This easy side dish is a great go-to recipe and will add variety and color to any meal. Simple protein additions can make this Sweet Potato Quinoa side dish into a meal or a salad.
The combination of sweet potato, bell pepper and quinoa creates a tasty base that you can enjoy year-around. It’s very easy to make, adds great color to your meal, can be eaten cold or warm and is full of healthy nutrients.
Key Nutrients in This Recipe and Alternatives
- Quinoa – any color quinoa will do here. Alternatively, you could use farro, millet, barley.
- Sweet potato
- Red bell pepper – any color will work. You can also add sliced jalapeno pepper if you want to turn up the heat.
- Red onion – yellow or sweet onion are equally fine.
- Garlic – clove or garlic paste.
- Stock – chicken stock or vegetable stock if you want to keep it vegan
- Olive oil – or any oil your prefer.
- Lime juice – or lemon juice
- Cilantro – parsley is a great alternative.
How to Make Sweet Potato Quinoa
Step 1 – Cook the quinoa. For details on how to cook quinoa, check out this post.
Step 2 – At the same time, finely chop the red onion and cook together with the garlic in a skillet with some olive oil. Cook until translucent and slightly softened.
Step 3 – Add spices; coriander, cumin and chili powder. Cook for about a minute, while stirring.
Step 4 – Add stock, cubed sweet potato, strips of bell pepper and salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potato is soft. Stir occasionally and all, or nearly all stock will be absorbed.
Step 4 – Mix quinoa with sweet potato/pepper mixture. Check whether you’ll need to add salt and pepper. Finish the dish by sprinkling it with strips of cilantro.
Other Grain Side Dishes to Try
- Couscous with Zucchini & Herbs
- Creamy Orzo with Grated Tomatoes
- Freekeh with Cauliflower Rice
- Orzo with Zucchini
Sweet Potato Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup quinoa
- 1 cup stock (NOTE 1)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 red onion finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic (NOTE 2)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon coriander
- 1 sweet potato peeled and cut in small cubes
- 1 bell pepper cut in thin strips
- salt & pepper
- cilantro (NOTE 3)
- lime juice
Instructions
- Cook the quinoa. (NOTE 4)
- At the same time, heat the olive oil in a skillet and add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat until translucent and slightly soft.
- Add the spices to the skillet and cook and stir for about a minute.
- Then add the stock, sweet potatoes and bell pepper and salt and bring to a simmer.
- Simmer until the sweet potato cubes are done/tender. Almost all the stock will be absorbed.
- Mix quinoa with the vegetables. Taste and add salt & pepper if needed.
- Garnish with chopped cilantro.
Notes
- You can use vegetable stock and keep this side dish vegan or you can use a chicken stock.
- If you don’t have garlic cloves on hand, you can always use garlic paste. 1 clove = 1 teaspoon garlic paste.
- If you don’t like cilantro, replace with parsley.
- Check out this post about cooking quinoa. If you prefer to use stock to cook the quinoa, instead of water, please do so, but it will be additionally to the stock in the recipe.
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