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Hungry Girl Por Vida

Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Cranberries & Feta

January 8, 2015 by Leave a Comment

Since, I’ve dabbled in quinoa. Adding it to bean burgers and turkey meatballs, letting it hang in the background, no longer hating it, but continuing to let it underwhelm me. Not giving it a fare shake. Recently, though, I’ve become obsessed with this “autumn couscous salad” from the deli of my favorite grocery store, New Seasons. I decided to remake it at home, but sub out the couscous for quinoa in yet another attempt at making it something we could love. And, hallelujah! I’ve done it!

This salad just gets me. It’s full of texture (my favorite) and perfectly balances sweet, nutty, salty, and tangy. I love the way quinoa retains some texture even after it’s cooked and sort of pops when you chew it. Plus it makes this salad so filling, making for a great lunch on its own.

[recipe]

Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Cranberries and Feta

Make 4-6 servings

I like my vinaigrettes pretty tart and tangy, using a 1:1 ratio of vinegar and olive oil. If you like a smoother dressing, go ahead and reduce the vinegar by a tablespoon or so, to taste. The dressing also includes quite a bit of shallot, which makes for a chunky vinaigrette, but totally adds a ton of flavor to the salad without making for an overwhelmingly onion-y dish. There may seem to be a lot of vinaigrette, but the quinoa really soaks up the dressing. If you are worried, add half and see where you’re at before adding the rest to taste.

3 cups sweet potato, diced small (about 2 small sweet potatoes)

1 cup uncooked quinoa

1 1/2 cups water

2 cups baby spinach leaves

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/3 cup shelled pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

2 tablespoons fresh, chopped sage

1/4 cup finely diced shallot (about 1 medium shallot)

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/4 cup, plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon dijon mustard

1-2 teaspoons maple syrup

1 teaspoon salt, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Toss the diced sweet potato with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and about 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Spread the sweet potatoes in an even layer on a sheet pan and bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring once after about 15 minutes, until tender and some pieces begin to brown. Meanwhile, rinse the quinoa well in a mesh strainer. Add it to a saucepan with the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the quinoa begins to boil reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until all of the water is absorbed. Let the quinoa stand, uncovered for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While the sweet potatoes and quinoa cook, mix up the dressing. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the shallots, with the red wine vinegar, remaining olive oil, mustard, maple syrup, the remaining salt, and pepper. Shake well to combine.

Add the still warm, cooked quinoa to a large mixing bowl and combine with the dressing. Fold in the cooked sweet potatoes, spinach, cranberries, pepitas, feta, and sage. Serve warm, room temperature, or cold. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2 days. [/recipe]

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Filed Under: salad, savory, side dish Tagged With: dried cranberries, feta, maple syrup, olive oil, pepita, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, red wine vinegar, sage, salad, shallot, side dish, spinach, sweet potato, vinaigrette

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar

    January 8, 2015 at 4:24 am

    OooOoOohhh!! This looks stupendous!! I adore cranberries and feta in a normal salad together, so adding quinoa sounds awesome! Love!

    Reply
  2. Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough

    January 8, 2015 at 8:19 am

    This salad is so major! Imma make it for lunch alllll next week.

    Reply
  3. Millie | Add A Little

    January 8, 2015 at 11:52 am

    This looks so tasty Cindy!! Perfect healthy lunch! Pinned!

    Reply
  4. Eileen

    January 8, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    This salad sounds delightful! It would be perfect to make in a big batch and eat for lunch for the entire week. 🙂

    Reply
  5. Erika

    January 8, 2015 at 3:51 pm

    Gurl! This is just what I needed. I want to get down with quinoa but I.Just.. ummm.. I need to try this with sweet potatoes, I’m thinking that might help me get over my issues with quinoa.

    Reply
  6. Krys

    January 8, 2015 at 4:53 pm

    I’ve just started to dabble in quinoa myself and I realise that I like it a lot! I think the combination of sweet potato, cranberries and feta sounds delicious, I’m going to give this a try soon!

    Reply
  7. Jess

    January 8, 2015 at 6:53 pm

    It took me a long time to get on board with quinoa too, but when it’s good, it’s really good! This salad looks fantastic, and perfect for packing in lunches – can’t wait to try it!

    Reply
  8. Nicola - Pink Recipe Box

    January 8, 2015 at 11:24 pm

    This salad doesn’t contain one single ingredient that I don’t love. Pinning!

    Reply
  9. Emily

    January 10, 2015 at 11:02 am

    I have found that adding a little salt to the water when you make quinoa makes all the difference. This looks delicious.

    Reply
  10. Liz @ Floating Kitchen

    January 10, 2015 at 12:01 pm

    Love everything in this salad. It’s right up my alley. And funny, I actually don’t rinse my quinoa because I’m a big lazy butt-head and I still totally love it! So maybe if I rinse it I’ll be really head over heals!

    Reply
  11. Mary Jo

    January 13, 2015 at 1:33 pm

    Great Salad! and I love the blue and white bowl – where can I find these? thx

    Reply
    • cindy

      January 15, 2015 at 12:11 pm

      I actually got the blue and white bowls from an asian market.

      Reply
  12. Sue

    August 23, 2015 at 3:47 am

    Just made this salad added some walnuts for a bit of extra crunch! Yum yum yum

    Reply
    • cindy

      August 23, 2015 at 6:24 am

      Sounds delicious! So glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply
  13. Katie

    November 24, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    This is not a good recipe. The vinegar completely overpowers the other flavors and completely ruined my dish.

    Reply
    • cindy

      November 24, 2015 at 8:02 pm

      Sorry to hear you didn’t like it.

      Reply

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