Chili Roasted Sweet Potato + Black Bean Quinoa Salad (with VIdeo)
So you guys….are you feeling the Cinco de Mayo vibes or what? I’m on a major Mexican/Southwestern kick and it’s not stopping until Tuesday. Last week it was the round-up, today it’s this sweet potato + black bean quinoa salad and Tuesday is going to be Margarita Green Smoothies.
So pretty please just indulge me…if only for the next few days!
Today though? It’s all about this salad. With chili roasted sweet potatoes, earthy black beans, nutty quinoa, crunchy lettuce and a creamy avocado-cilantro dressing, it’s got everything you need to make salad the star of your meal.
Personally, I’m a big fan of making salads for dinner. I think it’s fun to change things up; swap in different ingredients, add a variety of protein sources and just go a little wild. Salads are one of those meals you can really play around with.
But what I love most about salad is that it’s simple. It’s not fussy. It’s not overly complicated. It’s just veggies on top of veggies on top of veggies, sometimes drizzled in an ultra creamy and decadent sauce.
Yeah, sounds like my kind of meal.
Sticking true to salads’ roots, I wanted to make sure this black bean quinoa salad was super simple. The only cooking involved is the sweet potatoes and really that’s just peeling, chopping, tossing in some spices and letting them roast away.
Everything else just get’s mixed together at the end.
(well…the dressing is made in the blender, but that only takes like a few seconds)
chili roasted sweet potato and black bean quinoa salad
Dinner in 30 minutes? I’ll take it. Any day of the week.
And what I love about recipes like this sweet potato + black bean quinoa salad is…MEAL PREP! Yep, you can totally meal prep this salad and have it for a healthy lunch all week long. All you gotta do is store your lettuce and quinoa mixture together, the top with the dressing day of!
Simple, nutritious and waaaay better than take-out!
Chili Roasted Sweet Potato + Black Bean Quinoa Salad
This amazing Chili-Roasted Sweet Potato + Black Bean Quinoa Salad is the PERFECT lunch or dinner. Packed with fiber, protein and flavor you're going to LOVE it!
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Keyword: black bean, healthy salad, sweet potato
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 539 kcal
Author: Alyssa
Ingredients
for the salad:
1 large sweet potato
1 15 oz can black beans
3 cups cooked quinoa made from 1 cup dry
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 teaspoons chili powder
Juice of 1 lime
Salt + pepper
Lettuce / greens to serve
1 batch Cilantro-Avocado Dressing
for the dressing:
1 avocado
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup cilantro
1/2 - 3/4 cup water
Juice of 2 limes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon cayenne optional
Salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Peel and chop the sweet potato in small, bite-sized pieces. Melt the coconut oil and drizzle it over the sweet potatoes. Toss to coat. Add in chili powder and sprinkle with salt and pepper, tossing to combine.
3. Roast sweet potatoes for 20 - 25 minutes until tender, stirring half way through so as not to burn them.
4. While sweet potatoes are cooking, rinse and drain the black beans. Add them to a large bowl along with quinoa. Set aside.
5. Add all dressing ingredients to a blender (starting with less water and adding more as needed). Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add enough water to make it drizzable.
6. Once sweet potatoes are done roasting, let them cool for 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with black beans and quinoa. Squeeze lime juice over the top and stir to combine.
7. Arrange lettuce in 4 bowls Top with sweet potato-black bean mixture and drizzle with dressing. Enjoy as is or toss everything together in the bowls (I did this and it was yum!).
Source: https://www.simplyquinoa.com/chili-roasted-sweet-potato-black-bean-quinoa-salad/?fbclid=IwAR0UQxN8sSMVgLITcqJdnALAzHH8UCKxsDYo9jTCo--KDLW1rCQvZb-fU5I
