This Honey Mustard Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad recipe is a perfect meatless main dish or side dish! It’s loaded with veggies & protein and bursting with flavor! It’s a great meal prep recipe that you can make ahead of time and it's paleo, gluten-free dairy-free and vegan-friendly!
Are there meals that you could eat everyday and never get tired of?
As you all know I'm a total creature of habit. When I find something I like I tend to stick with it for a while {or forever}. I do this because sometimes it takes more brainpower than I can muster to decide what to cook for dinner {or breakfast, or lunch...}.
So, when I find recipes that I loveee, like this Honey Mustard Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad, I make them on repeat until my tastes or the season change. This is the best quinoa salad recipe EVER, and it makes a perfect meatless main dish or yummy side! There's no one who won't love this recipe! I mean, it's gluten & dairy free and paleo & vegan friendly! A salad that truly can be all things to all people.
Quinoa Salad is great for Meal Prep
I mean really, if you follow my Instagram Stories then you know firsthand how often I make this Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad! One of the reasons I love it so much is that it's a cook once, eat multiple times meal!
I whip it up on Monday and eat it until Wednesday! Sometimes I eat it as-is. Other times I toss it in a salad full of leafy greens, avocado and toasted peans. There's really no wrong way to enjoy this Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad.
FAQs about Quinoa Salad!
Do you need to wash quinoa before cooking
Yes! I recommend rinsing quinoa before cooking it! Quinoa has a natural coating called saponin that, if not rinsed off, can cause the final cooked quinoa to taste bitter!
Is Quinoa Healthy?
Yes! Here are a few facts about the nutritional benefits of quinoa
- Quinoa is a complete protein. This is one of my absolute favorite qualities of quinoa! If you're like me and prefer to get most of your protein from plant-based sources, then quinoa is a great choice!
- Quinoa is gluten-free. So for those of you who have to say no to pasta salads because of the gluten, quinoa salads are a perfectly delicious alternative!
- Quinoa is lower in carbohydrates and calories than rice. If you watch your intake of carbs and calories, then quinoa is a great alternative to rice!
- Quinoa is high in fiber. I'm always trying to find ways to get more fiber into our diet. Quinoa is a great way to do that!
- It's high in other nutrients. Including but not limited to: iron, magnesium, phosphorous, zinc, calcium, and potassium!
How long can you keep quinoa salad in the fridge?
This Quinoa Salad can last for up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator (if you don't eat it all much faster)!
How to make Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Since I've made this recipe more times than I care to admit, I have it down to a science! Here are a few tips for you!
- Use one bowl. I use one bowl to mix everything in shifts {because I strongly dislike washing dishes}. Mix the sweet potatoes with olive oil & salt and pepper. Then while the potatoes are roasting toss the rest of the veggies with olive oil in that same bowl. Then once the veggies have been added to the sweet potatoes in the oven, use the bowl to mix up the honey mustard sauce! No need for piles of dishes here!
- Pre-cook the sweet potatoes. The first step in this recipe is to roast the vegetables. However peppers & edamame cook faster than potatoes. So you will need to cook the potatoes for a little while before adding the other veggies. Using the microwave speeds up the process, but the recipe gives directions if you'd prefer to only use the oven! If you don't cook the sweet potatoes first you run the risk of ending up with burnt veggies and undercooked sweet potatoes.
- Save 2 TBS of your sauce! Add 2 TBS of honey mustard sauce to the cooked quinoa, then toss the rest with the roasted vegetables. This gives the quinoa a little flavor boost!
- Add the honey mustard during the last 10 minutes of baking. Be sure all the vegetables and potatoes are nice and browned before adding the sauce. The goal is to cook the veggies with the sauce just until it starts to stick to them and coat them well!
Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad: Substitutions
This recipe is fairly versatile! Here are a few potential substitutions!
- Vegetables. I have used just about every veggie under the sun in this recipe and it's always delicious! Just remember to account for the roasting times of each vegetable (see above).
- Mustard. I have also used many different mustard varieties in this recipe, all with great results! My favorite is dijon and honey mustard is a close second! You could also try using this keto roasted vegetable recipe if you're not into honey mustard!
- Honey. For a vegan variety substitute pure maple syrup for the honey!
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil can be used, although olive oil is my favorite! I have also used avocado oil with delicious results!
If you make something from JoyFoodSunshine I would love to see your creations! Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment below! Also, follow along with me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter for more recipe inspiration and a glimpse into our everyday life!
Honey Mustard Roasted Vegetable Quinoa Salad
Ingredients
Quinoa:
- ¾ cup uncooked quinoa
- 1 ½ cups water
- ¼ tsp salt
Vegetables
- 6 cups sweet potatoes cubed (about 2 medium)
- 1 red pepper cut into 1” square pieces
- 1 green pepper cut into 1” square pieces
- 1 cup shelled edamame
- 3 TBS olive oil divided
- 1 ¼ tsp garlic salt divided
- ¼ tsp pepper
Honey Mustard Sauce:
- 6 TBS Dijon mustard
- 3 TBS honey
- 2 TBS olive oil
Instructions
- Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly grease a large baking sheet, set aside.
- Dice sweet potatoes and place in a microwave safe dish. Microwave for 6 minutes. (If you don’t want to use a microwave, skip this step and proceed to step 2)
- Toss diced sweet potatoes with 2 TBS olive oil until coated.
- Sprinkle 1 tsp garlic salt on potatoes and mix until evenly distributed.
- Spread sweet potatoes evenly on a baking sheet and bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until slightly browned (if you don’t want to use a microwave, bake 15 minutes then stir and bake another 10 minutes before proceeding to the next step).
- While sweet potatoes are baking, toss green peppers and shelled edamame with remaining 1 TBS olive oil and ¼ tsp garlic salt.
- After sweet potatoes are slightly browned on one side, add the peppers and edamame and stir until everything is evenly distributed on your baking sheet.
- Bake for an additional 20 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until the peppers are cooked and everything is slightly browned.
- Make the honey mustard sauce: While the veggies are roasting, stir together all honey mustard sauce ingredients until combined.
- Add 2 TBS of the sauce to the already cooked quinoa, set aside.
- Once the veggies are all slightly browned (after about 30-35 minutes total of roasting time), add the rest of the honey mustard sauce to the vegetables and stir until evenly coated.
- Bake for 10 additional minutes, stirring once halfway through, until the sauce has thickened and has coated the vegetables.
- Remove the pan from the oven and add the quinoa to the vegetables and stir until combined.
- Serve warm or wait until the salad has cooled to room temperature, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and serve cold!
Nutrition
More delicious quinoa recipes:
- This easy quinoa salad is tossed in a homemade lemon dressing and it's so light and fresh and delicious!
- Nothing screams summer like this balsamic caprese quinoa salad.
- This Asian quinoa salad is perfect to bring to a BBQ or potluck, it's delicious and feeds a crowd.
- This baked quinoa casserole is healthy comfort food at its finest!
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Marylee
My entire family of ten people that are extremely anti-vegan food are the entire double batch I made of this Bush and were looking for more. That is saying a lot about how delicious this recipe is. Thank you for a vegan side dish. In my case it was a meal. Wonderful. I can't say enough about how good it is!
Laurel
This salad looks amazing! Love how simple it is to make. And that Honey Mustard dressing.... YUM!
Emily Weir
All of your recipes always look so delicious! I can't wait to give this one a try.
Katie
I have a few recipes that are my go-to and this looks so good and like it would make a great go-to!
Alisa Fleming
Honey mustard has been my favorite sauce flavor for years, but we usually use it for dipping or as a salad dressing. This is such a great new option to try.