This Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad is naturally vegan, gluten free, and super easy to make. It comes with the best citrus dressing you can ask for and is always exciting with many optional add ons.
Can you already feel and smell it? Yes, summer is in the air. In this time I’m craving big plates of salads like this Quinoa Taco Salad [vegan, gf].
There is always something to do for everyone of us in summer time. You might chilling at the beaches, go for a walk, or plan some picnics or potlucks.
Maybe you go for a bike ride, or something else. No matter for what adventures you’re going, you need this Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad in your life. It is a valuable companion to all your excitement and adventures.
From the first bite you know it’s one amazing portable lunch, to go for potlucks, picnics and more, satisfying, really delicious, refreshing, healthy, protein rich, hearty, filling, customizable, and so easy to make.
How to cook quinoa
For 3 cups quinoa you will need 1 cup uncooked quinoa. And you will need one part quinoa and 3 parts water to cook quinoa.
One thing that many people want to know is the cooking time. It depends a bit on the brand of quinoa that you have. It can be typically between 8 to 12 minutes.
To be sure please check it out before cooking.
What to eat with quinoa
I mentioned before this Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad is absolutely amazing for all your picnics, potlucks, and of course BBQs. I find it’s very filling on it’s own. Especially if you choose some of the optional add ons.
But it’s lovely with some grilled veggies, tofu, tempeh, or something else from the grill. It will compliment almost everything.
How to roast sweet potatoes
You can see that I used one big sweet potato in the ingredients, cut it into cubes, and roasted it. You can do it easily this way:
Starting with washing the sweet potato under water. Rub them, and clean them carefully. Do not skip this step, you need to clean them in-depth.
Now you can do two things: you either peel them or keep them unpeeled. What you go for depends on your own taste.
Cut the sweet potatoes into cubes and put them on a baking sheet prepared with parchment paper. You can rub the cubes in a bit of oil, season them with a pinch of salt and pepper, if you like.
Bake them for around 25 minutes at 415°F.
How to make Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad
Now let’s make this amazing salad together.
Combine the cooked quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes in a bowl. If you use optional add ons, like black beans, garlic, dried cranberries, onions, cashews, walnuts, parsley, or cilantro, add them to the bowl too.
For the dressing: combine mustard and maple syrup in small bowl with the orange and lemon juices. Combine everything well with a wire whisk.
Last give the dressing over your salad and mix everything in that bowl. Divide into plates or bowls, enjoy.
This makes an amazing diary free lunch, dinner, or even side dish.
It’s so refreshing and packed with fantastic flavors.
Everyone will have a soft spot for this in no time. If you serve this, not only plant based folks but even the meat or picky eaters will hang on those flavors for real.
If you give this Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad a go, tag me on Instagram and Facebook with a picture.
I love seeing all your remakes.
Enjoy your summer adventures, Florian.
Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad
This Citrus Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad is naturally vegan, gluten free, and super easy to make. It comes with the best citrus dressing you can ask for and is always exciting with many optional add ons.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 3 cups quinoa, cooked (1 cup uncooked)
- 1 large sweet potato. cubed and roasted
For dressing:
- 3 Tbs yellow mustard
- 4 Tbs maple syrup
- 1/2 cup orange juice, freely squeezed
- 1/4 cup lemon juice, freely squeezed
- salt, pepper to taste
- Optional add ons
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup onions, peeled and chopped
- 1 1/4 cups black beans, drained from a can
- 1/4 cup walnuts or cashews
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
Instructions
- Combine the cooked quinoa and roasted sweet potatoes in a bowl. If you use optional add ons, like black beans, garlic, dried cranberries, onions, cashews, walnuts, parsley, or cilantro, add them to the bowl too.
- For the dressing: combine mustard and maple syrup in small bowl with the orange and lemon juices. Combine everything well with a wire whisk.
- Last give the dressing over your salad and mix everything in that bowl. Divide into plates or bowls, enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1.5 cupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 332Total Fat: 4.8gSaturated Fat: 0.5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3.1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 391mgCarbohydrates: 67gFiber: 5gSugar: 18.5gProtein: 9g
Elle
Sunday 4th of September 2022
Delicious 😋 I added shredded carrots, black beans, roasted garlic and pepitas. We didn't have oranges or orange juice but orange marmalade was a terrific substitute.
Florian
Sunday 4th of September 2022
Thanks for your great feedback and making it, Elle! That sounds delicious.
Randy
Sunday 15th of December 2019
Should the onions and garlic be cooked before adding to the recipe?
Florian
Sunday 15th of December 2019
Hi Randy! The Onions and garlic are raw, but you can roast them before If you like. Hope that helps.
Christina
Friday 14th of December 2018
Great recipe, especially the dressing. I didn't have time to roast the sweet potatoes, so boiled instead...still turned out fantastic. I added black beans, green onion, shredded carrot, and dried cranberries. Was very colourful and quite delicious. We ate it while the quinoa and potato were still warm and again the next day cold from the fridge.
Florian
Saturday 15th of December 2018
Thanks for your amazing feedback, Christina! I hope you'll find lots of more recipes to try!
Beth
Tuesday 23rd of October 2018
Are optional ingredients included in the nutritional calculations?
Florian
Tuesday 23rd of October 2018
Hi Beth! The nutrition info is without any optional ingredients!