Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

by Lindsay September 16, 2019

This recipe is sponsored by California Walnuts

This salad is, really, not a true salad.

It’s more like a pile of warm roasted sweet potatoes, caramelizy onions, and crisped chickpeas, all fragranced-up with some sprigs of fresh rosemary and speckled with toasty maple walnuts, piled on quinoa with fresh greens if your heart feels it, and eaten warm – or cold! – at your desk, in between morning and afternoon pumpkin lattes.

It is the food manifestation of cozy, with a healthy foot forward. It is ready for sweater weather. It is fall in a bowl.

Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad… Aka Throw All Things On A Sheet Pan!

Here’s the recipe: sheet pan. The end.

Diced sweet potatoes. Chickpeas. Rosemary. Shallots. Really, just DO IT FOR THE SMELLS. It is fall’s perfume.

Throw some mapled walnuts on there at the end of the roasting session and BAM. What is this, the hottest new vegan restaurant in town?

Sweet potatoes, walnuts, and chickpeas on a sheet pan.

At this point you have a few options.

Mix right away. Toss everything together with some quinoa and greens (optional).
Prep for later. Divvy it up between lunch containers so you’re LUNCH GAME STRONG for the week.

Additional Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad Considerations:

The roasted sweet potatoes, chickpeas, caramelizy shallots, maple walnuts, and quinoa all make a delicious and filling meal, period. But my favorite recipes are ones that kind of give you room to improv a bit depending on the mood of the day, and there’s definitely room for that here.

Fried egg
Soft boiled egg
Goat cheese
Roasted chicken
Red pepper flakes
Lemony herb dressing
Honey mustard dressing
Green tahini (again ♡)
Just olive oil and lemon, because #easy.

I went with honey mustard dressing and a side of roasted chicken and holy moly. It did not disappoint.

Drizzling dressing on quinoa sweet potato salad.

Three Reasons To Love Walnuts Right Now

Toasted with maple = magic. Fall’s nature candy.
Keep you full. THANK YOU.
Amazing source of Omega-3 fatty acids which are important for your body and your brain, and can help fight depression and anxiety, and inflammation, and a variety of other things. A true superfood.

In addition to walnuts being all on their own, we’re ALSO taking the pledge this month to #ChooseLunch. That means lot of meal prep recipes to keep that midday slump at bay and actually make us, well, want to eat lunch every day? YES.

Walnuts + Meal Prep = Match made in heaven. ♡

Check Out Our Video For How To Make Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad:

Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad

4.8 from 18 reviews

Author: Lindsay
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 large servings

Print Recipe

Description

Quinoa Sweet Potato Salad! A sheet-pan meal prep salad packed with roasted sweet potatoes, caramelizy onions, crisped chickpeas, fresh rosemary, and toasty maple walnuts.

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Salad

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
a sprig of rosemary or thyme
a pinch of salt
a swizzle of olive oil
1 14-ounce can chickpeas
1 cup whole walnuts
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Extras

cooked quinoa (for serving, optional)
baby kale (for serving, optional)
dressing of choice (see notes)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Arrange the sweet potatoes on a large sheet pan with the shallots and herbs. Toss with olive oil and salt. Roast for 20 minutes.
Add chickpeas to the pan. Stir it all up. Roast for another 20 minutes.
Toss walnuts with maple syrup and a little more salt. Add mapley walnuts to the pan. Stir it up. Roast for another 5 minutes.
Remove the stems of the herbs. Serve roasted mixture with cooked quinoa, baby kale, and dressing of choice. Healthy and delicious!