• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Search
  • The Casual Zine
  • Instagram
  • Component Cooking
  • Explore an Ingredient
  • Stock a Pantry

Naturally Ella logo

menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Search
  • The Casual Zine
  • Instagram
  • Component Cooking
  • Explore an Ingredient
  • Stock a Pantry
×

Home > Blog

11.28.12 Fall

Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Grain Salad

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

 

 

I've started commuting again for work and I'm on a mission to always have a decent lunch with me. I made a big salad over the weekend and take a container every day. The spinach holds up well for leftovers and it's the perfect filling salad. I used brown rice because I had some leftover from another meal but really, any grain would be delicious.

Print

Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Grain Salad

Print Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Erin Alderson
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 2 1x
  • Category: Lunch

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 medium sweet potato
  • ½ medium onion, sliced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 1 cup cooked grain (brown rice, quinoa, millet, etc)
  • 2-3 handfuls spinach
  • -------------------
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoons honey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ cup cilantro, minced

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350˚. Peel sweet potato and cut in to ¼" cubes. Toss with 1 tablespoons olive oil, onion, and smoked paprika. Roast until tender, 25-30 minutes.
  2. Cook grain of choice- best done ahead of time or use left over grains. Let cool before using.
  3. Whisk together lime juice, honey,cilantro, and olive oil. Toss cooled grains with desired amount of spinach and dressing. Top with roasted sweet potatoes.

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @naturallyella on Instagram and hashtag it #naturallyella

 

More recipes you may enjoy

  • Roasted Sweet Potato Baked Eggs
  • Adobo Acorn Squash, Crispy Quinoa, and Chimichurri
  • Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Einkorn and Soy-Mustard Dressing
  • Shaved Brussels Sprout Potstickers

Reader Interactions

Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Warm Vanilla Sugar says

    November 28, 2012 at 8:41 am

    This salad is a beauty!

    Reply
  2. Oliver Green says

    November 28, 2012 at 8:43 am

    Super simple & no-doubt tasty, awesome! Added to this weeks menu. Thanks again 🙂

    Reply
  3. Hannah says

    November 28, 2012 at 8:52 am

    Did you put cilantro on the salad? It looks lovely!

    Reply
    • elalderson says

      November 28, 2012 at 9:01 am

      I did, I like a little extra cilantro outside the dressing 🙂

      Reply
  4. Kathryn says

    November 28, 2012 at 9:41 am

    I love this kind of salad for lunch - it definitely helps keep hunger at bay during a long working day.

    Reply
  5. Sally Beagle says

    November 28, 2012 at 12:37 pm

    I like to prepare "salad jars" on Sundays for my husband, who can then just grab one each day and take to work with him. But I think Romaine works best for salad jars. Do you think this sweet potato and grain salad would be ok with Romaine instead of spinach? It sounds so good!

    Reply
    • elalderson says

      November 28, 2012 at 12:57 pm

      I think it would be just fine!

      Reply
  6. Eileen says

    November 28, 2012 at 1:43 pm

    This definitely looks like a perfect work lunch candidate! Sweet and tangy and chewy and filling--win. 🙂

    Reply
  7. Sara @ The Cozy Herbivore says

    November 28, 2012 at 3:26 pm

    How can something so simple look so gorgeously satisfying? I really can't wait to try this, I love everything about it!

    Reply
  8. afarmerinthedell.com says

    November 29, 2012 at 10:54 am

    This sounds great! I love the combination of lime with sweet potatoes. thanks for another great recipe!

    Reply
  9. freshandfoodie.com says

    November 29, 2012 at 11:24 am

    Roasting sweet potatoes is the way to go. This looks really yum.

    Reply
  10. Lisa says

    November 29, 2012 at 5:10 pm

    This salad is so super tasty! I went a little substitution crazy in order to not have to go to the store. I used butternut squash and a mixture of quinoa, lentil and barley. I also used chili powder since I was out of paprika and it was amazing enough that I may continue to do that when I make it again. We get at least a squash a week in our CSA box these days and since I am already backed up by 3.5 squashes I think I am going to be eating a lot of this salad!

    Reply
  11. Loretta E says

    November 30, 2012 at 8:57 am

    I never thought of using smoked paprika on roasted veggies! It's my all-time favorite spice that's rarely used...

    Reply
  12. petesjoy says

    December 10, 2012 at 4:23 am

    Nice and simple, but very tasty, although I personally thought 1tbsp of smoked paprika was a little excessive! I went with 1/2 tbsp and I also halved the amount of grain (quinoa) as I wanted it to be an equal share of salad and grain. Instead of just using brown onion I mixed in a little red and final additions were toasted pine nuts, avocado and feta, but I wish I also added some halved cherry tomatoes. The dressing was spot on and mincing the coriander into the dressing was genius!

    Reply
  13. Jen Lane says

    January 13, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    This is fantastic! I am in hardcore love with smoked paprika, so I look for any opportunity to use it. Just made a batch of this with a Trader Joe's brown rice medley (it has brown rice, daikon radish seeds and black barley--VERY hearty!) and will bring it for lunches this week. Thanks!

    Reply
  14. Joyce Ward says

    October 09, 2013 at 8:33 am

    Made this for dinner last night. Delicious. Easy to make and really tasty. 5 stars.

    Reply
  15. Stephanie says

    February 21, 2014 at 9:31 pm

    Wonderful! Made with millet. Added beets to the roasting pan along with a tbsp of turmeric to go with the paprika and then chia seeds as a topper. (My husband then added naked popcorn to the leftovers to bulk it up and said it worked well together.)

    Reply
  16. Erik says

    January 03, 2017 at 7:37 pm

    This was a well balanced recipe. We used wheat berries and 50/50 mix of arugula and spinach.

    Reply
  17. Ana says

    November 03, 2019 at 2:05 am

    Thanks, I used bulgur, as I had as leftover. Easy and tasty recipe

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. My Top 5 Favorite Foods | tiffanylanehandmade says:
    03.21.13 at 3:31 pm

    [...] [Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach & Grain Salad via Naturally Ella] [...]

    Reply
  2. Food Diary » Jess Goes Granola says:
    06.5.13 at 7:30 pm

    [...] Sweet potato and quinoa salad (leftover from dinner last night) with a few Triscuits leftover from our camping trip (3 to be [...]

    Reply
  3. Naturally Ella | Beet, Avocado, and Arugula Salad says:
    11.15.13 at 8:31 am

    […] Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach and Grain Salad […]

    Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome!

I'm Erin and this is my space for all things vegetarian food inspired by California and my love of cooking.


Get the latest issue of Casual.

Winter recipes

  • Roasted Chipotle Sweet Potato and Sorghum Salad
  • Roasted Sweet Potato Rice Paper Rolls with Spinach
  • Sesame Brussels Sprout Soba Bowl
  • Red Lentil Soup with Sweet Potatoes

Subscribe for biweekly newsletters, new recipe emails, or a weekly recap of all new content.

subscribe

Popular recipes

  • Baked Cabbage and White Beans
  • Pasta and Chickpeas (Pasta e Ceci)
  • Spicy White Bean Stew with Arugula
  • Kabocha Ricotta Pancakes

Footer

↑ back to top

Resources

  • All Recipes
  • Component Cooking
  • Stock a Pantry
  • Produce Guides

Contact

  • Contact
  • Media Kit
  • Privacy Policy