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sweet potato and quinoa salad with nuts, cheese, beets.
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5 from 4 votes

Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad With Maple Balsamic Dressing

Sweet potato quinoa salad is a delicious hearty salad with wonderful taste, texture and color contrasts topped with a rich maple balsamic dressing.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Salad
Cuisine: American
Diet: Vegetarian
Servings (change as needed): 6

Ingredients

Roasted sweet potatoes

  • 2 sweet potatoes or yams
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Quinoa

  • 1 cup Quinoa, rinsed
  • 1 2/3 cup water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Maple-Balsamic Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 6 tablespoon oil (canola or olive)
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Salad

  • 3 cup greens (baby spinach, spring lettuce, Mesclun)
  • 2 ounces goat cheese (60 grams or 1/4 cup crumbled)

Garnish options

  • roasted or candied nuts, seeds, dried cranberries; and/or roasted beets cut in cubes or slivers

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425F/218C. Prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil for easy cleanup.
  • MAKE THE ROASTED SWEET POTATOES: Pierce sweet potatoes with a knife. Microwave for 3 minutes. Stand up each yam on a cutting board, peel with a knife, then cut into 1/2 inch/1.3 cm cubes. Place on a prepared sheet pan. Drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with brown sugar and salt. Roast, stirring half way through for 15-20 minutes or until soft and lightly browned. Set aside. Note 1 for shortcut.
  • MAKE THE QUINOA: Place the rinsed quinoa in a medium pot with the water and salt. Bring to a boil. Set heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork. Cool.
  • MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small bowl, whisk together the first 5 dressing ingredients. Slowly add the oil while whisking until smoothly blended. Add salt and pepper to taste (about 1/4 teaspoon salt should be about right).
  • BUILD THE SALAD: (on individual salad plates or on one larger shallow bowl): Spread about 1/2 cup/14 grams per person of quinoa on the bottom. Drizzle a little dressing on the quinoa. Add a layer of greens. Sprinkle on crumbled goat cheese. Add the garnishes you are using. Drizzle more of the maple-balsamic dressing over the salad - you may not need it all.

Notes

  1. Shortcut for sweet potatoes: Instead of roasting them, pierce with a sharp knife, microwave until soft (4-5 minutes depending on size). Peel, cut into small cubes, drizzle with 1-2 tsp oil, sprinkle on sugar (or maple syrup) and salt. Toss. 
  2. Variations/Substitutes
    • Quinoa: Substitute with couscous or a nutty, chewy farro. 
    • Cheese: Try feta (stronger) or ricotta (milder) if you prefer. 
    • Nuts: Options are cashews, toasted walnuts, pecans or pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or any other nut. Even candied nuts.
    • Add-ins: Cranberries, dried apricots, raisins, roasted beets, cherry tomatoes and mango. 
  3. Make Ahead: Make all components ahead. When ready to serve, assemble and drizzle final dressing just before serving. 
 
Nutrition values are estimates and do not include garnishes like nuts and dried fruit.
Calories: 357kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 388mg | Potassium: 467mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 11017IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg