Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Quinoa & Black Beans

Roasted Sweet Potato Salad With Quinoa And Black Beans.

A Vegan, Gluten Free Salad With Pumpkin, Corn, Capsicum And A Smoky Lime Dressing.

A Meal In Itself, Or Spooned Into Fresh Cos Lettuce Leaves.

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Introduction to roasted sweet potato salad

This roasted sweet potato salad is sweet potato and pumpkin roasted with cumin, smoked paprika and chilli, then mixed with fluffy quinoa, black beans, corn, red capsicum and red onion, in a lime and olive oil dressing. It’s vegan and gluten free. The quinoa takes about 15 minutes, and the vegetables roast at 200 degrees Celsius.

As you may have seen, I’m delighted with black beans. They’re tasty, nutritious and very filling, so this salad can be a meal in itself.

You can also skip the quinoa and make it a simple roasted sweet potato and black bean salad.

Our Bali retreats have been the biggest factor in the changes I’ve made to my eating habits. The vegetarian food there is such good quality, with so much variety, and it’s so tasty.

If you have any comments or questions, please contact us. Or chat with me at a Flametree yoga or meditation class via these timetables.

Roasted sweet potato salad, ready to eat

Roasted sweet potato salad with quinoa, black beans, corn and capsicum

The finished dish: roasted sweet potato and black bean salad, with quinoa.

Ingredients for roasted sweet potato salad

Here are the ingredients for this Flametree Yoga Studio dish.

For the roasted vegetables

1 medium orange sweet potato, finely cubed
A cup of finely chopped pumpkin
2 tablespoons of olive oil
Half a teaspoon of smoked paprika
Half a teaspoon of ground cumin
A quarter of a teaspoon of chilli powder, or chilli flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the salad

1 cup of uncooked quinoa
1 tin of cooked black beans, ideally organic
1 fresh red capsicum, chopped finely
1 medium to large cob of fresh corn
1 small red onion, chopped
Parsley to garnish, preferably continental
Half a cos lettuce, to serve

For the dressing

Olive oil
Lime juice
A quarter of a teaspoon of smoked paprika
A quarter of a teaspoon of ground cumin
Half of a quarter teaspoon of chilli powder
Turmeric
1 clove of garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste

I can often get organic cos lettuce in the organic section at Woolies.

The salad ingredients

Sweet potato, pumpkin, quinoa, black beans, corn and capsicum for a black bean salad

The ingredients for my roasted sweet potato, quinoa and black bean salad.

How to make roasted sweet potato salad

Use these steps to make this sweet potato quinoa salad.

Step 1: Cook the quinoa

Start by cooking the quinoa, just as if it were white rice.
Put it in a saucepan and cover it with water to the depth of a finger laid across the top of the quinoa.
Bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a very low simmer.
It takes about 15 minutes. It’s done when it fluffs up and dries out, so it’s not wet and watery.

Quinoa, cooked and fluffy

Cooked fluffy quinoa for a sweet potato quinoa salad

Quinoa cooked until it fluffs up. It’s soft, and a bit crunchy, but not hard in any way.

Step 2: Roast the vegetables

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
Put the sweet potato and pumpkin in a baking dish and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Coat the vegetables with the cumin, smoked paprika and chilli, and stir it in. Add salt and pepper if you want.
Roast until the vegetables are cooked, but not mushy.

Step 3: Mix the salad

Rinse and drain the black beans.
Cut the kernels off the corn cob.
In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa, black beans, corn, capsicum and chopped onion, and mix well.
Add the roasted vegetables.

Step 4: Dress and serve

Mix a dressing of olive oil, lime juice, cumin, smoked paprika, turmeric, chilli, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste.
Pour the dressing over the salad and garnish with parsley.
Serve by itself or with cos lettuce. It works well to spoon the salad into the fresh leaves.

Is this roasted sweet potato salad vegan and gluten free?

Yes. Quinoa is naturally gluten free, and the rest is vegetables, black beans, spices, olive oil and lime. There are no animal products.

If you cook for someone with coeliac disease, check your spice labels.

How do you cook quinoa so it’s fluffy?

Cook it just like white rice. Cover it with water to the depth of a finger laid across the top, bring it to the boil, then turn it down to a very low simmer for about 15 minutes, until it fluffs up and dries out.

Done this way, it’s soft and a little bit crunchy, like in the picture above. It makes a lovely base for any quinoa salad.

Where do black beans come from?

Black beans come originally from South and Central America. Maybe that was the power behind all those ancient South American empires!

They’re tasty, nutritious and very filling, which is why I love them in a black bean salad like this one.

Lunch is served

Black bean salad in a cos lettuce leaf, served with chickpea and lentil curry

Lunch is served, with my chickpea and lentil curry too. It’s delicious to hold the salad in a cos lettuce leaf, like at the bottom of the picture.

Roasted sweet potato salad: quick questions answered

How long does the quinoa take to cook?

About 15 minutes at a very low simmer, once it has come to the boil.

What temperature do I roast the vegetables at?

200 degrees Celsius. Roast them until they’re cooked, but not mushy.

Can I make it without the quinoa?

Yes. Leave the quinoa out and you have a simple roasted sweet potato and black bean salad.

Is this salad filling enough for a meal?

Yes. Black beans are very filling, so the salad can be a meal in itself.

What can I serve with it?

Serve it by itself, spooned into fresh cos lettuce leaves, or with other dishes such as my chickpea and lentil curry.

More Flametree sweet potato and black bean recipes

Love sweet potato and black beans? Try my sweet potato patties, my vegan black bean curry, or my quinoa and stir fried vegetables with black beans.

Do you have a vegan recipe or dish you’d like to share?

Please contact me with any dishes you’d like to share with me.

Obviously, I’m especially interested in any dish that is already a great Darwin vegan option.

Alternatively, it may be a potential vegan Darwin recipe that I could adapt, or be inspired by, as I did here.

Experience eating alternatives at a Flametree Yoga Retreat

By the way, there are several upcoming Flametree yoga retreats in Bali in 2027.

Contact us for details of our Darwin yoga retreat packages, or our yoga class packages in the orange lines below.

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Learning to eat mindfully, as a result of yoga and pranayama meditation, is a great way to start more of a vegetarian or vegan journey, or simply mindfully eat whatever you choose.