Say this recipe title 10 times fast and…you WIN!
Happiness and energy in a bowl. What more could you want on a Monday?
If I could summarize in a single recipe what a healthy vegan diet means to me, this bowl might just be it. It’s fresh, crisp, vibrant and heavy on the veggies with plant-based proteins throughout and a creamy and indulgent almond butter dressing. In other words – the perfect balance of this-tastes-freakin-amazing and this-makes-me-feel-freakin-amazing. I was bouncing off the walls with energy after I ate this….actually I still am. I swear it has nothing to do with overnight coffee concentrate.
Ok, maybe a little.
I know we’re only 1 week into summer, but this might just be my favourite salad of summer 2013. We’ll have to see if I can top this bad boy.
This salad is inspired by a raw Pad Thai dish I enjoyed at a restaurant called Marbles in Waterloo with my buddy Ange a couple years ago. I ended up recreating the recipe shortly after our visit, but I used glass noodles and I just wasn’t a fan. I don’t usually have texture issues with food, but those noodles were way out of my comfort zone. It’s strange because I’ve enjoyed them before in a couple restaurant dishes, but for some reason when I try them at home it’s creepville. Anyway, I decided to dig out this recipe again, this time using raw zucchini noodles. A very good decision, indeed. No creep factor. All goodness!
I decided to purchase a Veggie Spiralizer
The almond butter sauce I made is very light – using only 1/2 tablespoon of oil – but it’s still creamy and indulgent at the same time. It makes just under 2/3 cup and I found it was the perfect amount for 2 large salads. We sure didn’t have any dressing leftover.
Rad Rainbow Raw Pad Thai
Yield
2 large servings plus scant 2/3 cup dressing
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 medium zucchini, julienned or spiraled
- 2 large carrots, julienned
- 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- 3/4 cup frozen edamame, thawed (or try tofu)
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
For the dressing
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup raw almond butter (or try peanut butter)
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari
- 2 tablespoons water
- 2.5 teaspoons pure maple syrup (or other sweetener)
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
Directions
- Prep vegetables. Add the zucchini, carrots, pepper, and cabbage into one or two large bowls. Toss with hands to combine.
- Prepare the dressing by processing all dressing ingredients in a mini processor (or simply whisk by hand). The dressing may seem a bit thin at first, but it thickens as it sits.
- Top bowls with edamame (or tofu), green onion, hemp seeds, and sesame seeds. Pour on dressing and enjoy!
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)~~~~~~
Last but certainly not least, Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! This post was supposed to be a red & white strawberries ‘n cream pie, but of course when you plan on a themed recipe working it rarely does. I’m sporting my red & white all day regardless. I hope you have a great holiday! Oh and happy (almost) 4th of July to those of you in the US.
I’m not usually a poster on any online outlet – I am very much a lurker on every site I have ever visited – however after trialing this recipe I just had to break the trend!
Thank you so very much for your beautiful and inspiring recipes. This salad was absolutely incredible! I have been a long-time vegetarian with multiple failed attempts at converting to vegan under my belt, but, after discovering your wonderful blog and buying your book, I think I’ve finally cracked it! The number of compliments I have received at work from my colleagues (all vegetable-wary comited carnivores) is certainly fuel to carry on! Thank you for all the wonderful work you do creating and sharing these gorgeous recipes!
I made this for my hospitality assessment and my hospitality teacher was impressed! So delicious and so full of flavour
I’m so happy to hear that Shauni!! Congrats on the successful assignment. :)
This salad was AMAZING! Especially the dressing. I find that zucchini is too water for a salad, so I julienned snap peas instead and it was perfect. The salad is beautiful and super flavourful, but I have to say that the dressing was the star!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the pad thai, Ash! Julienned snap peas sound like a great twist – I’ll have to try that substitution sometime. :) Thanks for the great comment!
dish look tasty
JUST made this dressing and it SLAYS. Literally the best dressing. It reminds me so much of the summer kelp noodle dressing from Juice Press. Will be making this a lot. Thanks SO much!
@vegan.dee on instagram
Glad you enjoy it!! We love it, too–and it’s so versatile!
I made this with Tahini instead of almond butter and OMG I can’t stop eating the dressing! Just perfect! You’re my hero Angela.
I made this tonight for dinner and it was heavenly. I will undoubtedly be making it again in the near future. Thanks
I love what you tell us about it but it so lovely to see you what are you talking about it so that people can eat the rainbow so that why that I love that website and I love that you call it Eat a rainbow. Rainbow are so lovely that it so nice to see it for other to because it so nice to see kids is helping each other and other to.
sincerely,
Hamida
That dressing, tho!
I figured since I’ve made this recipe at least a dozen times since I first saw the post, I should go ahead and let you know how much I love it! It is perfect for dinner for 2 people. It is the prettiest thing I make and I always comment on how beautiful the colors are. Every summer when it’s too hot to cook, this is one of my go-to recipes to make. Home run!
Thank you so much Kali!
Délicieux!
Merci, Suzie! :)
Hi Angela, as with all your creations I love this one! I made it last night with a variation, doubled the sauce and added a package of pad thai rice noodles (as well as diced chicken but could use tofu too!). I used the wok to mix all together and the veggies cooked just slightly, it made for a very warm and filling dinner that the whole family loved!
Hey Madison, I’m so happy the pad thai was a hit! Isn’t that almond butter dressing dreamy? I love your idea of mixing cooked noodles in with the raw ones too.
I want to make this for a party! How far in advance can I prep it? Any suggestions on how to prep for a party early?
Thanks!
Hey Suzy, I’m sorry for the delay – I hope I’m not too late!
I think you could safely prep the veggies 8-9 hours in advance (any longer and I’d worry the spiralized veg may dry out?) – maybe lightly coat them in a touch of oil before storing to prevent drying. I think the dressing may be made the day before. Keep the veggies separate from the dressing until serving. I hope this helps!
Made it today, left out cabbage, hemp and sesame seed, still surprisingly tasty, recipe is a keeper. Thanks for sharing.
This was nothing short of amazing! The sauce!!! <3 I will definitely make this again. Thank goodness I doubled the recipe. It’s so guilt-free too with all of the veggies. Thank you!
This recipe is defiantly one of my favorites. I use coleslaw mix and matchstick carrots to speed things up. I also add some garlic chili sauce instead of cloved garlic.
This is one of my absolute favorite recipes written as is but I was wondering if anyone has ever made it with sunflower butter? I want to make this for a friend but she is allergic to nuts and peanuts. She can have seeds though! Thoughts or recommendations? I wouldn’t normally ask a question like this but I’ve never used sunflower butter so I have no idea what it tastes like or it’s consistency.