Spiced, roasted black beans and sweet potatoes mixed into a massaged kale salad with crispy-parmesan-quinoa, chopped pistachios and diced cheese tossed in a lemon + garlic dressing.
What’s So Great About this this Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Kale Salad
- Balanced flavors: Caramelized sweet potato + earthy black beans + savory parmesan-quinoa tossed in a bright lemon dressing = incredible flavor!
- Protein & fiber packed: Between the beans, the sweet potatoes, the kale and the quinoa – every bite is as filling as it is filling as it is nourishing.
- Make once and enjoy all week: Enjoy this warm or cold. This salad keeps well about 4-5 days in the fridge. It’s perfect for meal prep/easy lunches and dinners throughout the week.
- Great for sharing/holiday-dinners: You’ll end up with quite a lot of salad here which makes it perfect for bringing to pot lucks, gatherings and holiday meals.
How to Make this Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Kale Salad: Order of Operations
As far as salads go, this one is a bit more involved than your typical, toss-and-go salads thanks to all its moving parts. That being said, once you know the correct timing for getting things done, it’s actually quite easy to manage.
Time consuming? Yes. Difficult? Definitely not!
Recipe prep order of operations:
- Cook quinoa until fluffy.
- Season & roast sweet potatoes & black beans.
- Bake the parmesan covered quinoa.
- Massage raw kale with some of the the lemon vinaigrette.
- Toss everything in a big salad bowl until combined.
Roast the Sweet Potato & Black Beans
- Sweet Potatoes – Peel or wash the potato and leave unpeeled. Dice into ยฝ -inch cubes
- Black Beans – Drain, rinse and pat dry to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
- Spices – Combine, cumin, chili powder, thyme and salt.
- Oil – Use olive oil, avocado oil, or a neutral flavored cooking oil.
Add the potatoes & black beans to a large, rimmed baking sheet then cover with the spices & oil. Bake for about 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender & a bit caramelized
Don’t forget! Stir the pan, halfway through cooking.
Bake the Quinoa until Golden & Crisp
If you’ve timed everything right, you should now have 1 pot of cooked quinoa and 1 baking sheet full of roasted sweet potatoes and black beans.
Spread the cooked quinoa across another large baking sheet in a mostly even layer. Sprinkle grated parmesan over the top of the quinoa.
Bake for about 35-40 minutes until the quinoa is golden with crunchy clusters all over.
Don’t forget/Keep in mind! Quinoa closer to the sides will crisp up faster than the middle. Stir the pan, halfway through cooking. If you want your quinoa extra crispy, cook for 40-45 minutes.
Massage the Kale Leaves to Soften them Up
- Vinaigrette: Combine olive oil, lemon juice, sugar, salt & pepper – everything except the garlic.
- Kale: Add about 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to the chopped kale then use your hands to rub vinaigrette into the scratchy kale leaves. Scrunch handfuls of kale together for a few minutes until the leaves are softer and darker.
- Add Garlic: Add the garlic to the vinaigrette. You want to do this after massaging the kale so you don’t end up with garlicky-hands.
Mix it All Together
Once ready, toss everything together in a big salad bowl, pour the dressing over top and toss everything together until fully combined.
Taste and season with extra salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle a bit more parmesan over the top for self-care if you like and that’s it.
Final Tips & Other Notes Before You Begin
- Pre-cook the quinoa. Save yourself a bit of time, effort and counter space by making the quinoa ahead of time or using pre-cooked quinoa.
- Cut the sweet potatoes in equal sizes. This will help ensure things cook evenly.
- Don’t forget to massage the kale. It might sound weird if you’ve never done it before, but massaging the kale transforms the hard and scratchy leaves into a softer and tender texture.
- Don’t be afraid to season with salt & pepper at the end. This is true for all salads in my opinion. It just makes things taste better.
- Switch up the nuts. If you don’t have/love pistachios, feel free to switch it up with other nuts/seed or crunchy bits. Try it with toasted almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, sunflower seed or pepitas.
More Satiating Salads that Actually Fill You Up
- Crispy Rice Salad with Lemony Chickpeas & Cucumber
- Roasted Cabbage and Kale Salad with Crispy Quinoa
- Mediterranean Dense Bean Salad
- Crispy Peanut Rice & Cabbage Crunch Salad
- Spiced Chickpea Kale Salad & Creamy Lemon Dressing
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts Quinoa Salad with a Sun Dried Tomato Vinaigrette
- Creamy Cannellini and Kale Stir Fry with Toasted Bread & Pine Nuts
Enjoy!
Let me know if you try this roasted bean & veggie kale quinoa salad! Leave a comment and review with your thoughts. I always appreciate the feedback and serving suggestions that you come up with!
Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato & Black Bean Quinoa Kale Salad Recipe
Yield:
9 cups
Prep Time:
20 minutes
Cook Time:
2 hours
Total Time:
2 hours 20 minutes
Spiced, roasted black beans and sweet potatoes mixed into a massaged kale salad with crispy, parmesan quinoa, chopped pistachios and cheese tossed in a lemon + garlic dressing.
