Quinoa Pumpkin Salad

Pumpkin quinoa salad with cilantro lime dressing drizzled on top.

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Quinoa Salad - gluten free, dairy free, can easily be made vegan - this is the perfect fall salad and is a great side dish or meal on it's own. Perfeclty spiced pumpkin with fluffy quinoa and cilantro lime dressing is great for meal prep or parties!

Course Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword pumpkin quinoa salad, quinoa pumpkin salad, roasted pumpkin quinoa salad

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Cooling 10

Total Time 50

Servings

Calories 487kcal

Author Samantha Rowland

Cost $11.39 Recipe/$2.85 Serving

Ingredients

1 medium pie pumpkin (3-4 cups) $2.50
1 tbsp olive oil $0.22
2 tsp honey $0.18
1 tsp cumin $0.10
1 tsp smoked paprika $0.10
1 tsp salt, divided $0.05
2 medium red onions, cut into wedges $0.66
1 medium bell pepper (red, orange, yellow) $1.29
1 cup quinoa, dry $1.12
1.5 cups water $0.00
8 cups mixed salad greens $1.99

Cilantro Lime Dressing

1 cup cilantro $0.99
3 tbsp olive oil $0.66
3 medium limes, juiced $0.99
1 tsp sea salt $0.05
1/2 tsp garlic powder $0.05
1/2 tsp ground cumin $0.05
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes $0.03
1/2 cup water $0.00
3 tbsp pumpkin seeds $0.36

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425F.
Wash and dry the pumpkin. Cut the top and bottom off pumpkin and cut in half. Remove seeds with spoon. Cut into 1 inch strips then cut the strips into 1 inch cubes.
Add cubed pumpkin to a large bowl. Add olive oil, honey, cumin, smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir well to coat.
Cut the onions into 1/2 inch wedges
Cut the bell peppers into 1/2 inch cubes.
Place parchement paper down on an extra large baking sheet or between 2 regular baking sheets.
Add the coated pumpkin, red onion and bell peppers to the baking sheets. Sprinkle the onions and bell pepper with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt.
Place baking sheet(s) in the 425F oven for 30 minutes.
While the veggies are roasting, make the quinoa. Rinse the quinoa well (I like to soak it first) then add quinoa to a pot or instant pot with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer and cook covered 15 minutes. Or cook on high pressure in instant pot for 1 minute, with 10 minute natural release. Fluff quinoa when done cooking.
Make the cilantro lime dressing by adding all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blending on high for about 1 minute until smooth.
Once veggies are done roasting, allow them to cool 10 minutes.
Build the salad by putting down the mixed salad greens, then quinoa then topping with the roasted vegetables. Drizzle with salad dressing and serve immediately.

Notes

Can you make this in advance?

Yes you can make the following items in advance:

Chop and roast the pumpkin and veggies
Cook the quinoa
Make the dressing
Store all of these items separately until assembling the salad. On the day you want to serve the salad, bring the pumpkin, veggies and quinoa up to room temperature or warm them up in the oven and/or microwave. Assemble the salads and pour dressing over them right before serving.

Storing leftovers

If you know you will have leftovers of this salad but want most of it assembled, you can pour the dressing over a bowl of quinoa, roasted pumpkin and veggies as these will not wilt with the dressing.

Simply serve this over a bed of salad greens.

You can store the pumpkin and quinoa in the fridge for up to 5 days after cooking.

I would not recommend freezing the pumpkin and veggies as they can get watery when defrosting. Quinoa freezes well though.

Nutrition