Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
on Jan 14, 2025
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There is something tasty in every bite of this roasted sweet potato black bean salad. While the sweet potatoes roast in the oven, you can quickly simmer the quinoa on the stove and whisk together the jalapeño lime dressing. Then it all comes together with baby spinach, avocados, red onions, pumpkin seeds and cilantro. This is one of those big salads that you can enjoy as a vegan main dish for lunch or dinner.
For another recipe with sweet potatoes and greens, try this baby spinach and arugula sweet potato cauliflower salad.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Sweet potatoes and black beans are the perfect pair. This is not the only recipe on this blog with these two. While they have some similarities in texture with their tender middles, the edges on the potatoes crisp up as they brown in the oven. Then their flavors work with the rest of the ingredients including the avocados and jalapeño lime dressing.
We all should be making more sheet pan salads. During the fall and winter months, vegetables in salads need that extra step of roasting. Whether that’s squash, cauliflower, broccoli or another veggie, roasting enhances them.
Grains turn greens into an entree salad. Technically, quinoa is a seed and not a whole grain. I still use them pretty interchangeably in salad recipes. Quinoa, which is gluten free, adds nutrition and make salads more hearty.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Sweet potatoes: The recipe calls for 2 pounds of sweet potatoes. They can vary quite a bit in size. I like weighing them on one of the scales that is scattered throughout the produce department at the grocery. Peel the sweet potatoes before you dice them. You can substitute with butternut squash.
- Black beans: Canned beans are such a handy pantry ingredient. There are lots of things you can do with them. Just open the can, pour the beans into a colander and rinse them off.
- Quinoa: You can use any color you want—white, red or black quinoa or a blend. Then simmer it in water.
- Baby spinach is the lettuce in the salad. You can use arugula instead, or if you want more crispness, go with chopped romaine.
- Avocado: I dice a ripe avocado and stir that in for creamy bites.
- Red onions: When finely chopped, these are one of my go-to salad onions for their color and their flavor which is more mild than white and yellow onions. You can substitute with sliced scallions
- Pumpkin seeds are a good way to add some crunch to contrast with the soft sweet potatoes and black beans. Chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds are good substitutes.
- Cilantro: I also include chopped fresh herbs. If you aren’t a cilantro person, then leave it out.
- Jalapeño lime vinaigrette: This bright citrus dressing has minced jalapeños and garlic, whole grain mustard, fresh lime juice, olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. Always use actual limes and not bottled juice for the best flavor.
- Olive oil, kosher salt & black pepper: Besides the dressing, you will also need these for roasting the sweet potatoes.
How To Make This Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Prep the sweet potatoes. On a sheet pan, toss them with oil, salt and pepper. Spread out the potatoes, so they are in a single layer.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes. Give them 30-35 minutes to get tender in the middle and lightly browned t the edges. Flip them over about halfway through roasting.
3. Simmer the quinoa on the stove. Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. The water should absorb and the grains should be tender in 11-12 minutes. Let the quinoa sit covered for 5 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork.
4. Make the dressing. In a small bowl, whisk the jalapeños, garlic, mustard, lime juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
5. Combine the salad ingredients. Put the roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, avocados, red onions, pumpkin seeds, baby spinach and cilantro in a large bowl.
6. Drizzle the dressing into the salad. Toss to combine.
Serving
This sweet potato salad recipe can be a main dish on its own for lunch or dinner. You can also serve it with another dish with Tex-Mex flavors such as roasted cauliflower tacos, sheet pan pepper mushroom fajitas or baked mushroom quesadillas.
Leftovers & Storage
Try to only dress the amount of salad you are planning to eat at one time. It’s always better for the greens if you haven’t tossed the salad with the dressing. Then they won’t soften and wilt as fast. You can always add more fresh spinach. Keep leftover salad and dressing in separate airtight containers in the fridge up to 3 days.
Recipe Tips
- You don’t have to line the pan with parchment paper. The oil on the vegetables will keep them from sticking to the baking sheet. They will brown better if they make direct contact with the hot metal.
- You can roast sweet potatoes up to 2 days ahead of time. Store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You should put them out at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before you plan to assemble the salad, so they aren’t as cold as when you first take them out of the fridge.
- You can make the vinaigrette up to 3 days in advance. Store it in the fridge in a mason jar. Take it out at least 15 minutes before you’re going to toss it in the salad because the oil will harden in the cold temperature of the refrigerator.
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Roasted Chickpea & Sweet Potato Kale Salad
Stuffed Baked Sweet Potatoes
Sheet Pan Tofu, Sweet Potatoes & Black Beans
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries
Sweet Potato Skins
Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fritters
Sheet Pan Sweet Potato Black Bean Quesadillas
Roasted Sweet Potato Black Bean Salad
Ingredients
For sweet potatoes
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For quinoa
- 1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 1 cup water
For dressing
- 1 tablespoon minced jalapeños
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
For salad
- 14.5 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1/3 cup finely chopped red onions
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss the sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper on a sheet pan and spread them into a single layer.
- Roast for 30-35 minutes until the sweet potatoes are browned at the edges and tender in the middle. Flip them over about halfway through roasting.
- Combine the quinoa and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, simmering on low for 11-12 minutes until the water has been absorbed. Remove the quinoa from the heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Then fluff it with a fork.
- For the dressing, whisk together the jalapeños, garlic, mustard, lime juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.
- For the salad, combine the roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, avocados, red onions, pumpkin seeds, baby spinach and cilantro in a large bowl. Drizzle in the dressing, tossing to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
