Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad

This Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad is a healthy quinoa salad made with roasted sweet potatoes, kale, pumpkin seeds & feta. Then it’s topped with a creamy balsamic date vinaigrette. Easy to make, tasty and great for meal-prepping lunches!

If you enjoy quinoa salads and are looking for some more simple recipes, try this Mediterranean Quinoa Salad or this Southwest Quinoa Salad recipe.

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• Recipe Highlights
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Step By Step Instructions
• Expert Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Recipe Highlights

• Great For Meal-Prepping — Quinoa salads are some of the best salads for meal prepping because they keep well in the fridge. Make a large batch and store leftovers in the fridge for a ready to go healthy meal throughout the week.
• Healthy Lunch — This Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad is a filling quinoa bowl recipe and works as lunch or a light dinner all on its own.
• Creamy Date Vinaigrette — This quinoa salad is topped with a balsamic vinaigrette made with dates, which makes it extra creamy and healthy.

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Quinoa: I chose white quinoa for this recipe, but you can use whatever type of quinoa you like. You can also use another type of grain entirely, such as couscous, or wild rice. If you choose to make a substitution, make sure to follow the directions on the package to cook the grain.
• Sweet Potato: You’ll need roasted sweet potato chunks for this salad. You can make a batch specifically for this recipe (see FAQ section below), or you can use some leftovers you might have on hand, such as after making a Harvest Bowl Salad.
• Kale: You can use fresh kale or packaged baby kale. As a substitute, you can use baby spinach or arugula.
• Pumpkin Seeds: Pumpkin seeds are the perfect topping for this recipe. However, sunflower seeds work well as a substitution.
• Red Onion: Red onion works best in this salad, but if you don’t have any on hand, or if you don’t like onion in your salads, you can leave it out.
• Bell Pepper: Some diced bell peppers give this salad a bit of crunch. You can use any color of bell pepper you like.
• Feta: Some crumbled feta brings this salad together and tastes delicious with the sweet potatoes, kale and date vinaigrette.
• Dates: I like to use Deglet Noor dates, but you can use whatever type you prefer. Medjool dates will be slightly sweeter than Deglet dates. If you have the option, pitted dates are easier since it saves time having to remove the pit yourself. You can use either fresh or packaged dates. 
• Balsamic Vinegar: Use your favorite type of balsamic vinegar. As a substitute, you can use white balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
• Olive Oil: Use high quality extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil is used to make the dressing for this salad, as well as to massage the kale.
• Water: This recipe uses a bit of water to thin out the dressing and to give it the right consistency.  
• Tahini: Tahini is used to make the dressing creamy and give it a slight sesame flavor. As a substitute for tahini, you can use almond butter or cashew butter.
• Lemon Juice: A small amount of lemon juice is used to massage the kale.

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Rinse the quinoa well under cold water. Heat the water and quinoa in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Once boiling, cover the pot and reduce the temperature to low. Simmer for 15 minutes. Turn off the temperature and let the quinoa sit for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork.

Step 2: Soak the dates in water for 5 minutes until they are soft. Add the dates, water, balsamic vinegar, olive oil and tahini to a food processor and blend for 30 seconds until smooth.

Step 3: Strain the dressing through a fine mesh sieve to remove any small pieces of dates.

Step 4: Add the chopped kale to a medium bowl along with the olive oil, lemon juice and salt. Massage the kale until it softens and turns a vibrant green color.

Step 5: Add the roasted sweet potatoes, quinoa, kale, red onion, bell pepper, pumpkin seeds and feta to a large salad bowl. Top with the balsamic vinaigrette, toss the salad and serve.

Expert Tips

• Try another dressing. If you don’t like the idea of a balsamic date vinaigrette, replace the dressing with something else, such as this Maple Balsamic Vinaigrette or this Lemon Oregano Vinaigrette.
• Storing the salad. You can store this salad, with the dressing mixed in, in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. However, I find that once the dressing is mixed in, it tastes best once consumed within 2 to 3 days. Ideally, if you want to store it longer, store the dressing separately.
• Using leftover dressing. I love using plenty of dressing on my salads, but if you prefer a lighter salad, you will want to hold off adding all of the dressing. If you have leftover date vinaigrette, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 to 7 days. See the full date salad dressing recipe for more salad ideas to pair with it.

Recipe FAQs

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