A Couple Cooks

Sweet Potato Salad

November 02, 2021

This sweet potato salad recipe is colorful and delicious! Roasted potatoes, greens, and cranberries make the ideal sweet and savory mix.

Sweet Potato Salad

Looking for a delicious salad featuring everyone’s favorite root vegetable? Try this Sweet Potato Salad! You won’t be able to stop shoveling in bites of this healthy side dish (we couldn’t, at least). The contrast of garlic roasted sweet potato cubes, feathery baby arugula, cranberries and creamy goat cheese hit it out of the park. Top it with tangy honey mustard dressing and well, you’ll want to park yourself in front of the bowl.

Elements in this sweet potato salad recipe

There are many types of sweet potato salads. In fact, there’s a popular Arabic sweet potato salad with onion, cinnamon and raisins. This sweet potato salad recipe is one of our own creation, using our favorite roasted sweet potatoes with a mix of fall and wintery produce. But it works for any time of year! Here’s what you’ll need:

  • Sweet potatoes
  • Olive oil, garlic powder, and salt and pepper (for roasting)
  • Honey Mustard Dressing (or Balsamic Dressing for vegan)
  • Baby arugula
  • Shallot
  • Dried cranberries or cheeries
  • Pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
  • Feta cheese or goat cheese (optional)
Sweet potato salad recipe

Tips for making roasted sweet potatoes

The longest lead item in this sweet potato salad recipe is roasting the potatoes! This salad is built around these Roasted Sweet Potatoes: our master method for baking them until they’re caramelized and tender. Here are a few notes for that method:

  • Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Sweet potatoes are best roasted at very high heat, which gets the best caramelization (called the Maillard reaction).
  • Dice the sweet potatoes into 3/4-inch chunks. This might sound oddly specific, but it’s the ideal size for bite-sized pieces. (Cut them too small and they shrivel up in the oven.)
  • Season with olive oil, salt and garlic powder. See the recipe below for specifics.
  • Roast on parchment-lined baking sheet for about 25 minutes, until tender. There’s no need to stir! Throw them in and they roast up like a charm.
Sweet Potato Salad

Two variations: potato salad vs plated salad

You can serve this sweet potato salad one of two ways: from a bowl, or as a plated salad. Here are the differences:

  • The main method is like a cross between potato salad and green salad. It’s mostly sweet potatoes, with a bit of baby arugula thrown in.
  • Want more of a green salad? Do the plated salad variation. Add a few cups of mixed greens to the baby arugula. Place the greens on a plate, then add the sweet potatoes and drizzle over dressing.

Only use baby greens!

This sweet potato salad is contingent on using baby greens. Why? Baby arugula has a beautiful feathery texture and a mild flavor. Mature arugula is sold in bunches and the flavor is very spicy! Don’t use it as a substitute. If you need a substitute, use any type of baby green: spinach or mixed greens.

Baby arugula is sold in boxes or bags in the produce aisle. Just stay away from anything sold as a bunch!

Sweet Potato Salad

Sweet potato salad dressings

This sweet potato salad recipe tastes good with lots of different salad dressing options. Our favorite is Honey Mustard Dressing, but there are lots to choose from. Here are some options:

When to serve it

Let us know if you try this sweet potato salad: it’s one of our favorite new recipes and everyone goes crazy for it when we make it! It would be perfect for serving:

More sweet potato recipes

Love sweet potatoes? Here some favorite sweet potato recipes for any season:

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Sweet Potato Salad

Sweet Potato Salad

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

This sweet potato salad recipe is colorful and delicious! Roasted potatoes, greens, and cranberries make the ideal sweet and savory mix.

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 4 medium)
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • Fresh ground black pepper
  • 6 tablespoons Honey Mustard Dressing (or Balsamic Dressing for vegan)
  • 2 cups baby arugula (not standard arugula*, plus 2 to 3 cups mixed greens for the plated salad variation)
  • 1/2 medium shallot, thinly sliced into half moons
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries or cherries
  • ¼ cup pepitas
  • ¼ cup feta or goat cheese crumbles (optional)

Instructions

  1. Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Dice the sweet potatoes into 3/4” cubes, leaving the skin on. In a large bowl, mix the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, garlic powder, and kosher salt.
  3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the sweet potatoes on top in an even layer. Bake for about 25 minutes, until the cubes are tender and browned on the bottom. (You can make ahead the roasted sweet potatoes and refrigerate until serving: bring them to room temperature prior to making the salad, or reheat them in a 350 degree oven until slightly warmed.)
  4. Meanwhile, make the Honey Mustard Dressing.
  5. When ready to assemble the salad, in a bowl mix the roasted sweet potatoes with the baby arugula, shallot, cranberries, pepitas, feta or goat cheese crumbles, and 6 tablespoons of the dressing. Mix, then serve. (Plated salad variation: Add 2 to 3 additional cups mixed greens. Place the greens on plates, top with the potatoes, cranberries, shallot pepitas and cheese, and drizzle with dressing.)

Notes

*Make sure to buy baby arugula, which has a feathery texture. Mature arugula sold in bunches is much too spicy. For a substitute, use any baby green like baby spinach or mixed greens.

  • Category: Salad
  • Method: Roasted
  • Cuisine: American

Keywords: Sweet potato salad, sweet potato salad recipe

A Couple Cooks - Recipes worth repeating.

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