Quinoa Sweet Potato Cranberry Salad

Quinoa, Sweet potato, Cranberry Salad

This tasty salad is great to make in advance, bring to a party, or have as a side dish throughout the week. It’s very easy to make. You can even make more of the sweet potato and quinoa and save extra for other dishes for the week. 🙂 

Ingredients

• 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• Coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 4-5 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed and coarsely chopped
• 1 large avocado, chopped
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (or fresh!)
• Optional: pumpkin seeds, goat cheese 

Lemon Vinaigrette

• 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1.5 tsp Italian seasoning 
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large lemon (3 tablespoons juice)

Directions

1. To begin, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Peel and chop your sweet potatoes. I prefer smaller bite-sized pieces. Place on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and salt + pepper (to taste). Toss everything to coat and place in the preheated oven. Let roast for 15 minutes and then flip the potatoes and roast for an additional 10-20 minutes or until desired tenderness.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa to remove the bitter saponin coating. I use a fine strainer. In a small saucepan, combine quinoa with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cover the pan with a lid.
3. Next, Turn heat all the way to the lowest setting and cook covered for 15 minutes or until the water has completely absorbed in the quinoa.
4. After that, turn off the heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove the lid and fluff the quinoa gently with a fork. Set aside.
5. Toss the cooked quinoa and sweet potato in a large bowl. Allow quinoa and sweet potato to cool.
6. Meanwhile, prep the dressing. Whisk the red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste), and 1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste) together in a small bowl. Slowly add the olive oil to the vinegar mixture while whisking briskly. Whisk in the lemon juice. Pour into a jar and store in the fridge while you finish the salad.
7. Remove the stems and coarsely chop the spinach. Add to the salad along with the chopped avocado and cranberries. Toss everything together.
8. Lastly, toss the salad with the desired amount of dressing (you’ll likely have some leftover!)Add in some goat cheese and pumpkin seeds if you desire! Enjoy!
9. Do not dress anything you don’t intend to eat that day. This salad is best eaten immediately after being dressed, so if you want leftovers, only toss what you will eat with the dressing.