Honey Roast Pumpkin Quinoa Salad

This roast pumpkin quinoa salad is made with chunks of pumpkin roasted to golden, crispy-edged perfection in a coating of honey, extra virgin olive oil and spices. Add fluffy quinoa and a few more roast veggies and voila, so much yum!

Guys, I have been in a bit of a salad meal prep rut. In between studying, working and blogging, supermarket visits have been speeeeedy. And I’ve just been grabbing the same few things for weekday salads – some root veggies to roast, plus cucumber, tomato, broccoli, salad leaves. This honey roast pumpkin quinoa salad is just what I needed to shake things up a bit!

Roasting vegetables is my favourite way to cook them; it’s no mess, no fuss, hands-off but with big flavour returns. Especially when it comes to pumpkin. Roasting pumpkin makes it so incredibly sweet and delicious; I like to leave it roasting until the edges start to caramelize a bit and the skin is soft enough to eat. Mmm, and with those crispy edges…

To pump up the roast pumpkin even further, in this recipe it’s coated in a yummy mix of spices and a little honey. Cumin, coriander and cinnamon, together with the honey, give this salad a slightly Moroccan-ish feel. You could also add a pinch of chilli flakes to the mix for a spicy kick.

I made this honey roast pumpkin quinoa salad so I’d have a new exciting option to take to work, so usually I’ll eat this cold. It lasts for 4-5 days in the fridge and is perfect paired with some extra protein like feta cheese, grilled chicken, salmon or tuna. Yay for meal prep! You could also serve it fresh and slightly warm, with pan-fried halloumi on top. Because what doesn’t work with fried halloumi on top, right?!

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Honey Roast Pumpkin Quinoa Salad

This roast pumpkin quinoa salad is made with chunks of pumpkin roasted to golden, crispy-edged perfection in a coating of honey, extra virgin olive oil and spices. Gluten free, dairy free and perfect for some healthy meal prep!

Course Salads and Sides

Categories dairy free, egg free, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 3 to 4 servings

Ingredients

Salad ingredients

• 500-600 grams pumpkin (no need to peel)
• 1 red onion
• 1 red capsicum
• 80 grams rocket - about 3-4 big handfuls
• 2-3 sprigs fresh parsley
• 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup quinoa measured uncooked - I used white quinoa
• 4 tbsp flaked almonds
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to season

For coating the pumpkin

• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180C and grab two non-stick oven trays or line the trays with baking paper.

2. Chop pumpkin into small chunks, about 2cm square. Place in a large bowl. Whisk together 1 tbsp olive oil, 2 tsp honey, cumin, coriander and cinnamon in a mug. Pour the mixture over the pumpkin and toss until the pumpkin is coated. Spread the pumpkin out on one baking tray.

3. Thickly slice capsicum and red onion. Spread out on the other baking tray and drizzle over 1 tbsp olive oil, and toss around a little. Then, place both trays in the oven to roast for 45 minutes, or until the veggies are nice and soft and starting to brown at the edges.

4. While the vegetables are roasting, make the quinoa. Rinse quinoa, place in a saucepan with 2 cups of water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Once cooked leave the lid on the saucepan and allow the quinoa to sit for 10 minutes before fluffing with a fork.

5. Once the quinoa and the vegetables are all cooked, allow everything to cool slightly before combining together. You want the mix around room temperature, or just slightly warmer.

6. Mix it up. Take a large bowl and add in the quinoa, roasted vegetables, rocket and flaked almonds. Chop the parsley (discarding thick stems) and add to the bowl as well. Drizzle over remaining olive oil, squeeze over the juice of the lemon and season with salt and pepper. Toss it all together. Ready to serve! (Or, ready to store in an airtight container in the fridge.)

Recipe Notes

*you can use maple syrup instead of honey. If you would like to make this salad 100% vegan and avoid honey, this is the option for you!

*swap the flaked almonds to another chopped nut e.g. walnuts, pecans, or swap to pumpkin seeds and/or sunflower seeds for a nut free salad.

*this salad should last 4-5 days in the fridge, stored in an airtight container.

*serve with additional protein - chickpeas, feta, chicken, salmon or tuna would all work. If you're serving this fresh, it's so good with pan-fried halloumi on top!

Love all things pumpkin? You might also like:

• Slow Cooker Lamb Curry with Pumpkin
• Easy Pumpkin Spice Chia Pudding
• Oat and Honey Pumpkin Muffins