This tasty Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad is easy to make with just 5 simple ingredients! Perfect for lunch or dinner, this healthy salad is both vegan and gluten-free, making it a great option for all types of eaters.
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Why you will love this recipe
- Easy Recipe: This sweet potato and quinoa bowl comes together easily with just a handful of ingredients!
- Nutritious: This quinoa salad with sweet potatoes is full of vitamins and minerals! Plus quinoa contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source!
- Make-Ahead: This recipe for quinoa salad with sweet potatoes is perfect for making ahead of time for a quick and easy lunch or dinner.
For more quinoa recipes, check out this Curry Quinoa, Quinoa Veggie Bowl, Quinoa Breakfast Bowl, and Black Bean Quinoa Soup next.
Or for more easy vegan lunch ideas try my Easy Avocado Sandwich, Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad, Spiralized Cucumber Strawberry Noodle Salad, and Rice and Veggies next.
Ingredients
Here's a closer look at the five ingredients you need to make this simple salad. Check the recipe card at the end of the page for the full list and quantities of each one.
- Quinoa: I used tri-color quinoa, but feel free to use any color - white, black, or red.
- Sweet Potato: I used a regular orange sweet potato, but you can use any variety of sweet potato such as white or purple.
- Fresh Spinach: You can use baby kale instead for a kale sweet potato quinoa salad.
- Olive Oil: Be sure to use high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Hummus: I used garlic hummus, but feel free to use any flavor you’d like such as roasted red pepper or lemon. You can use your favorite store-bought brand or make your own.
- Water: This is used to thin out the hummus and make it into a dressing.
Variations
- Dressing: For a sweeter dressing, add a teaspoon of maple syrup to the hummus and water mixture. You can also replace the hummus dressing with tahini sauce or a simple drizzle of olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, and some salt and pepper.
- Toppings: Top this quinoa sweet potato salad with some vegan feta, dried cranberries or cherries, pumpkin or sunflower seeds, chopped nuts, or avocado.
- More Protein: Give your sweet potato quinoa bowl a protein boost by adding some chickpeas, black beans, or tofu.
How to Make This Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad
Preheat your oven to 420° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Step 1: Cook the quinoa according to package directions.
Step 2: Spread out the chopped sweet potato in an even layer on a prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bake the sweet potatoes for 35-40 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Step 3: Drizzle the spinach with olive oil and massage until the leaves are coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Scoop the hummus into a small bowl and thin it with water until the desired consistency is achieved.
Step 5: Add the quinoa to the top of the spinach.
Step 6: Add the sweet potatoes and drizzle the garlic hummus dressing over top.
Expert Tips
- Meal Prep: Cook the quinoa and sweet potatoes ahead of time and then assemble everything when you’re ready to serve. Be sure not to put the dressing on the salad until you are just about to eat it.
- Serving: This salad is great for lunch or dinner on its own or paired with a sandwich such as this Chickpea Tuna Salad Sandwich or this Avocado Tomato Sandwich.
- Storing: Store the salad separately from the dressing in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Recipe FAQs
It’s not necessary to soak quinoa, but it is said to help improve digestion. If you choose to soak your quinoa, rinse it first and then soak it in water overnight. Then drain and rinse again before cooking.
You don’t have to rinse the quinoa, but doing so helps to remove its naturally bitter flavor. Use a fine-mesh strainer and rinse the quinoa under cold water for best results.
If you’re not a fan of quinoa, you can try using couscous, bulgur, brown rice, or farro instead.
Feel free to use regular potatoes if you prefer or try butternut squash instead.
More Vegan Salad Recipes
Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad
Equipment
- Mesh strainer
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup quinoa (rinsed + cooked according to package)
- 1 medium sweet potato (washed and peeled)
- 2-3 cups spinach or baby kale
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 2 tablespoons garlic hummus
- water (to thin the hummus)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 420° F.
- Rinse quinoa and cook quinoa according to package directions. A ½ cup dry quinoa makes about 1 cup cooked quinoa.
- Wash, peel and chop the sweet potato trying to keep them all about the same size so they cook evenly.
- Place the chopped sweet potato on a baking sheet pan lined with parchment paper and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Bake at 420° F for 35-40 minutes flipping half way through.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on the spinach and massage until leaves are coated, add salt and pepper to taste. Finely chop the spinach if desired, not necessary but it makes it a little easier to eat.
- Scoop hummus into a small bowl and thin with water until desired consistency.
- Assemble bowl with spinach and then layer on the cooked quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, and drizzle the garlic hummus dressing on top.
- Serve immediately.
Natalie | Feasting on Fruit
This is the sort of bowl that I could eat for dinner every night and never tire of. Simple and with sweet potatoes involved, of course I'm going to love it! Your stove-top sweet potatoes look beautifully crispy and brown, I need to try that. Did you use oil, or just a non-stick pan? Creamy and tangy dressing #1 for me please 🙂
tworaspberries
RIGHT! me too! wait... I do eat this or some kind of combo like this for dinner a lot! 😉 lol and YES stove top potatoes is so easy and YUM, it's a more firm texture than baking them... I just use a non-stick pan no oil but you could always use cooking spray if you needed because some people only use the stainless steel pans... so spray should work well! 😉