This Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Salad is a healthy and filling quinoa salad with cumin-roasted sweet potatoes and quick oil and lime vinaigrette. Perfect as a side dish or a healthy lunch!
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Why You'll Love This Salad
I am currently obsessed with quinoa salads. I have a batch of cooked quinoa in my fridge at all times and use it in meatless tacos, enchiladas, and salads. It's a healthy protein source and combined with beans and vegetables makes for a delicious and filling dish.
This Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Salad is a family favorite right now! It's simple to make and I can store it in individual containers for a healthy lunch throughout the week or as a side dish to grilled chicken. It's wonderful in lettuce cups or tossed with chopped kale too!
Ingredients:
- sweet potatoes - The star of this recipe! I cut the potatoes into chunks, toss them with oil and spices, and roast them.
- quinoa - You can use my recipe for cooking quinoa in the Instant Pot (it takes only 1 minute of cooking time!!) or make it on the stove.
- black beans - You will need one can or 1 and ½ cups of home-cooked beans.
- whole kernel corn - You will need one can. Drain the water and rinse the corn before adding to the salad. Fresh is great too and can be roasted along with the potatoes! I do not like frozen and thawed-out corn in this salad
- onion - I prefer red onion for salads. You can use sweet or yellow, whatever you prefer.
- olive oil - It's a base for the dressing. Use avocado oil, if you prefer.
- lime juice - Freshly squeezed juice is best here.
- spices - cumin, paprika, salt, pepper
- garlic - I prefer fresh, minced garlic. Use garlic powder if you are in a pinch.
- Tajin seasoning - This ingredient is not necessary but definitely recommended. It is made with ground dried chile peppers, dehydrated lime, and sea salt.
How to make roasted sweet potato quinoa salad?
This healthy and filling salad is very easy to make. It's perfect for meal prep lunch or dinners, when you want something filling but healthy. Here is how to make it:
- Start with roasting sweet potatoes seasoned with salt, pepper, and cumin. They will have a delicious Mexican flair!
- Add one can of rinsed and drained black beans, one can of drained whole kernel corn, chopped red onion, and 2 cups of cooked quinoa.
- The dressing is as simple as the salad! Whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, paprika, and Tajin seasoning. Pour over salad and toss together.
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How to roast sweet potatoes for this salad?
Roasting sweet potatoes for a salad or as a simple side dish to your meal prep dishes is very easy. Simply peel potatoes and cut them into cubes, no bigger than ½". Place on parchment paper lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and ground cumin. Roast at 400 degrees F for 20 to 23 minutes. Use right away or cool and add to your salad. You can also store them in a container with a lid in the fridge for up to 4 days.
The dressing:
I have plenty of salad recipes with creamy dressings, either mayo-based or healthier with sour cream. For this sweet potato salad, I decided to use a simple olive oil vinaigrette that perfectly complements the potatoes, beans, and quinoa. Mix 4 to 5 tablespoons of olive oil with lime juice, salt, cumin, paprika, minced garlic, and tajin seasoning. The last one is optional but I love it in this dressing and even add a little more sprinkled over each serving.
Helpful Tips!
- I love this salad with slightly warm quinoa and warm roasted potatoes but it is absolutely delicious chilled in the fridge and can be divided into serving containers.
- If using fresh corn, add it to roasting potatoes. It will give it an even more delicious flavor.
- If you don't like raw red onion, skip it. Use a sweet one, if you prefer.
- To make the salad ahead, you can keep the dressing separate in a bottle and toss it with all the ingredients before serving.
More salad recipes:
If you like this recipe and make it, let me know in the comments below! Don't forget to rate it if you enjoyed it!
Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Salad recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 15 oz. can black beans rinsed and drained
- 15 oz. can whole kernel corn rinsed and drained
- 1 small red onion chopped
for the dressing:
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper or chili powder
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon Tajin seasoning optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peel sweet potatoes. Slice into ½" thick disk and cut each into 4 or 6 pieces.1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes
- Drizzle olive oil over potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and cumin. Toss gently to coat.2 tablespoons olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- Roast for 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
- In a large salad bowl, combine corn, black beans, chopped red onion, quinoa and potatoes.2 cups cooked quinoa, 15 oz. can black beans, 15 oz. can whole kernel corn, 1 small red onion
- In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together all the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad and gently toss.4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons lime juice, ¼ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon ground paprika, ¼ teaspoon black pepper or chili powder, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, ½ teaspoon Tajin seasoning
- Serve right away or cover with saran wrap and store in fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- Tajin seasoning is optional but worth trying. You can also sprinkle it over each serving. It is a seasoning made with ground chile peppers, salt and dehydrated lime juice.
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
Tamra says
I would love to know how to make this recipe oil-free
Rebecca Payne says
When I first made the dressing I thought -- hhmm this tastes a lot like Indian spices. But it grew on me as we sat down to eat the salad; I found myself wanting more and more of it. Probably won't make again though. But I do love the idea of sweet potato, quinoa, corn, black beans combination.
Mary P says
Just made and enjoyed this recipe…Very Good! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for creating and sharing this!
Liz says
Absolutely delicious! Made it for a large group and received a lot of compliments. Would be great to add cilantro or kale for a bit of green!
janet says
What is the green in the pic? Cilantro?
VaShanne says
How much is 1 serving?
Julie says
This was delicious! I made this exactly as directed along with some margarita grilled chicken and my husband and I loved it. I think the tajin definitely makes a difference and is worth purchasing for this recipe.
Elizabeth M. says
Can this be made as meal prep? I’m curious how well the dressing would last in the fridge for a few days, I’d like to make this for my lunches for work.
Sav says
Delicious! I made it with chickpeas since that's all I had on hand. I also used your instant pot recipe for the quinoa which is a game changer with the fast cooking time.
Is the leafy green-looking stuff in the picture parsley or cilantro? It's not mentioned in the recipe anywhere.
Anna says
Yay! That's fantastic! I'm so glad the quinoa recipe worked too! Thank you so much, Sav!
K. Hart says
I have not tried this recipe yet, but I just wanted to say that I really appreciate how you formatted the instructions. Usually I often have to scroll back and forth between the instructions and the ingredients list to remind myself of how much of an ingredient the recipe asked for. Having the ingredients listed right under the relevant instructions is simply ingenious and so very helpful. Thank you!
Anna says
I'm so glad the feature is helpful! Thank you so much!
Kim C says
Delicious ! I think I will add more sweet potato next time, but I love this recipe! It’s going to be my lunches this week… in a tortilla, on a salad and maybe on its own. Lol! Thank you!
Anna says
So many options! Love it! Thank you so much, Kim!
Kandy says
Made it and it was delicious! I added red pepper and avocado as well which gave it a little extra color and creaminess. Great reviews from the family!!
Tara says
Made this for dinner tonight - it was great! I didn't have the 'small' red onion, only a larger one so I used about 3/4 of it and it was too much onion. Other than that-the recipe was perfect. Thank you!
Anna says
Thank you so much, Tara!
Lorraine Swanson-Hoyle says
yes made for a function and people loved it, I added a packet of brown rice and Quinoa mix as thats what i had. and I had a bit of red capsicum so added too we had this with Sweet chilli Chicken tenders and spinach wraps
was delicious.
Anna says
Sounds delicious! Thank you so much, Lorraine!
Kimberly A Floyd says
I rarely comment about recipes I try, but I gotta say that this is OMG delicious! I substituted smoked paprika and chili powder instead of the cumin to bake the sweet potatoes and I also threw the corn (I used frozen) onto the pan for the last ten minutes. Also added 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika to.the dressing! I'll be making this often! Thank you!
Lisa A Cooper says
Delicious.
Anna says
Thank you, Lisa!