Name: Sweet Potato and Beet Salad
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced; 1/2 cup quinoa- uncooked; 6 cups mixed spring mix; 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds; 1 cup cooked beets- sliced; 1/2 lemon- squeezed; 1 garlic clove- crushed; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon turmeric; 4 tablespoons olive oil

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This colorful Sweet Potato and Beet Salad makes the perfect starter to any Holiday menu. This gorgeous Holiday Salad is full of flavor and texture, with fresh mixed greens, pomegranate seeds, beets, crispy cooked sweet potatoes, fluffy quinoa, and a tangy lemon turmeric vinaigrette. It’s perfect as a Christmas salad, a Thanksgiving salad, for a dinner party, or as part of a regular weeknight dinner!

With fall well under way, the holiday countdown is officially on! And this colorful salad has to go on your Turkey Day menu this year! But not only does it make a delectable Thanksgiving Salad next month, you should also just go ahead and plan on making it as a Christmas salad too!

I usually alternate between this Sweet Potato and Beet salad and my Green Bean and Beet Salad recipe- One of my most visited recipes on the blog, so be sure to check it out 🙂

Sweet Potato and Beet Salad with Quinoa

This beet and sweet potato salad with quinoa is my go-to holiday dinner salad. For this beet salad recipe, you can roast your own beets, but high-quality vacuum-packed roasted beets, such as Love Beets, or canned sliced beets such Libby’s work amazingly and make this salad a breeze to prepare.

Be sure to dress the greens at the last minute so they don’t lose their crunch, and top the salad with the beets as opposed to mixing them in (tossing the beets with the salad will turn everything pink!).

Make-Ahead Tip: Yes, you can pre-cook the quinoa and the sweet potatoes up to 3 days in advance, cover and refrigerate them in an airtight container until ready to use.

Ingredients for Sweet Potato and Beet Salad:

Salad greens. I used a spring mix in this salad, but baby red and green romaine, baby spinach, arugula, or a combo of any of the above would be just dandy.

Beets. I used store bought, pre cooked beets. But you can roast your own!

Sweet Potatoes: I cooked mine in the air fryer, but you can also also bake them.

Pomegranate seeds.

Quinoa. cooked.

Lemon Turmeric Vinaigrette:

Lemon juice. from half a lemon, only!

Garlic. 1 small clove, minced.

Olive oil.

Turmeric. It does not change the flavor!

Salt. To taste.

How to Make Quinoa Salad with Sweet Potato and Beet:

This Holiday salad is simple to make. Better yet, several of the steps can be done ahead to save time during your Thanksgiving or Christmas cooking spree.

Cook the Quinoa.

If you are using the prepacked cooked quinoa then there won’t be any need to cook the quinoa, so you will move on to roasting your sweet potato cubes.

How to Cook the Quinoa:

Add quinoa, salt, and cold water to a saucepan.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes, until all the water is gone. Remove from heat and let it sit covered for 5 minutes.
Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow it to cool while you roast the sweet potatoes.

Prep and cook the sweet potato. I used my air fryer, but you can also bake them (I’ve included both air fryer potato cubes tips and oven roasted sweet potato tips below.

Prepare the lemon vinaigrette. In a small bowl, combine lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt, turmeric and olive oil. Whisk well and set aside. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (Alternatively, add all the ingredients to a jar, cover with the lid, and shake vigorously to blend.

Air Fryer Sweet Potato Cubes:

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into ½ inch pieces.
Transfer the sweet potatoes to a bowl. Add the olive oil and seasonings. Toss them well, so they are all coated with the seasoning.
Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Add the seasoned sweet potatoes to the air fryer and spread them in a single layer (cook in batches if needed).
Air fry for 10-12 minutes for the perfect texture. Shake the basket half way through.

how to cook sweet potato cubes in air fryer

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.
Spread evenly so they do not overlap. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Flip half way through for even cooking.

Assemble the Salad:

Place the greens in a large bowl, drizzle with about half of the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Add as much of the remaining vinaigrette as desired and toss again. Then top with a layer of cooked quinoa, followed by a layer of cooked sweet potatoes. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, and cooked sweet potato cubes, then add the sliced beets. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Sweet Potato and Beet Salad FLAVOR VARIATIONS

This salad is fabulous as-is, but you can add other ingredients to make it your own.

Green mix: You can use romaine lettuce, baby kale or spinach instead of mixed greens.
More veggies: Add cherry tomatoes, cucumber or onions, for extra crunch.
Nuts: Nuts: Try topping the salad with almonds, walnuts or pecans.
Cheese: If you’re a cheese lover, try adding feta for blue cheese, shaved parmesan, or small mozzarella balls.
Protein: Make this salad a meal by adding beans, grilled chicken or shrimp on top.
Switch up the dressing, try this honey lime dressing instead!

quinoa salad with sweet potatoes and beets

This quinoa & beet salad is light and refreshing yet packed with flavorful and hearty ingredients. You can’t go wrong with this salad, in fact, I make it all winter long!

Quinoa Hummus Bowl

Green Bean and Beet Salad

Beet Hummus

If you make this Sweet Potato and Beet Salad or any other recipe on the Salt and Sweet Kitchen, Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you.

The Perfect Holiday Salad

Sweet Potato and Beet Salad

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

This colorful Sweet Potato and Beet salad makes the perfect starter to any Holiday menu. This gorgeous Holiday Salad is full of flavor and texture, with fresh mixed greens, pomegranate seeds, beets, crispy cooked sweet potatoes, fluffy quinoa, and a tangy lemon turmeric vinaigrette. It’s perfect as a Christmas salad, a Thanksgiving salad, for a dinner party, or as part of a regular weeknight dinner!

Ingredients

For the Salad:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup quinoa- uncooked
6 cups mixed spring mix
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
1 cup cooked beets- sliced

For the Dressing:

1/2 lemon- squeezed
1 garlic clove- crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

Cook the quinoa:

Add quinoa, salt, and cold water to a saucepan.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and allow to simmer for 12-15 minutes, until all the water is gone. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 5 minutes.

Fluff the quinoa with a fork. Allow it to cool while you roast the sweet potatoes.

Roast the sweet potato cubes:

Air Fryer:

Peel and cube the sweet potatoes into ½ inch pieces.

Transfer the sweet potatoes to a bowl. Add the 1 tablespoon olive oil and seasonings. Toss them well, so they are all coated with the seasoning.

Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Add the seasoned sweet potatoes to the air fryer and spread them in a single layer (cook in batches if needed).

Air fry for 10-12 minutes for the perfect texture. Shake the basket half way through.

Bake:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Transfer the sweet potatoes to a large sheet pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with seasonings.

Spread evenly so they do not overlap. Cook for 25-30 minutes. Flip half way through for even cooking.