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
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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!
Just one important question – will Mr D make an appearance in the cookbook?🐶 I never buy cookbooks anymore but I’ll definitely get yours!! Congratulations and well done!
I would NEVER sign up with a publisher that wouldn’t let me put Dozer in the book!! 😂 I’m just trying to figure out how far I can push it….😉
Congratulations Nagi – hope we see your cookbook sooner rather than later – will definitely pre-order. I have already compiled my own RecipeTin Eats cookbook mind you – with two folders of printed recipes!
Thank you Ann! There’s quite a long lead time on cookbooks so it won’t be this year I’m afraid 🙂 I’d have to get started on it YESTERDAY to make the Christmas rush for NEXT YEAR!!! 😂 N x
Just reading this recipe made my mouth water, so it’s an ASAP Must Do!
The photo’s of Dozer made me laugh, as he usually does. Furry perfection he is. 🙂
I’ve not bought a cookbook for a while now, I’ll be waiting on tenterhooks for yours to arrive…can’t wait! 😀
Quite a compliment Leah!! I should NOT buy anymore, I have zero storage space in my teeny tiny house! But I can never resist 🙂 N x
This Looks Amazing Nagi! What Sensational Recipes you keep producing!
I have a question. If this Salad were to be taken to a gathering what would you recommend with the assembly of it? Dress and take? Or Dress when there?
Only because there are a few parts to you dressing this salad I would like your opinion.
Good luck with creating a Cookbook!
Cathy x
PS Note added! N x
Thank you Nagi! Xxx
Hi Cathy! that’s a good question, I should have put a note in! Dress the rice while warm so it soaks up the flavour, then that is still tasty at room temp. But I’d dressing the rest of the salad there. Even baby spinach tends to wilt after a while – holds up better than other leafy greens, but if it’s for friends, I still think its best to dress closer to serving time! N xx
Good luck with the cookbook deal!! The publisher would be CRAZY not to offer you a deal! I’ll put in my pre order now!
I’m so excited at the prospect of a Nagi cookbook! Much as I enjoy poking around the interwebs for recipes, when I find a site like yours that I keep returning to, I always check to see if the blogger has published a cookbook. I would love to add your cookbook to my collection when it’s published!
Thank you for the kind words Kern! The thought of doing a cookbook is so exciting… but also daunting to think about all the work!! It would be amazing though…what a legacy! N xx
I can’t wait to make this Salad. What mustard do you use? I love mustard & each one has a distinctive flavour. Good luck with your Cook Book. 😊
Oh whoop! Dijon! I’m so sorry will update now 🙂 N x
Thank you for the sweet potato salad. That sounds wonderful. Good luck with the publisher and keep those pictures coming of dozer. Love your site.
Thank you for the kind words Adrienne! Keeping my fingers crossed! N x
Nagi, just wanted to say – how exciting about the looming book deal! Congratulations, very well deserved xx
Thank you Shal! I’m so excited too….keeping my fingers crossed it actually happens! N x
I love your recipes and your site, but I think I love the pictures of Dozer just a teensy bit more! Today’s photos are the best!
I love my recipes being trumped by Dozer photos….😂
I’m so excited for you on the book adventure. I haven’t purchased a cookbook in forever, but I will totally purchase your’s!!!!
Aww thank you Cindy! I’m so excited too 🙂 It will also be fun to share the process on my blog! N x
A lot of mustard haters are also mayo haters (as most mayo contains mustard) any other substitute suggestions?
1/2 tsp dried mustard powder, that will help with the thickening! N x
Mayo does not contain mustard – they are very different!
If people know they hate an ingredient(s), isn’t it up to them to figure out what to sub with? Shouldn’t they already know what they do like? Maybe just leave it out completely?
^^^5^^^
My thoughts exactly.