This sweet potato rainbow salad jar from Sophie Waplington’s Soph’s Plant Kitchen brings color, texture, and serious nutrition to the table. It starts with quinoa and black beans for plant protein, then adds roasted sweet potato, crunchy veg, and smoky tofu cheese. Each bite hits a different note – sweet, tangy, salty, and fresh.

The tofu cheese blends smoked tofu with garlic, nutritional yeast, and spices. It adds a creamy layer that makes this salad feel hearty. Marinated sweet potato gives the dish a zesty lift, while lime-pickled cabbage and charred corn add brightness and crunch.

You get 33 grams of protein and 18 grams of fiber in every serving of this sweet potato rainbow salad. The variety of ingredients also give this salad a high number of plant points, with grains, legumes, vegetables, herbs, and seeds all working together. Pack it in a jar to show off the layers or build it on a plate. It’s perfect for lunch, dinner, or meal prep and tastes just as good the next day. This salad isn’t just pretty – it’s filling, flavorful, and full of plant-based power.

How to make a rainbow salad

With a thick tofu cheese acting as queso and Mexican flavors, this sweet potato rainbow salad is something different to try for lunch this week. This dish is great for meal prep in jars or containers that will last three to four days in the fridge.

sweet potato rainbow salad with quinoa, corn. and cabbage

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Duration40

Servings jars

Ingredients

200 g quinoa
½ vegetable stock cube or 1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder
2 medium sweet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil plus extra for drizzling
½ small red cabbage
Juice of 2 limes
100 g fresh sweetcorn
1 red chili finely chopped
½ tsp agave syrup
1 x 400g can black beans
1 red bell pepper sliced
2 handfuls of kale washed, stems removed, chopped, lightly massaged in olive oil
Few fresh coriander leaves
Small handful of pumpkin seeds
Salt and black pepper

For the thick tofu cheese

250 g firm smoked tofu
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 garlic cloves
1 tsp onion powder
⅓ tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp water plus more to loosen if needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C/gas mark 6.
Cook the quinoa according to the packet instructions, adding the stock to the water for flavor.
Chop the sweet potatoes into 1–2cm (½–¾in) irregular chunks (no need to peel if organic, just give them a good wash), then add to a baking tray with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Roast for about 20 minutes, or until lightly browned.
To a small, high-powered bullet blender, add all the tofu cheese ingredients and pulse to combine. Season to taste. It will be thick – it’s intentional!
Shred the red cabbage into a small bowl with a potato peeler, then add half the lime juice, a pinch of salt and pinch together with your fingers until it turns a pinky- purply shade. Set aside in the fridge.
Heat a dry non-stick frying pan on a medium-high heat and add the sweetcorn. Fry with a pinch of salt, for around 10–12 minutes until lightly charred, then take off the heat and set aside.
Now for the sweet potato marinade. In a small bowl, whisk the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, the remaining lime juice, the red chili, a pinch of salt and agave syrup together. Pour over the roasted sweet potato and carefully toss to cover.
Time to assemble the jars: put the cooked quinoa in first, then the black beans, sweet potato, tofu cheese, red pepper, kale, red cabbage, charred corn, coriander and pumpkin seeds.

Excerpted from Soph’s Plant Kitchen by Sophie Waplington, published in 2025 by Yellow Kite, an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton. Photography by Lizzie Mayson.

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