Allergic to peanuts? You can sub sunflower seed butter, almond butter, or cashew butter. Or, just leave it off. The salad is still delicious without it, though you may want to add a bit of extra sweet chile sauce to your quinoa.

Gluten free? Be sure to use gluten free tamari or coconut aminos in place of the soy sauce.

Let’s Talk Coconut Milk. To keep the coconut sauce from being too thick, I used So Delicious coconut milk (found in cartons in the refrigerated section). It’s got all that lovely coconut flavor while still being easy to pour and a bit lighter. I love it for sauces or smoothies (like this one). If you use canned, I recommend going with the “light” kind (one of the only times you’ll hear me say that!).

Mix It, Blend It. Especially if you’re using a natural peanut or nut butter for the drizzle, you may find it doesn’t blend right away. Don’t panic! That’s just because it doesn’t have “extras” in it that stabilize it. You can just keep whisking, warm it a bit in the microwave to help it along, or just toss your peanut drizzle ingredients in a blender or use an immersion blender to get the job done. Your choice!