This Quinoa Salad Recipe is our new favorite! Roasted sweet potato, sweet red bell pepper, and black beans atop a bed of spinach and cooked quinoa with roasted pumpkin seeds and crumbly soft cheese. Add the show-stopping basil-lime vinaigrette and we’re ready to eat!
It’s no secret I love quinoa salads, try my original (and beloved) Quinoa Salad that features boundless fresh veggies or this Kale Quinoa Salad with lots of hearty greens next.
Or browse through our extensive tested and perfected quinoa salad recipes archive here.
Quinoa Salad Recipe
It’s been a minute since we’ve shared a quinoa recipe, and all I can say is the absence will be surely made up with this one! This salad hits all the right notes with flavors and textures, plus it’s a nutritional powerhouse of a recipe! It’s loaded with vitamins and minerals while being packed with plant-based protein (thanks to the quinoa and black beans).
The basil-lime vinaigrette is nothing short of addicting (fair warning — you may want to dredge everything in it) and the roasted veggies are perfectly caramelized to sweet perfection. Pop on those finishing touches of salty pumpkin seeds and creamy soft cheese and we’re in business here.
Is A Quinoa Salad Good For You?
Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is a seed that is cooked like a grain. It’s vegetarian and is also a complete protein. That means it contains all the necessary amino acids to make it a ‘whole’ protein just like meat.
What Can I Add To Quinoa To Bump Up the Flavor?
Add some salt: One of the biggest mistakes with making quinoa is not seasoning it. Just like pasta or rice, quinoa needs salt! Beyond that, you don’t want to add too many other flavorings as that will compete with the other flavors in this recipe.
Basil-Lime Vinaigrette
This vinaigrette is light, fresh, healthy, and tangy — the perfect finishing touch to this Quinoa Salad Recipe. Here are a few tips:
- If you happen to have fresh basil, perfect! If not, one standard .75-ounce packet is the perfect amount for this recipe!
- If you prefer your dressings more on the sweet side, increase the honey. As written, this is more of a tangy and acidic dressing.
- Dress to your preference. Add the dressing slowly and to your personal preference. You likely won’t want the entire batch of dressing on this salad, but then again, you just might want it all! I’d rather you have more than not enough. Leftover dressing stores nicely for up to a week in an airtight container in the fridge. Use leftover dressing over roasted vegetables, quick side salads, or raw garden veggies.
Quick Tip
Leftover dressing will separate and solidify a bit– which is completely normal– since olive oil solidifies at cold temperatures. Simply let the dressing stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes and then shake to re-combine– and it’s ready to use! If you don’t want extra dressing (and prefer a minimally dressed salad) feel free to halve the dressing — it divides nicely!
What Is A Quinoa Salad Made Of?
This Quinoa Salad Recipe combines roasted sweet potatoes, sweet red bell pepper, and black beans with a spinach and quinoa base. We top it with roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and creamy goat (or feta) cheese.
A few ingredient notes and tips:
- For the sweet potatoes to roast in the time indicated in the recipe, be sure to cut them into small, 1/2-inch cubes. This also makes them mix in easier and be more enjoyable in the salad! To see how I cube sweet potatoes, check out this roasted sweet potatoes recipe for step-by-step photos.
- Spinach. I recommend baby spinach for this salad and highly recommend giving it a coarse chop — the chop makes it integrate with everything much better and eating it is much more enjoyable.
- Black beans. We add a can of rinsed, drained, and dried beans into this salad, but if you’d like to level up the flavor even more, try our favorite from-scratch Black Beans.
Quick Tip
The more space the veggies have (the less crowded they are) the better they roast. When vegetables are overlapping on a sheet pan, they end up steaming instead of roasting. This will make them softer/mushier in the salad. I recommend using a 15 x 21-inch sheet pan and making sure the veggies have plenty of space to roast.
Make The Quinoa Ahead Of Time
We eat quinoa salad recipes a lot at my home– especially in the summer with some grilled steak, chicken, or salmon. My number one tip is to prepare the quinoa ahead of time. With cooked and cooled quinoa ready to toss in the salad, the overall prep is so much quicker. Waiting for quinoa to fully cook, steam, and cool isn’t difficult but can be time-consuming.
Quick Tip
When I prep for the week I’ll typically make up huge batches of both quinoa and rice to store in the fridge and use in recipes throughout the week — such a game changer!
That said, if you’re making the quinoa at the same time you’re making the salad, here’s how to speed up the process for quinoa cooling: Spread the cooked and fluffed quinoa on a sheet pan in one even layer. Place the sheet pan in the fridge (or freezer) for 10-15 minutes or until cooled to room temperature.
