Spinach Salad with Roasted Veggies and Avocado Cilantro Dressing


Today's post was inspired from a prepared salad I recently purchased at Trader Joe's. Now when I say inspired I mean this in the loosest form. The salad greens were spinach and the dressing was cilantro based but most of the other ingredients I have changed. The dressing I used was tangy and creamy and I could have just eaten it by the spoonful. It was that good. The recipe for salad dressing is slightly adapted from the Eatingwell.com website.

Ingredients:

Salad:

1/2 cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 small sweet potato (dice about same size as the cauliflower florets)
1-2 teaspoon olive oil
4 cups spinach
1/4 cup cooked quinoa
2 stalks green onions (thinly sliced)
1/2 cup black beans (if using canned be sure and rinse)
1/2 ripe avocado (diced)

Dressing:

1/2 ripe avocado
3/4 cup packed cilantro
1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt
2 scallions (chopped)
1 small clove garlic (grated)
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon salt

To prepare the salad:

Preheat oven to 400F.

Place prepped cauliflower and sweet potato into sheet pan, lightly coat with olive oil and mix. Bake approx 20 minutes until tender and lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

In the meantime, place avocado, cilantro, yogurt, scallions, garlic, lime juice, honey and salt into food processor, blend until smooth. Keep refrigerated, there should be extra.

In a large bowl add all salad ingredients and toss lightly. You can add salad dressing at this time and mix or serve on the side. Enjoy!







Comments

  1. Roasted vegetables is one of my favorite things this season. Your salad looks fantastic. The dressing is fabulous! :) ela

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    1. Thanks Ela, I just started roasting cauliflower this year and it is so good. I never knew.

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  2. I love all your salad mix-ins! And that dressing sounds fabulous creamy without the guilt.

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  3. I know for a fact that the roasted cauliflower would be good in this salad, but the dressing sounds incredible, too! I'm sure I could eat that from a spoon!

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  4. Trader Joe's has the BEST salads! I'm constantly drawing inspiration from their prepared food. This salad looks delicious : )

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  5. I've never had a Trader Joe's salad but holy cow, I would love this salad right this minute.

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  6. How yummy! I love avocado in dressings. Makes them so rich and thick!

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  7. That dressing sounds amazing! I bet it would be good on tacos too :)

    http://www.simplyhsquared.com

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    1. Hi Heather, yes I think this would be really good on tacos, thanks for the tip

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  8. This looks really tasty, love the dressing, creamy and tangy. GG

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  9. I love that cilantro+avocado dressing, I have to try it asap!

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    1. Thanks Mike, the avocado and cilantro is such a good combo.

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  10. This salad sounds amazing, and that dressing is calling my name!
    Have a great weekend Cheri!

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  11. I love when we eat something great somewhere and it inspires us to re-create something similar. I love a good salad and a hearty one with roasted vegetables is right up my alley.

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    1. Hi Monica, I feel the same, it's fun to try and re-create something, sometimes it's even better.

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