time until dressing is smooth and pourable.
04 - Divide cooked coconut quinoa evenly among four bowls. Top each with equal portions of prepared vegetables and edamame.
05 - Drizzle each bowl generously with peanut dressing. Garnish with chopped cilantro and sesame seeds.
06 - Serve immediately or chill for a refreshing cold bowl.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It comes together in under 40 minutes, perfect for when you want something nourishing but refuse to spend your whole evening cooking.
  • The peanut dressing is so good you'll find yourself making extra just to drizzle on everything else you eat that week.
  • Every vegetable stays crisp and colorful, so it's as much a pleasure to look at as it is to eat.
02 -
  • Don't skip rinsing the quinoa; I learned this the expensive way, and bitter grains can ruin an otherwise perfect bowl.
  • If your dressing breaks or gets lumpy, you added the water too fast or your peanut butter was too cold—start over with a fresh batch and add water so slowly it feels almost silly.
03 -
  • Keep your ingredients at different temperatures—warm quinoa, crisp cold vegetables—and don't dress the bowl until you're actually eating it, otherwise everything gets soggy and loses its character.
  • If you're meal prepping, store the dressing in a separate container and assemble each bowl fresh, or the vegetables will release their water and dilute everything by Wednesday.
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