Nourishing Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl (Video)

Name: Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Ingredients: 3 medium sweet potatoes (peeled and cut into bite size pieces); 2 tablespoon olive oil (plus more for serving); 1 teaspoon sea salt; black pepper (to taste); 1 lb breakfast sausage (I like to use beef sausage); 2 cups quinoa (cooked); 1/2 medium onion (chopped); 1 clove garlic; 15 oz black beans (drained and rinsed); 2 cups sweet corn; 1 medium lime (juice, plus more for serving ); 1/2 cup cilantro (freshly chopped, plus more for garnish)

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Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl - Cooked hearty quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, and a zesty black bean salad come together in this colorful, nourishing, and ultra-flavorful sweet potato quinoa bowl! Don’t forget to check our easy family dinner recipes for healthy, family-approved weeknight meals.

I love putting together all kinds of bowls. Salmon bowls, rice bowls, strawberry smoothie bowls, Greek chicken quinoa bowls, taco salad bowls, you name it! It’s such a great way to enjoy plenty of flavors of textures made from fresh wholesome ingredients and most of the time without the heavy carbs!

The kids will love this quinoa sweet potato bowl because it’s flexible enough to switch up the ingredients. You can add a little spice, squirt a little lime, sprinkle on some extra seasoning, or make it vegetarian or vegan if you’d like.

The options are endless for this beautiful and delicious quinoa sweet potato black bean bowl, but I’m going to show you exactly how I make my favorite version.

Ingredients Needed

Medium sweet potatoes: You’ll need 3 peeled and cut into bite-size pieces.
Olive oil: Coating the potatoes in oil will help to brown them nicely and give them caramelized edges.
Seasoning: Salt & Pepper.
Breakfast sausage: I like to use beef breakfast sausage, but you can use whatever you like!
Cooked quinoa: If you have any leftover quinoa already cooked, this would be a great way to use it. Otherwise, follow the instructions on the package.
For the Black Bean Salad: Chopped onion, rinsed and drained black beans, garlic, sweet corn, and lime juice.
For garnish: Freshly chopped cilantro and black sesame seeds are both optional but add a beautiful finishing touch!

How to Roast Sweet Potatoes

Step 1: Arrange chopped sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Do not overlap any pieces as they will just transfer the heat and steam. You want to leave enough room surrounding the sweet potatoes for the heat to roast all sides.

Step 2: Drizzle the sweet potatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine making sure all pieces are nicely seasoned.

Step 3: Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 20-25 minutes until each piece of sweet potato is fork-tender. Set them aside to cool.

How to Cook Quinoa

On the package, you’ll see instructions on how to cook your quinoa. However, here’s a quick overview of two easy methods for cooking quinoa. One is the stovetop and the other is the Instant Pot.

For every 1 cup of uncooked quinoa, you’ll get 3 cups of cooked quinoa once it’s nice and fluffy, so you may have extra for another day!

Stove Top Method

Step 1: Combine 1 cup of quinoa and 1 ¾ cup of water in a medium pot.

Step 2: Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat to let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Step 3: Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to sit covered for another 10 minutes.

Step 4: Open the lid and fluff up the quinoa with a fork. It’s ready!

Instant Pot Method

Step 1: Add 1 cup of quinoa and 1 ½ cup of water to the inner pot sprayed with cooking spray.

Step 2: Seal the lid and make sure the valve is set to sealing.

Step 3: Set the timer for 1 minute (yes, really). It will take a few minutes for it to come to pressure.

Step 4: Do a natural release for 10 minutes once the cooking time is up and then release the remaining pressure.

Step 5: Open the lid and use a fork to fluff up the quinoa.

How to Make Quinoa and Sweet Potato Bowl

Step 1: Make the black bean salad by combining all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Detailed instructions can be found in my post.

Step 2: Sauté the breakfast sausage in a skillet until it is no longer pink and cooked all the way through.

Step 3: Time to assemble the bowl! Into a large serving bowl, add the cooked beef sausage, cooked quinoa, roasted sweet potatoes, and black bean salad. You can either serve it tossed or leave it as is and allow everyone to toss their own.

Step 4: Garnish with cilantro and black sesame seeds. Serve with lime wedges for an extra drizzle of lime. You can also provide olive oil for a finishing touch!

Variations

Make it vegetarian/vegan. Omit the breakfast sausage and replace it with tempeh, tofu, or nothing at all.
You can replace the sweet potato with butternut squash if you prefer that!
Or swap the quinoa with brown rice if quinoa isn’t your jam.
Add extra veggies: Diced bell pepper, red onions, and roasted broccoli would be great!
Toss in some dried fruit for sweetness like cranberries or raisins.
For added crunch, top with pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, or walnuts.
If you want to add some crumbled feta or goat cheese, you should!
Add some warming spices like turmeric or cumin for extra coziness.

FAQs

Do you serve this sweet potato quinoa bowl warm or cold?

To be honest it works both ways! I actually love it with room-temperature black bean salad and quinoa with warm roasted sweet potatoes. The temperature balance is so nice! However, it’s just as delicious when served completely warm or completely at room temperature. Or even cold straight out of the fridge!

Is this sweet potato quinoa bowl healthy?

Absolutely! Quinoa is a high protein grain so it’s filling, hearty, and satiating. Black beans are high in protein and fiber, and corn provides vitamin B and despite it being sweet, it doesn’t spike blood sugar. Last, you’ve got sweet potatoes that provide both Vitamins A and C and have tons of other nutrients.

Together this powerhouse bowl of goodness can’t be beat!

Can I make it ahead of time?

There are a few components to this recipe that are done separately and come together once the bowl gets assembled. So you can certainly do much of this ahead of time.

Roast the potatoes, cook the quinoa, and make the black bean salad ahead. Store separately in airtight containers in the fridge, then toss everything together when you’re ready to serve it!

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