This salad is a good example of how I love my salads in the winter – warm, hearty, and bursting with nutrition. Like a big hug. I have no desire to eat a cold salad right now (unless it’s this one, I suppose). It’s light, but still has that “stick to your ribs” quality I crave soooo much right now. Give me all the healthy comfort food!
I started by roasting Yukon Gold potatoes (one of my all-time favourite winter comfort foods!) and crunchy green beans with a bit of olive oil and a generous seasoning of sea salt and pepper. While it’s roasting, whip up a batch of quinoa (speltberries or millet might be nice too) and chop some green onion and kale. Whisk together a simple red wine vinaigrette and we’ll add some freshly roasted garlic (if you are already roasting veggies, you might as well roast a few cloves of garlic too!). When the potatoes and green beans are golden and lightly charred on the bottoms, throw it into a big bowl and fold in the quinoa, dressing, green onions, and kale. Toss on a big handful of pepita seeds for crunch and my favourite salad topper – sliced avocado. It’s the perfect soul-soothing, warm bowl of comfort food in the middle of January.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
Warm and Roasted Winter Quinoa Bowl
Yield
6 servings
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
This is the ultimate bowl of winter comfort food! Yukon Gold potatoes and green beans are roasted until crisp and golden and then tossed with warm quinoa, shredded kale, green onion, and a speedy roasted garlic and red wine vinaigrette. I topped this cozy bowl with crunchy toasted pepita seeds and creamy sliced avocado. Feel free to swap the potatoes with whatever variety you have on hand (yellow or red potatoes work great in a pinch). Spelt berries or millet might be a nice sub for the quinoa if you feel like changing up the grain.
Ingredients
For the salad:
- 2 large (400 g) Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped into 1/2-inch chunks (2 1/2 cups)
- 12 ounces (350 g) green beans, trimmed and chopped into 1-inch pieces (3 cups)
- 3 large garlic cloves, peel left on
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup (200 g) uncooked quinoa
- 1 cup (40 g) stemmed and finely chopped kale (optional)
- 3 medium (50 g) green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1/4 cup (40 g) toasted pepita seeds
- 1 large ripe avocado, pitted and sliced
For the dressing:
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons (10 mL) Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- Freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) pure maple syrup, or to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C) and line one extra-large baking sheet (or two large baking sheets) with parchment paper.
- Place the chopped potatoes, green beans, and garlic cloves (leaving the peel on) onto the baking sheet. Toss with the oil and season with a generous amount of salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer.
- Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and flip before continuing to roast for about 10 to 20 more minutes until the potatoes and beans are tender and golden brown in some spots.
- Meanwhile, cook the quinoa by adding it to a medium pot along with 1 3/4 cups (430 mL) water. Bring to a low boil before reducing heat to medium-low. Cover and cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and leave the lid on to keep warm.
- Prepare the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk all of the dressing ingredients together and set aside.
- When the vegetables are finished roasting, trim the end off each garlic clove and push the roasted garlic out. Mash the garlic with a fork, then whisk it into the dressing until combined.
- Spoon the potatoes and beans into a large serving bowl. Now add the quinoa along with the kale and green onions (if using). Pour all of the dressing onto the vegetables and toss to coat.
- Season with salt and pepper (to taste) and top with pepitas and sliced avocado. Serve immediately. The salad will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Leftovers can be reheated in an oiled skillet over medium heat until warmed through. It's great cold, too!
Tip:
To boost the protein even more, try adding chickpeas (roasted, if desired), adzuki beans, Great Northern beans, or lentils.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
A huge thank you to those of you who volunteered to be a recipe tester for my second cookbook! I’m blown away by the response – I wish I could take you all up on your offer to help. If you aren’t emailed by the end of next week, don’t despair. There’s a good chance that I will need more help in the future so I might end up emailing more volunteers down the road. I will keep your submissions on file if that’s ok with you (no pressure if you can no longer volunteer, of course). PS – I haven’t emailed anyone yet, but I should be sending out an email within a couple weeks once I get my testing site ready to roll. Thank you a million!
This is just perfect for the cold weather we’re experiencing here. I usually go for cold salads but this looks so delicious.
This is just how I love my salads in the winter too! I was going to apply to be a taste tester but readed the requirements. I just started my own blog (largely inspired by you!!!) entirely dedicated to spiralized vegetarian recipes, so I unfortunately would not commit to 3 days a week. So glad your response was great and glad to see you’re keeping well – following all the pics on the glow spot!! xoxo Love from another Torontonian!
Made this two nights ago and it was wonderful! I followed the recipe exactly, but added some cauliflower to the roasting pan (because I had about a third of a head leftover and needed to use it) and everything was perfect. My seven year old son liked it so much he wanted to know if there were leftovers – I cannot think of a higher compliment! The roasted garlic elevated the dressing to a whole new level. Thank you for introducing us to this delicious salad.
This looks so delicious! Definitely the kinds of foods I’ve been craving on these cold winter nights. Thanks for sharing!
Xo,
Laura
http://seeingthesunrise.blogspot.com
I made this with cauliflower instead of green beans because that’s what I had on hand, and I used a mixture of whole grain basmati rice and quinoa. It was awesome!
First, this looks ahhh-mazing. Everything that I crave in the cold months too. Just can’t seem to want cold food–salads or smoothies. But I still want healthy. This is perfect!
Second, and unrelated, your blog is such an inspiration; your story is such an inspiration as well. Was there ever a time when you questioned sharing it? Or when you were blogging before all the followers and cookbooks that you questioned whether or not to keep going? What motivated you to choose to keep writing, to keep trying recipes, to keep sharing even before you had the attention of the world?
Thanks :)
This winter salad is sooo good!
Even the day after, i think it`s better :))
This is seriously one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. It is SO good…SO satisfying…and it heats up perfectly. I made it last week and will be making it tonight again (and for the rest of my life!).
Made this tonight for dinner and it was amazing! My 13 month old devoured it!!
My husband made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely amazing!!
Food is great, I’ll be your friend know special dishes. Thank you!
This recipe was great! Tried it last night, but used sweet potatoes as I did not have any Yukon gold and it was just delicious!
I love your recipes and use them all the time! Can’t wait for the next cookbook!
I must try :)
We just tried the recipe for lunch and loved it. I used frozen green beans from our garden, and substituted balsamic vinegar for red wine vinegar. Definitely a keeper.
I’ve made this twice already this week and it’s fantastic! The dressing is perfect for a warm salad and I didn’t have pepitas on hand so I used roasted sunflower seeds. Absolutely delicious and my honey loved it too :) He was like “is this recipe from the glowing girl? Hers are the best!” And he’s right! thanks for another win, Angela! xo
This salad is AMAZING! We didn’t have enough. I can’t wait to make it again.
I’m eating this right now and it is amazing! Angela, I just love your recipes and cookbook. I got it for my mother in law for Christmas and now she’s hooked too! Thanks for introducing us to delicious vegan cooking, nutritional yeast, hemp seeds, and the fact that our carnivorous spouses can in fact get by without meat. We all feel so much healthier, thanks in substantial part to you!
This looks so wonderful and delicious! I’ve been trying to use more quinoa so I really want to try this.
Just wanted to let you know I made this last night for dinner with a few changes (massaged the kale since I only had curly kale, used almonds for the nuts). So delicious! Loved this recipe, so tasty. :)
I am excited to try this! I just created a website where I try out a different health lifestyle each month to see what works best for me and this month I’m trying vegan! Can’t wait :)