Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Smoky Pepitas and Roasted Jalapeño Lime Dressing

Name: Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Smoky Pepitas and Roasted Jalapeño Lime Dressing
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 7 -8 Servings
Ingredients: 4 C (510g) Sweet Potatoes (peeled and diced in 1/2" (1.3cm) cubes); 1 1/2 Tbs + 1/2 tsp Coconut Oil (divided; virgin, cold pressed, melted); 1/2 tsp Chili Powder; 3/4 tsp + 1/8 tsp Smoky Paprika (divided); 1/4 tsp Cumin (ground); 2 tsp + 1/8 tsp Fine Sea Salt (divided); 1/2 C (70g) Pepitas; 1 C (195g) Quinoa (rinsed and drained); 1 3/4 C (420g) Water; 15 oz (425g) Cooked Black Beans (or 1 can, rinsed and drained); 4 C (140g) Baby Spinach (chopped and packed); 1/2 C (45g) Green Onions (sliced thin); 2 Avocados (diced); Fist-full of Cilantro (leaves chopped fine); 1 Jalapeño ((2 to kick the spice up!)); 3 Limes (juiced (about 1/4C+2Tbs or 70g)); 2 Cloves of Garlic; 1/2 tsp Cumin; 1/4 + 1/8 tsp Fine Sea Salt; Fist-full of Cilantro (leaves and stem); 1/4 C + 2 Tbs (81g) Olive Oil (extra virgin)

By Traci 39 Comments

A make-ahead, ready when you are salad, Black Bean Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Smoky Pepitas and Roasted Jalapeño Lime Dressing. Vegan + Gluten Free

Spring is in the air as my still-hibernating soul gives way to earlier morning light. Although chilly mornings remain, these longer days signal change for warmer days ahead and the abundance spring provides.

Rob and I built nest boxes this weekend for our resident and migrating feathered friends, laying out the Welcome mat to replace, at least in some small way, part of the habitat humanity has taken from them. Our old boxes were in need of updating as the entrance holes had been excavated by a crafty former resident and the elements had taken their toll.

We built these boxes suitable for chickadees, wrens and/or tree swallows with an entrance hole size of an exacting 1 1/8″ in diameter: their preference. Cornell Lab showed us how. This specific hole size keeps out invasive/introduced species such as house sparrows and starlings who compete for nest sites, often violently, leaving the native songbird terribly injured, or worse, dead.

Birds need all the mitigating support we can offer mostly due to habitat loss, those pesky invasive species we introduced long ago and a myriad of other human caused factors.

I’ve plugged the entrance for now with a rock due to house sparrows already attempting to create a nest. I want to discourage them as long as possible. They should be well on their way at building at a different location when the songbirds are ready to start building, hopefully choosing our carefully built nest boxes to raise their broods. Of course with my watchful eyes on the lookout for those house sparrows.

We’ll be offering our observations to Nest Watch so they can continue to study data gathered by citizen scientists in an effort to monitor songbird populations. It’s fun monitoring and watching too, especially if the nest is successful!

Although I’ve an eye to spring, I’m still in the mood for cozy comfort food. If you’re in the South, though, I know you’re over it due to the already 90F temperatures. This salad is a good seasonal transition. Still offering comfort, while satisfying the need for chilled nourishment.

Because I know how much y’all love quinoa salads, I got busy developing a new one. This Quinoa Mango Black Bean Salad with Smoky Pepitas and Chipotle Lime Vinaigrette is popular one on the blog, and it’s been too long since I shared a new quinoa salad.

A few weeks ago I made this black bean sweet potato salad on Instagram Stories. Quite a few of you said YES please, so I got to work writing the recipe and photographing it.

While the sweet potatoes, jalapeño and pepitas are roasting, cook the quinoa, chop the spinach and onions. Rinse the black beans and gather the ingredients for the dressing. While the potatoes, pepetias and quinoa are cooling, add the roasted jalapeño to a food processor along with the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cilantro and seasoning. Assemble the salad, pour on the dressing and stir in the avocado just before serving.

This recipe makes a big salad. It’s a make-ahead salad, holding well for several days in the refrigerator, which means it’s ready when I need it #getinmybelly. Suitable for lunch, picnics, potlucks or a light yet filling dinner, I find hearty salads like this help me stay full through the day and avoid afternoon snack attacks!

If you’re sensitive to spicy things, the jalapeño is not very noticeable as long as you scrape out the seeds and ribs after roasting. It adds a mild mouth burn due to the balance of cooling ingredients such as lime and avocado.

So be brave, be bold! Add that jalapeño!

What spring projects are on your list?

5 from 6 votes