This is a Sweet Potato Salad with oomph!
With roasted sweet potato, baby spinach, wild rice, feta and almonds drizzled with a honey lemon lemon sauce, there’s a great variety of textures and flavours. You’ll happily scoff down a giant bowl for dinner, take leftovers to work the next day, you’ll feel full, you’ll feel good, and you won’t miss meat!
Sweet Potato Salad
If the kaleidoscope of colour doesn’t get you, then ONE BITE is all it will take to convince you that this is a sweet potato salad to die for!!
It’s got it all – freshness from baby spinach, sweet cubes of sweet potato with caramelised edges. The nutty chewiness of wild rice, creamy sweet pops of feta, the soft crunch of almonds and chewy sweetness from cranberries, all topped off with a tangy honey lemon dressing…
Well, if that description didn’t convince YOU, it certainly convinced ME that I need to make this again ASAP!!
Make this sweet potato salad as an impressive side, or serve it as a meal!
What goes in Sweet Potato Salad
Here’s what you need:
Plenty of sub options – even for the sweet potato itself – I’ve listed suggestions below!
Sweet potato – sub with pumpkin or butternut squash (we call them butternut pumpkin in Australia);
Wild rice – I LOVE wild rice, it’s got a nutty flavour that makes it so much more interesting than normal white rice. To reduce the carb quota, you could leave it out (which is what I usually do for midweek), or try other options like: brown rice, quinoa, farro, barley or other grains (psst While warm, we toss with some dressing so it sucks up flavour. So really, you can use anything here!);
Cranberries – sub with any dried fruit! If it’s large like apricots or apple, give it a rough chop;
Feta – or goats cheese;
Baby Spinach – Rocket / arugula is also terrific!
Flaked almonds – flaked almonds is a good way to make less nuts go further! Love the way it disperses all throughout this salad. However, feel free to use any nuts you prefer!
Lemon – sub with apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, champagne vinegar;
Honey – sugar or maple syrup; and
Mustard – I use this to thicken the dressing because I think this salad really benefits from everything being coated really nicely with dressing. If you’re a mustard hater, sub with mayo instead.
How to make Sweet Potato Salad
Nothing tricky here, it’s very straight forward! I like how this Sweet Potato Salad has a nice flow to it: get the Wild Rice simmering in water first, then get the potato in the oven while you prep the Dressing and other ingredients.
Then bring it all together and devour!
I chop the sweet potato into fairly small cubes to make it easier to eat (and also better dressing-to-potato ratio), so we can only roast them until the edges start caramelising – any longer, and they get overly soft and too delicate to handle.
A fabulous side dish – or a meal!
I say this is a fantastic side dish – and it is the sort of thing that I would take to gatherings as something a little different.
But truthfully, I make this more often as a meal than as a side. In fact, I can only ever recall serving it as a side dish once!
To me, this is the sort of salad that’s interesting and substantial enough to be served as a meal, even to self confessed Carnivores like myself! Plus, it would be a FABULOUS work lunch.
That’s Fabulous with a capital F!!! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
Sweet potato:
- 1kg / 2 lb sweet potato , cut into 2cm / 4/5″ cubes (Note 1)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
Salad:
- 200g/ 7oz baby spinach (or rocket/arugula)
- 1/2 red onion , finely sliced
- 3/4 cup sliced almond , toasted
- 90g/ 3oz feta , crumbled
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2 cups cooked wild rice , warm (Note 2)
Honey Lemon Mustard Dressing:
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 5 tbsp extra olive oil
- 1.5 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 garlic clove , small, minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C / 390°F.
- Shake Dressing ingredients in a jar.
- Toss sweet potato with olive oil, salt and pepper, spread onto tray.
- Roast for 20 minutes, flip, then roast for a further 5 minutes until golden on edges.
- Place baby spinach, onion and half almonds in a bowl. Drizzle with 2 tbsp Dressing, toss.
- Drizzle warm rice with 1 tbsp Dressing, toss.
