Fall Quinoa Salad with Kale, Sweet Potato & Maple Tahini Dressing

This salad is really similar to the second blog post I ever posted on this site!  I think I was a pretty good cook when I first started this blog, but my creativity in the kitchen and cooking abilities have really evolved since then.  This is the first of a few recipes that I really liked but wanted to kick up a notch, and I also really wanted to re-do the photos!

I’m not a huge city girl, the town I grew up in only had about 2,000 people, but one nice thing about living in a big city is that there is always something fun going on.  This weekend was the Meet Yourself festival in downtown Tucson, affectionately nicknamed the Eat Yourself festival because it is pretty much just a bunch of food vendors!  We were excited to get out of the house and go downtown but it was SO hot down there!  It was so hot that they had sunblock stations set up.  It didn’t feel at all like I would hope mid-October weather to feel.  All I wanted to do was bury my head in my raspberry sorbet!

We did have a lot of fun but I was a hot mess and I’m pretty sure i got sunburned through the thick layer of sunblock I was wearing!  Basically my mind is all about this fall quinoa salad and this salad and these muffins but the Arizona weather just won’t catch up!  I’m keeping my fingers crossed for some cooler weather soon because I have lots more fall recipes planned for you 🙂

Fall Quinoa Salad with Kale, Sweet Potato & Maple Tahini Dressing

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5 from 2 reviews

• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4-6 1x

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Ingredients

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• 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes (4 cups)
• Olive oil
• Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups chopped kale, I used curly kale
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup chopped toasted walnuts
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

Maple Tahini Dressing:

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

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Instructions

1. Place the chopped kale into a large bowl and add lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Massage the kale for about 1 minute and place in refrigerator until ready to use.
2. Cook the quinoa according to package directions. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Toss the sweet potato with 1 teaspoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Roast the sweet potatoes until fork tender, 25-30 minutes, flipping once.
3. Add all dressing ingredients to a jar and whisk until combined. Add the quinoa, sweet potato, walnuts and dried cranberries to the bowl with the kale and mix until everything is combined. You can either add the dressing to the big bowl of salad and mix it in or add the dressing to each individual serving of salad.

• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Category: Salad, Gluten Free, Vegan