Quinoa is one of my favorite super foods! It’s packed full of protein and is just as healthy as it is yummy. I like to throw it in all sorts of salads because it’s crazy versatile. It tastes great with a kick of sweet or all savory. This fun recipe combines both for a healthy salad that packs a massive flavor punch. I meant to share this, I really did. Buuut, that didn’t happen. I might have eaten the whole thing myself, leftovers and all. Oops! I guess I have to pack something else in the HH’s lunch.
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato, peeled, cut and cubed
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup cooked quinoa
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
3 cups spinach, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 F. Place the sweet potato on a cookie sheet, drizzle with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until tender or about 1 hour. Dust with cinnamon and let cool.
Cook quinoa. I like to cook my quinoa in a rice cooker. It cooks just like white rice, so the most important thing to remember is to use the ratio of 1 part grains to 2 parts liquid {I use vegetable stock most of the time}.
If you do not have a rice cooker, simply add the grains and broth in a saucepan, bring it to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook covered until the liquid has been absorbed and grains are tender {about 20 minutes}.
While potatoes and quinoa are cooking, mix all remaining ingredients together plus the 2 remaining tablespoons of olive oil. Once the sweet potato and quinoa are done, toss with the other ingredients and salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Donna R says
HI love your blog and recipes. Can I just microwave sweet potato or is roasting part of flavor. I live in Florida…hot. I try not to turn on oven till October!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Personally, I would roast the sweet potato. The texture will be totally different if you microwave it.
Emily says
Toss the sweet potatoes into a crock pot, it won’t be exactly the same as roasting but I think the texture is better than the microwave.
Linda says
No comment, just a question. How much quinoa do you use to get one cup of cooked quinoa? Or do you cook 1 cup of dry quinoa? I want to try the recipe, but want the proportion correct. Thank you.
Mavis Butterfield says
Cook 1 cup of dry quinoa. Sorry for the confusion.
Mrs. M. says
I’m getting the ingredients for this recipe… Is squash supposed to be cooked with the quinoa? It’s mentioned in the instructions but not the ingredient list.
“Once squash and quinoa are done, toss…”
Mavis Butterfield says
No. I meant to say sweet potato. Sorry about that. I fixed the recipe. 🙂