Serve up this is crowd-pleasing Big Cuban Salad at home or at your next potluck!
Earlier this summer, while I was putting together my How to Build a Buddha Bowl post, I came across an amazing recipe for Cuban Quinoa Bowls on one of my favorite food blogs, HeatherChristo.com. It quickly became my go-to Bowl combo, and I’ve been making variations on it for a couple of months now.
Recently, I decided to go BIG and take a Buddha Bowl to a potluck. I wasn’t sure how it would be received, because I’ve observed that people at parties tend to stick with what they know; often leaving new, unfamiliar foods (particularity those that come with blatant hippy undertones) to wither like wallflowers at a sock hop. (No, I’m not really that old.)
As it turned out, my Big {Cuban} Salad was definitely not a wallflower. In fact, it was a surprisingly huge hit, and I left the party with a empty bowl and a feeling of accomplishment.
To make this big, beautiful salad, the first thing you need is a vessel to put it in. I use a pasta bowl that customarily serves as our everyday fruit bowl. It’s very large and shallow, with a flat bottom and lots of open space to showcase the color and beauty of all the ingredients.
Speaking of ingredients…
At first glance, the ingredient and instruction list below may appear a little daunting, but don’t let looks throw you. It’s actually very easy to put together, and the results will make you the belle of the ball at your next potluck.
Watch this → I made a cool little video to show you how it all goes together!
Note: I like to make all the ingredients the day before and chill them, then assemble everything the day I plan to serve it, but that’s just me. This salad is great whether you assemble it with warm ingredients or cold – it’s just a matter of personal preference.
Potluck-Worthy Big {Cuban} Salad with Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 green onions minced
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 1 large sweet potato 10-12 ounces, peeled and cut 1/2 cubes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Black Beans
- 1 cup cooked black beans =1 can, rinsed & drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 large onion chopped fine
- 1/2 large red sweet pepper
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cilantro-Avocado Dressing
- 1 large avocado
- 2-3 tablespoons vegan sour cream or regular if you don't care about it being vegan
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
- Juice of one lime
Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce
- 1/3 cup cashews
- 1 cup very hot water
- 2 clove garlic
- 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Pinch kosher salt
Additional Ingredients
- 5-6 cups salad greens
- 2 cups Cherry Tomatoes halved
Instructions
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Place 1/3 cup raw cashews in a small bowl and cover with very hot water. Set aside to soak while you make the sweet potatoes, quinoa, and black beans.
Seasoned Quinoa
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Combine vegetable broth, cumin, minced garlic, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
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Stir in quinoa and cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.
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Remove from heat. (Keep lid on.) Allow quinoa to sit for 15-20 minutes. Fluff with fork and stir in chopped green onions.
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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In a gallon-sized Ziploc bag (or large bowl) toss the cubed sweet potatoes with the cinnamon, ginger, and olive oil until evenly covered.
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Pour sweet potatoes onto an unlined heavy metal sheet pan. Lightly sprinkle evenly with kosher salt.
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Put in oven and roast sweet potatoes for about 10 minutes, then toss gently and return to oven for another 8-10 minutes, until fork tender. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
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Black Beans:
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While Sweet potatoes are roasting and the quinoa is finishing up, sauté finely chopped 1/2 onion in olive oil until translucent. Add minced garlic clove and chopped red pepper and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until onion begins to turn brown.
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Add black beans, cumin and salt and cook for 5 more minutes, until beans are tender.
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Set aside and allow to cook completely.
Cilantro-Avocado Dressing
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Combine all ingredients and blend with a small beverage or immersion blender until smooth. It should be about the same thickness and consistency as a good milkshake.
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If mixture is too thick, add a little extra water.
Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce
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Remember those cashews you started soaking at the beginning of all this?!? Drain them, and throw them into a blender with the remaining Cashew Sauce ingredients. (i.e., garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, lemon juice and maple syrup.) Puree on high until smooth. Season to taste.
ASSEMBLY
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Evenly distribute greens in the bottom of very large, flat-bottom bowl.
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Mound Quinoa in the middle.
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Arrange the following in concentric circles radiating from the middle; ½ black beans, roasted sweet potatoes, ½ black beans, tomato halves.
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Drizzle liberally with Cilantro-Avocado Dressing, Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce.
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Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve remaining Spicy Maple-Lemon Cashew Sauce on the side.
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What an absolutely GORGEOUS stunner of a dish! This would be a hit at any potluck for sure!
Thanks, Marlynn! It’s tasty too!! 😉
Ooooo love the video and the photos! You really did a wonderful presentation with those cherry tomatoes which are perfect for this season too. The tomato flower is so cute in the middle too!
Thanks, Pech. I’ve always enjoyed playing with my food. 🙂
This looks delish :). Will definitely give this a try! Thanks for sharing Renée!