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    Home - Recipes - Salads

    Gado Gado

    Jun 5, 2020 · Modified: Aug 11, 2022 by Courtney · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

    1273 shares
    Jump to Recipe

    Gado gado is an Indonesian salad of vegetables, boiled eggs and tofu all served up with a brightly flavoured peanut sauce.  On the table in 30 minutes, it makes for an easy and healthy dinner or meal prep for healthy lunches throughout your week.

    a top down view of gado gado salad

    I am an absolute sucker for a good hearty salad, and this gado gado is the kind of thing my salad dreams are made of. Don't get me wrong, I also enjoy a nice bowl of delicate leafy greens, but there is something about a salad filled with protein and denser vegetables that really screams healthy meal to me.

    What is Gado Gado?

    Gado Gado translates to 'mix-mix' in Indonesian, and traditionally the dish is composed of a rich mixture of boiled or steamed vegetables and proteins such as tofu and eggs. The components vary by region, but the main highlight of the dish is brightly flavoured peanut sauce that the ingredients are tossed in - a beautiful blend of savoury, slightly sweet and slightly spicy.

    Versatile, easy, and flavourful

    We love this salad for either lunch or dinner, and it is an excellent way to use up leftover vegetables from the week - just add a boiled egg and tofu to whatever vegetables you have in your fridge and top with the sauce. If you are looking a healthy meal prep lunch for the week - this salad is a your friend. Simply whip up a batch of the peanut sauce, chop up some veggies and your ready to go.

    And let’s just talk about this sauce for a minute because this sauce is EVERYTHING! It's creamy, with a perfect blend of flavours: peanut, lime, heat and the right balance of sweetness and saltiness. This sauce is a winner, and you are going to want to put it on everything!

    Don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients - I like a lot of variety in my salads, so I love to throw as many vegetables in them as possible, but you truly can use whatever you want, or whatever you have on hand. As for the sauce, if you do any southeast Asian cooking at home, you probably have most of this on hand already, but if you don’t it’s just a matter of purchasing them and throwing them all in the blender. It may seem like a bit of investment for one salad, but trust me, you are going to make this one again!

    How to Make Gado Gado:

    Boil a medium pot of water for the eggs, and heat your oven to 400 F.

    Cube the tofu into half inch sized cubes and spread out on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes. The tofu will be crisper and denser when fully cooked.

    When the water is boiling, place the eggs in one at a time using a spoon. Dip the eggs in and out of the water a couple of times so they can adjust to the boiling temperature without cracking.

    Lowering eggs into a pot of boiling water with a spoon.

    Boil the eggs for 6 minutes and remove from the boiling water. Rinse under cold water then set aside to cool.

    Blend up the sauce ingredients until smooth.

    Divide the vegetables amongst plate, then top with tofu and a peeled egg. Drizzle sauce over the salads, and serve.

    A side view of a bowl of gado gado.

    Dietary Considerations

    I used fish sauce in the dressing because I like the depth of flavour it gives, but it's not necessary to the dish. Feel free to leave it out if you are vegetarian or vegan.

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    MORE SALAD RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE

    If you like this recipe for gado gado, you might want to check out some of our other awesome healthy salad recipes:

    • Fattoush Salad with Chickpeas
    • Rainbow Thai Noodle Salad
    • Vietnamese Shrimp Salad
    • Mexican Black Bean and Corn Salad

    If you have made this recipe we’d love to see it! Tag us on Insta @loveandgoodstuff.
    Loved this? Don’t forget to rate it below!

    a top down view of a bowl of gado gado.
    Print Recipe
    5 from 9 votes

    Gado Gado

    an Indonesian salad of raw vegetables, tofu and boiled egg with a slightly sweet and spicy peanut dressing
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time20 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Salad
    Cuisine: Asian
    Diet: Vegetarian
    Servings: 4 servings
    Calories: 508kcal
    Author: Courtney
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Ingredients:

