An easy Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowl drizzled with a zesty Cilantro Lime Crema. This fresh vegetarian meal is filled with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, quinoa, roasted red peppers and corn. It’s a flavorful quinoa bowl loaded with nutrients – perfect for a quick dinner recipe!
Looking for more Quinoa Bowl Recipes? Try out my Crunchy Thai Quinoa Salad, my refreshing Tabbouleh Quinoa Salad or my Buffalo Chicken Quinoa Bowls.
My Favorite Easy Quinoa Bowl
Yes, I’m still on that vegetarian meal kick. If I’m being honest, it’s harder than I thought. Probably because I’m so use to picking a protein and then making sides with it. So, to be intentional about not choosing a Chicken, Beef or Seafood has been difficult. But I’m up for the challenge. Luckily, sweet potatoes and beans have literally been my best friend. A couple weeks ago I made a Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry and OH MY GOSH!
These Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowls are actually an old recipe that I’m resurfacing. Y’all know I’m all about tex-mex recipes but I forgot how delicious these were! The sweet potatoes are covered in a spice blend then roasted in the oven to bring out their natural sweetness. Then tossed with black beans, quinoa, more veggies and topped with a fresh zesty Cilantro Lime Crema that you need to double!
What does Quinoa taste like?
Well, if you’re my husband you’d say it taste like nothing. But to me it’s a bit more nutty in flavor. The best way to describe the taste and texture of quinoa is, it’s like brown rice and oats had a baby. It’s fluffy, crunchy and somewhat nutty, all rolled into one. Quinoa is very versatile and can be prepared several ways – some of my favorite ways to use quinoa is in quinoa bowls! It adds a crunchy to any dish as well as fiber!
How to make Quinoa?
Quinoa is very easy to prepare. Rinse it before use. Then add 1 cup of quinoa to a small sauce pan along with 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to a slow simmer. Simmer for about 15 minutes, covered. Once water is evaporated, fluff quinoa with a fork and serve.
What to put in Quinoa Bowls?
There are a lot of variations you can make when it comes to quinoa bowls. Here are a few ideas to use when trying to add more quinoa to your diet:
- Roasted Vegetables are a great way to add more vegetables to your diet and go great with quinoa. They basically transform your quinoa bowl into a little salad that is divine and so flavorful!
- Protein – Every quinoa bowl needs a good sidekick. Think shredded chicken, grilled steak, pan seared shrimp or even roasted chickpeas! This adds flavor, a crunch and helps fill you up.
- Sauce – Quinoa Bowls can be really dry if you don’t have some sort of sauce to pull everything together. You could use a simple lemon vinaigrette, a spicy poblano dressing, a thai inspired peanut dressing or something like this cilantro lime crema. Just know that you NEED a sauce or dressing in the mix or you’ll feel like you’re eating “rabbit food.”
- The Extras – I kind of think of quinoa bowls as a cheese board, and a cheese board has all those extra ingredients on it that totally take that board over the top. I loved adding roasted nuts, fresh herbs, pickled onion or fresh citrus to my quinoa bowls for that extra “pop” of flavor!
How to make Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowls?
- Preheat oven to 400°F. In a small bowl, add olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add seasoning to diced sweet potatoes and toss to coat. Spread the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
- In the meantime, rinse quinoa and then add water and quinoa to a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is evaporated. Then fluff quinoa with a fork.
- To a small food processor add fresh cilantro, greek yogurt, red wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic clove, salt and a pepper to taste. Blend until smooth and cilantro is finely chopped.
- Assemble the Quinoa Bowls: Add Quinoa, sweet potatoes, black beans, roasted red pepper, red onion, avocado, corn and then drizzle with crema. (optional sliced jalapenos)
Everything about these Quinoa Bowls is dreamy! There spiced roasted sweet potatoes add so much flavor and pair perfectly with the earthly black beans, corn, roasted red pepper and creamy avocado. But the kicker is totally the cilantro lime crema, it ties everything together and completes the dish. I guarantee you will fall in love with this bowl and won’t even miss the meat!
Bon Appetit friends!
More Quinoa Recipes you’ll love:
- One Pot Quinoa Stuffed Pepper Recipe
- Crock Pot Quinoa Vegetarian Chili
- Creamy Goat Cheese Asparagus Quinoa Salad
- Healthy One Pot Cheesy Quinoa Taco Skillet
- Vegetarian Thai Quinoa Salad with Peanut Dressing
Easy Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowls with Crema
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Vegetarian
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: Tex-Mex
Description
Easy Sweet Potato Black Bean Quinoa Bowls drizzled with a zesty Cilantro Lime Crema. This fresh vegetarian meal is filled with roasted sweet potatoes, black beans, quinoa, roasted red peppers and corn.
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups of water
- 1 cup dry quinoa
- 1 cup low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup no salt sweet corn, drained and rinsed
- 2 roasted red peppers, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- optional: jalapeno, sliced
- 2 avocado, sliced
Cilantro Crema:
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt
- 3 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 garlic clove
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F.
- In a small bowl, add olive oil, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together.
- In a large bowl, add sweet potatoes and the olive oil seasoning. Toss to coat the potatoes with the mixture.
- Spread the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside.
- In the meantime, rinse quinoa with water. Then add 2 cups of water and quinoa to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes or until liquid is evaporated. Remove from heat and fluff quinoa with a fork.
- To a small food processor add fresh cilantro, greek yogurt, red wine vinegar, lime juice, olive oil, honey, dijon mustard, red pepper flakes, ground cumin, smoked paprika, garlic clove, salt and a pepper to taste. Blend until smooth and cilantro is finely chopped.
- Assemble the Sweet Potato Bowls. To a large bowl add quinoa, sweet potatoes, black beans, roasted red pepper, red onion, avocado, corn and then drizzle with dressing. (optional sliced jalapenos)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl + crema
- Calories: 529
- Sugar: 14 g
- Sodium: 484 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 73 g
- Fiber: 15 g
- Protein: 14 g
- Cholesterol: 1 mg
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