Healthy and fresh, this Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad makes a delicious and hearty side dish. You could even easily eat this as a filling meatless main dish! Roasted sweet potatoes are combined with quinoa and vegetables and then coated with a light, easy, citrus and cilantro dressing.
Want more ways to change up your side dish? Try this Korean Cucumber Salad or this Red Cabbage Salad.
Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
I have a thing for sweet potatoes. My kids like the play the game of “what’s your favorite.” They will ask:
What’s your favorite food for dinner?
What’s your favorite candy bar?
What’s your favorite color?
What’s your favorite game?
Many of these questions get asked over and over again, so really, they already know most of the answers. One of those questions that comes up regularly is – What is your favorite vegetable?
Every time, my answer will be sweet potatoes.
Earlier this summer, I needed a salad recipe to take to a family reunion. I wanted to bring a couple, and somehow, I ended up with two different sweet potato salads. (I also made this Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon.)
I don’t make a ton of recipes with quinoa, since my husband isn’t the biggest fan. But since I was taking it to a family gathering, I knew it would actually get eaten. I loved this salad – loved its simplicity. And I really didn’t have plans to blog about it, but when I ate some of the leftovers the next day and couldn’t get it out of my head, I knew I had to share.
How to roast sweet potatoes
Roasting sweet potatoes is so easy, and brings out the great flavor of the sweet potatoes.
You start by heating up the oven to 425ºF. You want the oven hot so that the outside of the potatoes becomes a bit crispy while the insides become soft and creamy.
For this roasted sweet potato salad, I cut the peeled sweet potatoes into fairly small cubes, about 1/2″ in diameter. If you are roasting the potatoes to eat on their own, you can cut them bigger, but for this salad, I like the smaller dice. That way, when you take a bite, you can get lots of different goodies in one bite.
You’ll need to coat the sweet potatoes with extra virgin olive oil, next. It doesn’t take a ton, but 1 tablespoon should work just fine. I like to spread the potatoes on a baking sheet and mix the olive oil with the potatoes right on the baking sheet. This makes less dishes to clean later, and also spreads some of that oil to the baking sheet so that the sweet potatoes don’t stick. You’ll also want to season the sweet potatoes with salt and pepper to bring out even more flavor.
The last step is to roast the potatoes in the oven. You will know that they are finished when the edges are brown and toasted but the centers of the potatoes are soft and creamy.
How to make a Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
This salad recipe is as easy as roasting your potatoes, cooking your quinoa, chopping some vegetables and making a simple dressing.
The citrus and cilantro dressing is easiest to make if you do it in a mini food processor or a blender. I use my Blendtec twister jar and it works perfectly. If you don’t have a blender or food processor, you can vigorously shake the ingredients together in a jar. Your cilantro won’t be blended into the dressing, but it will still be delicious! You will want to make sure you taste the dressing and season with salt and pepper, as the seasoning can make or bread the dressing.
More Quinoa Recipes
Greek Quinoa Salad
Quinoa, Chicken and Black Bean Burritos with Chipotle Guacamole
Southwestern Shrimp Quinoa Recipe
Quinoa Crusted Chicken with Skinny Honey Mustard
Tomato and Black Bean Quinoa Salad
LOOKING FOR MORE FREE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free recipe newsletter to get new family friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more family-friendly inspiration on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Quinoa and Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
- 1 lb sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup quinoa rinsed
- 1 cup chopped broccoli
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 cup peeled seeded and chopped cucumber
Dressing:
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and dice into 1/2-inch cubes. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with the 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast the potatoes until they are soft and slightly crisp on the outsides, about 20 minutes.
- In a saucepan, combine the water and the quinoa. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, 15-20 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the roasted potatoes, cooked quinoa, broccoli, yellow and red peppers, and cucumbers. Stir to combine.
- Combine the olive oil, honey, lemon juice, lime juice, and cilantro in a mini food processor or a blender. Blend until combined. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the sweet potato and quinoa mixture, then stir to coat with the dressing.
- Serve the salad warm or cold.
Leave a Comment...