    Salad

    • 14 oz firm tofu
    • 4 large eggs
    • 1 cup shredded cabbage
    • 1 apple - sliced
    • 2 ripe tomatoes - quartered
    • 4 radishes - sliced
    • ½ cucumber - sliced
    • 2 cups bean sprouts
    • 1 handful Fresh cilantro - chopped

    Sauce

    • 1 clove garlic
    • ½ cup natural peanut butter
    • 1-2 bird's eye chili, seeds removed - (or 1-2 tablespoon sambal oelek or red chili paste)
    • 3 Tablespoons lime juice
    • 2 teaspoon fish sauce - (omit if vegetarian)
    • 1 Tablespoon soy sauce
    • ½ cup coconut milk
    • 2 Tablespoons kejap manis - ** If you don't have this increase the soy sauce to 2 tablespoon and add a tablespoon or 2 of a liquid sweetener like maple syrup or honey

    Instructions

    • Boil a medium pot of water for the eggs, and heat your oven to 400℉.
    • Cube the tofu into cubes and spread out on a baking tray. Bake for 15-20 minutes. The tofu will be crisper and denser when fully cooked.
    • When the water is boiling, place the eggs in one at a time using a spoon. Dip the eggs in and out of the water a couple of times so they can adjust to the boiling temperature without cracking. Boil the eggs for 6 minutes and remove from the boiling water. Rinse under cold water then set aside to cool.
    • Blend up the sauce ingredients until smooth.
    • Divide the vegetables amongst plate, then top with tofu and a peeled egg. Drizzle sauce over the salads, and serve.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 508kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 27gFat: 32gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 890mgPotassium: 778mgFiber: 7gSugar: 21gVitamin A: 1043IUVitamin C: 46mgCalcium: 207mgIron: 5mg

    * nutritional information is calculated by online tools and may not be 100% accurate.

    Tried this recipe?Mention @loveandgoodstuff or tag #loveandgoodstuff!

    ** originally published Apr 26 2018. Updated to add new photos and information.

    « Thai Fish Cakes
    Cajun Shrimp Pasta »

    About Courtney

    I'm Courtney and I love great food!

    Creating delicious meals, photographing them, and sharing them with friends and family are some of my favourite joys ❤️
    More about Love & Good Stuff

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sues says

      April 26, 2018 at 11:45 pm

      I had never heard of gado gado, but I love everything in this salad! And yesss that sauce is everything!

      Reply
      • Courtney says

        April 26, 2018 at 11:53 pm

        I had never heard of it before either until recently, but now I'm pretty obsessed !

        Reply
    2. Sonal says

      April 27, 2018 at 12:58 am

      I love love love this Salad! The dressing is such thatvuou get hooked on to it! Thanks for reminding. Will be making ago soon.

      Reply
    3. camila hurst says

      April 27, 2018 at 1:12 am

      This sauce sounds wonderful! I love peanut sauce!! It's the best! Great colors in this dish!

      Reply
    4. Juli says

      April 27, 2018 at 1:40 am

      I LOVE a good savory peanut sauce. I can't wait to try it with tamarind and Indonesian soy sauce.

      Reply
    5. Danielle says

      April 27, 2018 at 2:15 am

      I am so loving all the flavors in this! I have never heard of gado gado, but it's totally right up my alley!

      Reply
    6. Shashi at SavorySpin says

      April 27, 2018 at 2:44 am

      This is my first time hearing of "Gado Gado" and boy o boy am I fascinated! Loving all the textures in this - and the intermingling flavors! YUM!

      Reply
    7. James Bibby says

      May 05, 2018 at 1:36 pm

      This is one of my favourite new meals... so healthy, so tasty and totally guilt free!

      Reply
    8. Alex says

      June 06, 2020 at 11:45 pm

      I would be happy to enjoy this anytime - the flavours are superb!

      Reply
      • Courtney says

        June 08, 2020 at 8:51 pm

        It's such a great salad, I hope you get a chance to!

        Reply

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