Variations
Quinoa Salad Recipe Variation Ideas
- Add some meat. This salad is vegetarian by default, but feel free to grill some chicken or grilled flank steak (thinly sliced) to serve on the side or to chop and mix into the salad. (It’s not necessary to add meat to the salad; it’s actually a pretty macronutrient-balanced salad with protein in the quinoa, carbohydrates in the sweet potatoes, and healthy fats in the cheese.)
- Add other toppings. There are so many great options for adding to this Quinoa Salad Recipe! Replace toppings or add extras from this list: roasted pistachios, shelled sunflower seeds, sliced honey-roasted almonds, feta cheese, a ripe diced avocado
Storage
Quinoa Salad Recipe Storage
- This salad doesn’t sit very well with the dressing mixed into it. If you aren’t planning on eating the whole salad in one sitting, toss only what you’ll eat on day one with the dressing. If you keep the dressing separate, this quinoa salad can last in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Here’s how I store this salad to eat throughout the week:
- Prepare the salad as the recipe indicates but don’t add the dressing, cheese, or pumpkin seeds.
- Separate the salad evenly into three or four containers, keeping the prepared dressing in a sealed jar. Store everything in the fridge.
- To enjoy a portion of this quinoa salad each day, add the cheese and pumpkin seeds on each portion, pour the dressing over everything, toss to combine, and enjoy!
More Tasty Salads:
- Caprese Quinoa Salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
- Citrus Quinoa Salad with a sweet citrus vinaigrette
- Sweet Potato-Quinoa Salad with a lemon-herb vinaigrette
- Quinoa Apple Salad with a lemon-poppy seed vinaigrette
- Quinoa Corn Salad with a chipotle-lime vinaigrette
Quick Tip
Check out our collection of readers’ favorite Quinoa Recipes!
Quinoa Salad Recipe
Equipment
- large sheet pan,
- Medium pot
- Small blender or food processor
Ingredients
Salad
- 4 cups sweet potatoes see note 1
- 1 large red pepper
- 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- Salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa I like tri-color
- 5 cups baby spinach coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup roasted pumpkin seeds/pepitas or chopped pistachios
- 1/3 cup goat cheese or 1 small avocado, optional (for creaminess)
Dressing
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1-1/2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
- 1/2 packed cup fresh basil see note 2
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 large limes
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Peel and chop sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch cubes. Dice pepper into 1/2-inch cubes. Add both to a large sheet pan with plenty of room so veggies can roast (not steam). Drizzle with olive oil, cumin, salt, and pepper. (Add to taste; I add 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.) Toss everything to coat, space out veggies, and roast for 15 minutes, flip veggies and roast an additional 10–20 minutes or until desired tenderness. Once tender, remove and toss drained and rinsed black beans with the potatoes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve in cold water for about 30 seconds. In a medium pot, combine rinsed quinoa with 2 cups water. Season with salt (I add 1/2 teaspoon). Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover the pot with a lid. Turn heat to the lowest setting and cook, covered, 15 minutes or until quinoa has completely absorbed the water. Turn off heat and let stand, covered, 5–10 minutes. After it’s finished steaming, remove lid and fluff quinoa gently with a fork. Set aside to cool to room temperature. In a hurry? Spread it on a sheet pan and slide it in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Combine all dressing ingredients except oil in a small blender or food processor. Zest and juice limes to get 1 teaspoon zest and 3 tablespoons juice; add to blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper). Blend until basil is broken down. Add in oil and blend just until emulsified (do not over-blend). Transfer dressing to a large covered jar and refrigerate while you finish the salad.
- Coarsely chop the spinach. Toss spinach and completely cooled quinoa together. Add cooled sweet potatoes, pepper, and black bean mixture. Gently toss. Top with chopped avocado or goat cheese (if using) and pumpkin seeds.
- This salad does not store well after being dressed, so only add cheese, pepitas, and dressing to what that will be eaten immediately. Toss the salad with the desired amount of dressing. (You’ll have some leftover, depending on how dressed you like your salads. I use about 3/4 of the dressing, but add as much as you’d like.) Taste and season salad once more, adding a pinch more salt/pepper if needed to bring flavors alive. Enjoy immediately.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this last night and I LOVE it! Very easy to put together, just have to plan on the cooling time, but didn’t really take that long. I only put dressing on what I was eating last night and have some leftover for more meals. I pretty much cut the recipe in half as much as I could, it was SO good. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to more delicious foods to try.
Delish! So glad you enjoyed! Thanks Susan! 🙂