This delicious spinach salad with quinoa, black beans, and roasted delicata squash combines flavors that are as tasty as they are nutritious. This healthy spinach salad comes alive with a tangy cumin salad dressing!
Coming up with new ways to utilize our favorite ingredients and superfoods is one of the most fun parts of having a food blog. When you love food the way we do, every dish is as much an exploration and adventure as it is an opportunity to try something unique to eat. And even when creating the most simple of dishes, it's almost impossible to stifle that enthusiasm! If you have something you’re passionate about, you likely feel the same
We hope that some of the enthusiasm we put to work when creating this recipe translates well as we share it with you. This delicious spinach and quinoa salad combines an assortment of flavors that are as rich as they are nutritious. When you say words like “healthy” and “vegan” several of the ingredients that come to your mind are likely incorporated here. We are thrilled to be able to share this varied dish with you, and we hope that you like it as much as we do.
Combining delicata squash and quinoa isn’t a novel concept to chefs and fellow food enthusiasts. If you’ve been scouring the internet and your recipe books for delicious quinoa recipes, then you likely know that pairing roast squash and quinoa has been a popular choice for quite a while. However, by adding the black beans, corn, and a spicy cumin dressing we literally and figuratively spice up the dish and bring a new take to a favorite of vegans and vegetarians everywhere. And it's proof that simple, isn't always a synonym of boring 🙂
Enjoy!
Mexican Spinach Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 mins
- Yield: 2 Salads 1x
Description
This delicious spinach salad with quinoa, black beans and roasted delicata squash combines flavors that are as tasty as they are nutritious.
Ingredients
- 1 medium delicata squash, cut into ¾" thick rounds
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 5 oz baby spinach, thoroughly washed and dried
- 1 ½ cups cooked quinoa ( here we used tricolor quinoa)
- 1 cup canned black beans
- 1 cup frozen organic corn kernels, thawed
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- For the Dressing (makes about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp brown mustard
- 1 tsp maple syrup (optional)
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ⅛ tsp salt (or to taste)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange delicata squash rounds on top, drizzle with olive oil and salt. Bake for 55 minutes, flipping them over half way through
- Place baby spinach in a large salad bowl. Add quinoa, beans, corn and carrots
- To prepare the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a glass jar with a lid and shake vigorously (you can also use your blender)
- Pour dressing over the salad and toss well until everything is coated
- Divide salad into two bowls and top with warm roasted delicate squash
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 55 mins
tanya
I love adding quinoa to my salads lately! This looks really good with the squash in it too. Thanks for the recipe.