- Spread spinach on serving platter. Top with rice, then sweet potato and cranberries.
- Drizzle with remaining Dressing, then top with feta and remaining almonds. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
More Fabulous, SUBSTANTIAL Meat Free Salads and Sides
Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Rocket/Arugula – this one is made with larger pieces of sweet potato that are roasted until deep golden
Fondant Sweet Potatoes – roasted with stock, this is a sweet n’ savoury side that’s perfect for Thanksgiving or anytime!
Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts – a quick and easy roast pumpkin side that’s endlessly adaptable
Giant Couscous Salad – you’ll love how the couscous is cooked in an aromatic broth so it soaks up all that incredible flavour!
Wild Rice Salad – regular readers know I’m mad for this salad 😇
Sexy Lentil Salad – YES you read that right. I said SEXY!! 😂
My Favourite Quinoa Salad – an Asian-style salad that’s full of interesting textures, and enough heft to make a meal
A big, fat Caesar Salad
Browse more Mighty Salads and more Side Salads
Life of Dozer
Then….
…and now!
BEST. SALAD. EVER. Was very glad to have leftovers and it was even more delicious the next day!
Great recipes
I didn’t have wild rice so I added some leftover roast chicken instead. It was seriously wicked! Thanks Nagi. I love your recipes.
I have made this a few times and made it for my son’s birthday bbq last night. He told his friends it was the best salad in the entire world lol…..I agree! Thank you 🙂
yummy and nutritious salad.
and the dressing is finger licking.
Thank you
You’re so welcome Vikki!! N x
Once again went straight to your website for a great salad to go with steak last night. We had 2 couples joining us for dinner and there was nothing left. I used Quinoa instead of rice and it was delicious, thanks again
Sounds perfect Linda, I’m so glad it was a hit! N x
Thank you soooo much for all your incredible recipes. I look forward to your every recipe via email as well as photos of Dozer. Offering up my gratitude .
Thanks so much Neilena, that’s so nice to hear!! ❤️
Just made this for dinner and it is DELISH! Thank you for another incredible recipe, Nagi 🙂
Thanks so much for letting me know what you think Lindy ❤️
AMAZING sauce!!
Thanks Sue!
Another winner! We make this at least once a week.
Perfect Simone!!
I have to confess that my family is not so greeny, but as I love salads I need to have one as part of my menu, so made out of this salad my option for New Year’s Eve dinner: It was a hit! Substitute baby spinach with rocket and followed the step by step instructions. Made ahead rice, sweet potatoes roast, and asembled the whole this just before serving: Even my father loved it!!!!
This salad was such a hit. Everyone has requested it Christmas Day. I had it for lunch 2 days later and it was delicious too
Just wondering whether this can be made in advance? Does it matter if the sweet potato is cold?
I would have to say that this is the best salad I’ve ever made. I could eat it everyday. ❤️
I made this for the family tonight, as per the recipe (subbing black rice for wild rice) and it went down a treat! Thank you Nagi! Even the 3, 5 and 7 year olds ate it 😄
Woah winning!!! That’s great!
Brilliant Nagi! I cheated and used Uncle Ben’s brown, red & wild rice medley (instant) hence super easy and so yummy. Thanks! Ps anyone else bad at cooking rice!?
I’m so glad you loved it Rachel! I do have a post on cooking rice – it might be of use to you 🙂
This fabulous salad is my weekly meal. So colorful and healty.
I’m so glad you love it Ana!
Morning Nagi!
Your a head of me, I was just going to ask a sub for mustard and you already had the answer right there. Your Good!
This salad looks so good! It is almost pay day so when I do groceries I’ll pick up the things I don’t have.
Thanks so much.
Super easy and delicious, once again a winner Nagi! My daughter and I also took the leftovers for lunch the next day and it survived just fine.
Perfect Nicky, I’m so glad you loved it!
This was delicious, I have received rave reviews from everyone that tried it. Your recipe’s rock..
Thank you,
Woot! Thanks Donna – N x