Ingredients
Quinoa
- ยพ cup quinoa, uncooked (120g)
- 1 ยฝ cup vegetable stock or water (480 ml)
- โ cup grated parmesan (25g)
Potatoes & Beans
- 2 tbsp olive oil (30ml)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ยฝ tsp salt
- 1 large sweet potato, cut into ยฝ inch cubes
- 1 can unsalted black beans - drained, rinsed and patted dry (15 oz/about 400g)
Vinaigrette
- ยฝ cup extra virgin olive oil (120ml)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice (30ml)
- 1 tsp sugar
- ยฝ tsp salt plus more to taste
- ยฝ tsp black pepper
- 1 clove garlic, minced
Salad
- 5 cups loosely packed raw curly kale, hard stems removed and chopped into bite-sized pieces (about 170g)
- 1 cup diced cheddar cheese, (110g)
- 1 cup salted pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped (100g)
Need help converting to weights? Check out my cups to grams Conversion Guide.
Instructions
Quinoa
- Cook Quinoa: Combine quinoa and vegetable stock (or water) in small pot. Cover with a fitted lid and bring the pot to a boil over a high heat. After it's reached boiling point, reduce the temperature to maintain a gentle simmer. Keep covered and cook until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 15-18 minutes. (While the quinoa cooks, start working on the sweet potatoes & black beans.)
- Rest Quinoa: Turn off the heat, but leave the pot on the heat source. Remove the lid and let rest 10 minutes, then fluff up with a fork.
- Prep quinoa for baking: Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the quinoa across the baking sheet in an even layer. Sprinkle grated parmesan over the top. Set aside until it's time to bake (after the potatoes & black beans).
Sweet Potato & Black Beans
- Preheat oven to 425ยฐF (220ยฐC).
- Season Potatoes & Beans: Add sweet potato and black beans to a large, rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle 2 tbsp olive oil over the baking sheet then add chili powder, cumin, thyme and salt. Mix well to ensure the potatoes and beans are well coated in the spice mix. Spread everything evenly across the baking sheet in a singleย layer.
- Bake: Roast for 25 minutes. Halfway through cooking, remove the baking sheet to stir the potatoes and beans. When potatoes are tender and the edges of the pan are slightly crisp, remove from the oven. Set aside.
- Bake Quinoa: Add the parmesan-quinoa to the oven and bake for 35 - 40 minutes until the quinoa is golden and crispy around the edges. Stir the quinoa about halfway through cooking to help it crisp up more evenly.
Salad
- Vinaigrette: Combine all of the vinaigrette ingredients in a small cup or jar except the garlic. Whisk together.
- Massage Kale: Place kale in a large bowl. Add 2-3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette to the salad then use your hands to rub the hard kale leaves with your fingers by lightly scrunching big handfuls at a time. After about a minute or so the leaves will get softer and darker.
- Combine Ingredients: Add the remaining salad ingredients to the kale: roasted potatoes and beans, quinoa, cheese and pistachios. Toss together to combine.
- Finish Vinaigrette: Whisk the garlic in the remaining vinaigrette then pour over the salad. Toss well again until the salad is fully dressed and combined. Taste and season with a bit of salt and pepper as you see fit and enjoy fresh while warm or cold after refrigerating.
- Store Leftovers: Keepin an airtight container in the fridge about 4-5 days.
Notes
- Make sure to use baking paper or grease your baking pan/foil well to preent the quinoa from sticking to the pan.
- Pre-cook quinoa:ย Make the quinoa ahead of time - a day early, or even a few hours before you're ready to make the full salad. Don't bake it early, just boil & cook until fluffy. If you're using pre-cooked/store bought quinoa, orย leftover quinoa, use 3 cups (480g) instead.
- Extra Crispy Quinoa: Bake for 40-45 minutes or until it's as crispy as you like. Make sure to keep an eye on the oven to keep it from burning.
- Cheese: Feel free to use a different type of cheese depending on what you like or what you have available. Try it with Gruyรจre, Swiss or Monetary jack. You can also use crumbled feta cheese or goat cheese if you want a softer, tangier option.
- FYI on parmesan: Make sure to use a vegetarian parmesan if you need this to be suitable for vegetarians.
Nutrition Information
Yield: 9
Serving Size:
1 cup (110g) Calories: 375Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 9mgSodium: 246mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 10gSugar: 5gProtein: 12gThis website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Yuki says
I love this salad. Itโs so hearty without being heavy, and all the bright colors are a feast for the eyes as the days are getting darker! I hadnโt tried massaging the dressing into kale before and it made a noticeable difference in flavor and texture, will definitely be doing that again.
I swapped the minced garlic for garlic powder (trying not to make enemies in the office!) and it still tasted yummy. I also didnโt realise the instructions said to bake the quinoa on *parchment paper*, not aluminum foil!! I learned the hard way quinoa will stick to foil! Will bake it the right way next time ๐ and there will be many next times, this is going into my autumn/winter rotation for salads that get me my vitamins but donโt make me sad. ยจฬฎ
Sarah Nevins says
I’m so glad you liked it! That comment about the foil is a good bit of info for me to know too – I’ll make note of it in the recipe for future readers! Thanks, Yuki ๐