Looking for a healthy and delicious edamame salad recipe? Try this edamame recipe! Packed with protein and veggies, it's a great option for a light lunch or dinner. Plus, it's easy to make and can be made as part of your meal plan or vegan meal prepping! Give it a try and enjoy a fresh and flavourful meal!
The first time I made this salad, I knew it was a winner. Now I can't stop making it! It's the perfect weekday lunch. Healthy, easy to prep in advance, and delicious!
What is Edamame?
Edamame is a preparation of immature soybeans that are still in their pods. The name "edamame" comes from Japanese, and it literally means "beans on a branch". Edamame is a popular dish in Japan and other East Asian countries, as well as in many other parts of the world.
Edamame is usually boiled or steamed and served as a snack or appetiser. The pods are typically lightly salted and can be eaten by popping the beans out of the pods with one's fingers. The beans themselves have a slightly sweet and nutty flavour and a firm texture. Edamame is also a great source of protein, fibre, and various vitamins and minerals. It is often used in vegetarian and vegan diets as a protein source.
Edamame can be boiled or steamed and served on its own as a snack, or it can be used as an ingredient in various dishes such as salads, stir-fries, soups, and more. Today I'm going to be sharing my favourite recipe with edamame, this edamame bean salad!
Where is Edamame in The Grocery Store?
Edamame is easy to prepare and can be found in most grocery stores. You can buy them frozen or fresh, however it is far more common to find then frozen. They are also usually sold in their pods. The edamame that is sold in the pods is often boiled or steamed and served on its own as snack with a little but if salt. This is the same as the common appetisers you will see at Japanese restaurants.
The edamame in salad is shelled edamame, which means the beans have already been extracted from the pods. When you are looking for edamame beans in the grocery store, make sure that you are looking for shelled edamame beans (edamame without the shell). This will save you a lot of time. When it comes to choosing the right type of edamame for salad, this is the only thing you need to remember. The pods are not edible and it will be super time consuming to extract the beans before making this asian edamame salad.
Further advice on where to find edamame in the grocery store
Now that you know the different types of frozen edamame that you can buy, where exactly can you find it! I can usually find frozen edamame in the frozen peas, corn or other frozen veggies section. I have also come across it within the frozen berries area. Good luck!
Do you use Frozen Edamame?
Yes! I only buy shelled frozen edamame because it is the easiest to source and cook it. Therefore this is a frozen edamame recipe.
Gather Your Ingredients for this Edamame Salad Recipe
You will need the following ingredients to make this recipe for edamame salad (I also called this an edamame rice bowl).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup shelled edamame (I use frozen)
- ¾ cup cooked brown rice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ carrot, shredded
- ¼ purple cabbage, shredded
- ¼ cup spring onion, finely diced
- ¼ small broccoli
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
Salad Dressing:
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup (can be substituted for honey or any sugar-free liquid sweetener)
Instructions:
- Cook rice in a rice cooker or on a stove top.
- Remove edamame from the freezer. Add edamame to a sieve and run warm water over the edamame until it's no longer frozen. Drain edamame and let dry.
- Chop the broccoli into small florets and add to a bowl. Pour boiling water over the broccoli and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Prepare other salad ingredients while waiting. Once done, drain the broccoli and add to the salad bowl.
- Shred the carrot and cabbage. Use a food processor if you have one.
- Remove the stem from the coriander leaves.
- Finely dice the spring onion.
- Add the cooked rice to a bowl. Sprinkle the chia seeds and stir through.
- Add all salad ingredients to the bowl.
- Drizzle salad dressing and serve!
To make the salad dressing, simply add sesame oil, white vinegar, soy sauce, and maple syrup to a jar or bowl, and shake/mix well.
Why I love this Edamame Bean Salad Recipe
This edamame salad is not only tasty but also nutritious. Edamame provides plant-based protein, fibre, and healthy fats, while brown rice adds complex carbohydrates and more fibre. Chia seeds are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, while the vegetables provide vitamins and minerals. The salad dressing adds a delicious savoury and sweet flavour that complements the ingredients well.
You can also modify this recipe to your liking by adding more vegetables or changing the salad dressing. I love to have this recipe as meal prep! You can read further below to see how I do this.
