The perfect warm winter salad with quinoa, spinach, caramelized sweet potatoes and mushrooms. And explosion of flavors that perfectly complement each other. I love topping it with nuts to add some crunch.
Warm winter salad with quinoa, sweet potato, mushrooms and spinach
This recipe just happened while I was trying to make use of some left over vegetables I had in my fridge. But I was so surprised at how good it turned out that I had to share it.
It is the perfect quinoa winter salad. The caramelized onions and sweet potatoes give this dish so much flavor. At the same time, the spinach and mushrooms make it juicy and add a little earthy taste. No dressing required.
Comes together in 35 minutes only. I like to double the portions to have some for the week. You can also cook more quinoa and try these 4-spice veggie patties!
Make your own winter salad
While this sweet potato, spinach and quinoa winter salad is delicious, you can vary the pleasures and use the vegetables you have in your fridge or in your garden.
- You can totally substitute sweet potatoes with butternut squash or pumpkin. make sure to cut them into small cubes for faster cooking. Also wait until they are perfectly caramelized as this gives this winter salad the most delicious flavor.
- Sub spinach for kale, if you have some on hand.
- Use 4-spice instead of apple cider vinegar. Pepper, cloves, nutmeg and ginger are great with earthy vegetables such as mushrooms and will enhance the taste of the caramelized vegetables.
- Try almonds instead of macadamia nuts as a topping.
More easy dinner ideas
The recipe
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The recipe
Spinach quinoa sweet potato salad
Ingredients
- 320 g quinoa (80 g/serving)
- Olive oil a generous amount
- 2 onions
- 500 g mushrooms
- 800 g sweet potato
- 200 g fresh baby spinach
- 4 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 pinch of salt and pepper
Optional topping
- 1 handful macadamia nuts or cashew nuts
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa. Cook it according to the instructions on the package.
- Peel and dice the onion.
- Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into small cubes.
- Heat a large pan with olive oil. When hot, sauté the onion until translucent.
- Add the sweet potatoes and caramelize with the onion for 15 minutes over medium to high heat. Stir regularly.
- In the meantime, wash the mushrooms and cut them into slices. Wash and drain the spinach.
- After 15 minutes, add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Finally add the spinach and the apple cider vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until everything is combined. Let sit on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Serve with the quinoa. Top with macadamia or cashew nuts for some crunch.
Did you like this recipe? Let me know!