Meet one of my favorite combos: sweet potatoes + feta. In this recipe, they're the perfect hearty, tangy topping for grains, greens, and nuts.
This easy bowl is what I make for dinner most often when no one is looking. It’s my go-to meal when I’m not working on new recipes, when I’m tired after a long day, and when I’ve definitely had too much take-out pho for one week. It’s not a 30-minute meal because roasting a sweet potato takes at least that long, but the rest is so darn simple. Plus, nothing actually calms me more than the wafting aroma of sweet potatoes roasting in my kitchen.
There’s no fancy sauce in this recipe. You won’t even dirty an extra bowl to mix together a separate dressing. Simply toss the roasted sweet potatoes with quinoa, a bit of feta cheese, and whatever greens, herbs, and nuts you might have around. Dress it simply with a drizzle of olive oil, squeezes of lemon, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Serve it in bowls and get cozy! This combination may be simple, but honestly, it’s one of my favorites.
Recipe Variations
I’ve made a thousand different variations of this recipe over the years. Here are some of my favorites:
- Roast your chickpeas along with the sweet potato for extra crunch.
- Use any toasted nut or seed—or a mix—in place of the almonds. I highly recommend pepitas or walnuts.
- Try millet or farro in place of the quinoa.
- Add a handful of dried cranberries or dried tart cherries for sweetness.
- Toss in a few tablespoons of minced herbs—think thyme, parsley, or sage.
- Use roasted butternut squash instead of sweet potatoes, a mix of roasted root vegetables, or something totally different, like roasted broccoli, roasted cauliflower, or roasted Brussels sprouts!
- Make a vegan bowl by swapping the feta for vegan Parmesan or dollops of pesto.
- Make a Southwestern bowl by replacing the chickpeas with black beans and the lemon juice with lime juice. Finish it with a drizzle of smoky chipotle sauce!
Let me know what variations you try!
More Favorite Bowl Recipes
If you love this recipe, try one of these healthy grain bowls next:
- Bibimbap
- Best Buddha Bowl
- Mango Ginger Rice Bowl
- Tamago Kake Gohan
- Adzuki Bean Bowls
- Roasted Veggie Grain Bowl
Simple Sweet Potato Bowl
- 1 medium sweet potato, cubed*
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
- ½ cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- ¼ cup thinly sliced red cabbage
- â…“ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ cup almonds, toasted and chopped
- 2 cups baby salad greens
- Juice of ½ lemon, more to taste
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the sweet potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Roast until golden brown, 25 to 35 minutes.
- Toss the roasted sweet potatoes with the chickpeas, quinoa, scallions, cabbage, feta, almonds, and salad greens. Drizzle with olive oil, the lemon juice, and a few generous pinches of salt and pepper. Add more lemon juice and season to taste. Toss and serve in bowls.
*If you like, add some spice to your sweet potatoes. Toss them with chili powder or a combination of cumin and coriander before you roast them.
Â
I am trying the sweet potato lasagna. I was gifted with 15# sweet potatoes and I want to get them cooked in Recipes etc before they go bad. I am not interested in a vegetarian lasagna.. I made a few changes. 1# ground beef browned ,with 2 onions,dried basil oregano and I loved the idea of adding hot pepper flakes. I didn’t have fresh spinach so I used frozen defrosted in micro and squeeze the extra water out. I only used 5 oz next time I will use the whole 10 oz package. Mom always put an egg in the cheese mixture, so I added 1 the rest was almost the same. I had trouble cutting the sweet potatoes on the mandolin and my slices with the knife weren’t much better. I zapped the peeled sw.potato for 1 minute ans and it was easy peasy after that. I’ll let you know how it tasted tomorrow.
I hope you loved it!
Put a healthy dose of Za’atar (Za’atar is a blend of dried toasted thyme, marjoram, oregano, sesame seeds and sumac) on this and it will CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Also when I feel like doing low card, I replace the quinoa with riced cauliflower and it’s still very delicious.
This receipt is one of my faves. Thanks you L&L!
I’m so glad you love it!
Hi Jam, I applied Za’atar liberally over chickpeas and sweet potato, and it was out of this world Thanks!!
I made this last night, quick, easy and oh so flavorful!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Absolutely delicious! Was a hit with my family. It is so simple yet flavourful. Will be making again!!
Amazing. Roughly doubled the recipe and ate it all week for lunch. Game changer!
I’m so glad you loved it!
Any idea if the sweet potato, quinoa & bean mixture could be frozen to eat later?
Hi Susan, I haven’t frozen this one, but it lasts in the fridge for up to 4-5 days or so.
I made this last night and loved it. Roasted the sweet potato with recommended spices (chili powder, cumin and coriander), used red onion instead of shallots, cooked the quinoa with a packet of Sazon Goya Coriander and Annatto spices, toasted the almonds, used goat cheese instead of feta, and baby spinach as greens. Combined it all while still slightly warm. Cheese got all gooey and coated the potatoes, spinach wilted slightly. Perfect. Diced up some leftover pork loin roast and had a one-dish dinner. Would definitely make again. I’ve already pinned it. Thanks!
This Sweet Potato Quinoa Bowl is delicious!
SOO good, I love this recipe so much and am looking forward to making this again. It was pretty fast and easy and delicious.
This looks great and exactly what I was looking for! If I’m meal prepping this for the week do I hold off on tossing it with the dressing until the day of? Any advice is welcome 🙂 thank you!
Hi Nicole, you can dress it, I’d just keep the greens separate and toss them in when you’re ready to eat so they won’t get too wilty.
Thank you so much! Tried it today I’m hooked. So YUM!!
This recipe is simple and delicious, I make it once a week!
This is DELICIOUS. Seriously. I prepped this for my lunches this week and I’ve already decided I’m prepping it for next week’s lunches too! So good!!
I’m so glad you loved it!
My daughter is allergic to sesame (tahini paste). Is there a substitute that I could use for the dressing?
Hi Megan, there’s not tahini in this recipe, are you referring to another one?