How To Cook Frozen Edamame
Cooking with frozen edamame is extremely easy. All you need to do it remove the amount of frozen edamame you want, and either let it defrost (takes about an hour), or if you want to use it immediately place it in a sieve, and run warm water over the edamame for approximately 5 minutes. Test the edamame by trying one! Make sure to break up the edamame as certain parts can defrost slower or faster. And thats it! Let the edamame dry and then its ready to eat.
How To Cook The Rice & Chia Seeds
Chia seeds are hard and crunchy, making them difficult to eat without softening first. To soften the chia seeds, I recommend that you stir them in with rice. As soon as the rice is done cooking, (either on stove top or in the rice cooker), sprinkle the chia seeds evenly and stir through. This is a great way to make your rice dishes more nutritious!
How To Cook The Broccoli
The broccoli in this edamame broccoli salad is only lightly boiled, such that it is still crispy and crunchy. I do this by putting the broccoli florets in a bowl, and pouring boiling water into the bowl. Let the broccoli sit in the boiling water for 10-15 minutes. During this time, go ahead and prep your other salad ingredients.
Once the 15 minutes is up, drain the water and broccoli with a sieve and let the broccoli cool before adding to the salad.
Whilst this might seem odd to some people, I grew up eating raw broccoli. I hate eating broccoli when its been boiled and much prefer it crunchy! Although I no longer eat it completely raw and recognise that some softening is required!
A must do tip for the purple cabbage and carrot when making this edamame salad
The carrot and purple cabbage should be shredded as much as possible! I highly recommend that you use a food processor to do this. Not only does this make this a better salad, it is good for your digestion too.
How much ingredients do I need to make an edamame salad when meal prepping?
To make 4 LARGE salads (although low calorie), you will need the following ingredients:
- 4 cups of shelled edamame
- 2-3 carrots
- 1 medium purple cabbage
- 1 bunch of spring onion
- 1 broccoli head
- 1 bunch of fresh coriander
- ½ cup of chia seeds
- 1 cup of uncooked rice
- Sesame oil (for salad dressing)
- Soy sauce (for salad dressing)
- Maple syrup, or syrup of choice (for salad dressing)
- White vinegar (for salad dressing)
Honestly these salads are quite huge. I make them this big to ensure I'm getting enough calories. You might want to make ½ to ⅔ of this size to begin with. It can be challenging to finish if you aren't used to eating such large salads.
The Salad Dressing. You can't have this edamame salad without the salad dressing
Promise me you won't eat this salad without the salad dressing! It honestly makes it. Its the best edamame salad dressing! Its a simple salad dressing with simple ingredients. For 1 person use the following:
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon of white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of maple syrup
To make large quantities of this salad dressing:
- 1 part white vinegar
- 1 part soy sauce
- 1 part maple syrup
- ⅓ part sesame oil
Salad Dressing Substitutes
Maple Syrup
This recipe calls for maple syrup in the salad dressing. However you can use any type of sweetener here. You can use agave, sugar free maple syrup, or honey if you aren't vegan. I have used maple syrup, agave, and sugar free maple syrup before. All three are good options!
Soy Sauce
You can make this salad gluten free by swapping out the soy sauce for tamari sauce
Did you like this edamame recipe?
If you liked this edamame recipe then why not check out some of my other edamame recipes?
Like this creamy edamame pasta recipe or this asian inspired edamame noodle salad?
Edamame Salad Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup shelled edamame I use frozen
- ¾ cup cooked brown rice
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ carrot shredded
- ¼ purple cabbage shredded
- ¼ cup spring onion finely diced
- ¼ small broccoli
- ¼ cup coriander leaves
Salad Dressing
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup / agave can be substituted for honey or any sugar free liquid sweetener
Instructions
- Cook rice in the rice cooker or on a stove top
- Remove edamame from the freezer. Add edamame to a sieve and run warm water over the edamame until its no longer frozen. This should only take a few minutes. Drain edamame and let dry
- Chop the broccoli into small florets and add to a bowl. Pour boiling water over the broccoli and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Prepare other salad ingredients whilst waiting. Once done, drain the broccoli and add to the salad bowl.
- Shred the carrot and cabbage. Use a food processor if you have one
- Remove the stem from the coriander leaves
- Finely dice the spring onion
- Add the cooked rice to a bowl. Sprinkle the chia seeds and stir through
- Add all salad ingredients to the bowl
- Drizzle salad dressing and serve!
Salad Dressing
- Add sesame oil, white vinegar, soy sauce, and maple syrup to a jar or bowl. Shake / mix
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