This Rainbow Roll Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing is bursting with bright colors and flavors. It has an array of fresh colorful ingredients, is topped with crispy baked tofu and it’s served with the BEST peanut sauce dressing. Sprinkle on some crushed peanuts, cilantro and mint for a seriously delicious salad that will instantly become a salad fav!
Gloomy weather and grey skies have landed here in Indy. So I’m brightening things up the best way I know how – food!!! I love so many things about this Rainbow Roll Salad, but I’m mostly feeling the beautiful array of vibrant and colorful veggies. What better way to to perk up a dreary day than a rainbow in a bowl?!
So, truthfully this salad was a total fluke. I was attempting to make some collard green rainbow ROLLS one night for dinner and after realizing how much of a pain in the A it is to roll everything into a tight collard wrap just to have it spill all its guts onto my dinner plate, the light bulb went off. Forget the roll and just make a salad! Sure rolls are pretty in pictures and seem like a fun way to eat some veggies, but honestly there are just some things that should be eaten with a fork.
Maybe you’ve seen or heard about collard wraps or maybe not. They’ve been around the “wellness” website block a time or two and have made their “healthy (insert fad diet) friendly” rounds. But unlike so many of those sites, I won’t be making any claims that this salad has miracle detoxifying powers (because literally only kidneys and livers have that power – not food).
There’s no real criteria for so many of the “healthy” labels that get tossed around, so it can be confusing and misleading when making choices for nutrition. And it’s incredibly problematic when fad diet labels that are inherently focused on eliminating foods and are socially associated as being “healthier” greatly influence our choices. Just because it has a “healthified” label doesn’t make it healthier, it doesn’t make it “better,” nor does a food/recipe need to have a “healthified” label to make it functionally nourishing for a healthy body. So while I won’t in good Dietitian conscience feed into the ubiquitous diet/wellness culture lingo, let me tell you a few things this salad can offer!!
Some Things You Might Find & Love About This Rainbow Roll Salad:
- Filling
- Satisfying
- Fresh
- Bright and colorful veggies
- Full of nutrients and nourishing to the body
- Easy to prepare and can be prepped ahead of time
- Crunchy and texturally amazing
- Vibrant
- Versatile
- Satiating &
- Insane delicious flavor!
This Salad is Versatile!
- I love these Brown Rice Noodles – you can sub in rice or any other fun noodle, like soba noodles.
- Change up the veggies. This salad is a great way to use up what’s left in the crisper drawers of the fridge. Try cucumber, leafy salad greens, bell peppers, cauliflower or bean sprouts.
- Use a different protein. Try using leftover cooked chicken, stir fried beef, sauted shrimp or tempeh.
If you make this Rainbow Roll Salad make sure to leave a comment or give it a rating! And if you’re into taking photos of your food (like me), be sure to give me a tag on Instagram!
Rainbow Roll Salad with Peanut Sauce Dressing
- Prep Time: 25 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 Salads
- Category: Salad
- Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients
Baked Tofu:
14 oz. extra firm tofu
1 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
For the Salad:
1 small bunch collard greens, chopped
Daikon radish, cut into matchsticks
Carrots, cut into matchsticks shredded
Red cabbage, shredded
6 oz. thin brown rice noodles cooked in low sodium vegetable broth or water
Crushed Peanuts
Fresh cilantro
Fresh mint
Peanut Sauce Dressing:
1/2 c. natural peanut butter
3 Tbsp. coconut aminos
1 Tbsp. brown rice vinegar
2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. sambal oelek
1 clove garlic, grated
Juice of 1 lime
2-4 Tbsp. warm water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prep the tofu by pressing between two paper towels for about 15 minutes to remove excess moisture. Then cut into 3/4 cubes and toss with the coconut aminos, canola oil, sesame oil and cornstarch on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread the tofu cubes evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Meanwhile, to prepare the dressing, whisk together the peanut butter through lime juice in a small bowl. Depending on the consistency of your peanut butter, you may need to thin out the dressing with warm water. If so, start by whisking in two tablespoons and gradually adding more until it’s reached your desired consistency.
- To assemble the salads, distribute the chopped collard greens, radish, carrots, cabbage and brown rice noodles between your serving bowls. Top with the baked tofu and serve with the prepared peanut sauce dressing, crushed peanuts, cilantro and mint. Enjoy!
Keywords: spring roll, summer roll, thai recipe, rainbow roll, collard greens, peanut sauce, tofu, vegetarian, rice noodles
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