Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Cilantro-Cashew Dressing
A hearty mountain of roasted sweet potatoes, creamy avocado, black beans and raw kale are tossed in a creamy lime-cashew-cilantro dressing in this brightly flavorful, protein-packed vegan sweet potato salad recipe. Filled to the brim with nutrients both macro and micro, this powerhouse one-bowl supper tastes as good as it is good for you.
A Hearty Vegan Salad That’s Sure to Fill You Up.
Rich roasted sweet potatoes, toothsome raw kale, a squeeze of lime, a hint of jalapeño, and lots of creamy avocado—blended into the sweet potato salad dressing and cubed up in the salad, too—this health-bomb of a vegan salad is self-care in a bowl. Plenty of protein—from black beans in the salad and cashews in the dressing—and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil and nuts mean that it you’ll feel full and satisfied for hours. And we haven’t even talked about those glorious roasted sweet potatoes yet—they’re a pretty magical food, so we figure they deserve their own little spotlight.
Are Sweet Potatoes Good For You?
YES! Health-wise, sweet potato benefits are many and varied! Simple roasted sweet potatoes are as complete a snack or side dish as you could hope for—this colorful, sweet-and starchy root vegetable is an excellent source of fiber, vitamins and minerals including iron, calcium, selenium, many B vitamins, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. A drizzle of olive oil before roasting—at 400°F for 30 minutes—doesn’t just make the sweet potato taste good, it helps your body to absorb all that nutrition, too. A few more things to know about sweet potato nutrition:
- How many carbs in sweet potatoes? With 27 grams of carbs per cup of cooked sweet potato (and about 17 grams of net carbs) they’re not a super duper low-carb food, but they are still a healthy choice and can be enjoyed as part of all but the most restrictive low-carb diets.
- How many calories in a sweet potato? One whole sweet potato has about 100 calories—and considering how filling they are (thanks, fiber and complex carbs!), and how many nutrients they deliver, they represent a really great bang for your caloric buck.
This Lime-Cilantro Vegan Cashew Salad Dressing Will Change Your Life.
Creamy, herbaceous and kicking with brilliant bursts of freshness—tart lime juice! Sharp fresh garlic! Springy cilantro!—this verdant vegan salad dressing recipe is one that you’ll make again and again. We’re tempted to think of a more famous salad dressing to liken it too—maybe Green Goddess or a lightly spicy ranch?—but really, it is so good and so unique that it defies definition. It deserves a moniker all its own! Suggestions welcome!
In addition to a pinch of salt and a pour of water, here’s what you’ll need to make this easy vegan lime-cilantro-cashew cream:
- Fresh cilantro.
- Fresh garlic.
- Fresh lime juice.
- Olive oil. Regular or extra virgin—either will work!
- Cashews. Raw—and there’s no need to soak them, unless your blender isn’t super powerful.
- Avocado.
- Jalapeño. We add just half a jalapeño, and it’s seeded, so this dressing has the quietest, subtlest little kick ever. However, if you hate heat of any kind, it’s fine to leave it out.
Tools You’ll Need:
- A baking sheet for the roasted sweet potatoes.
- A good blender for making the lime-cilantro-cashew dressing.
- A sharp knife.
- A large bowl for tossing and serving.
- Salad tongs are nice to have, but not an absolute must.
Other Fall Salad Recipes To Try:
Just because summer is waning doesn’t mean that salad season has to end. Here are four hearty dinner salad recipes that make the case that salad for dinner should be a year round thing:
Feeling Healthier Already!
We love a wildly indulgent meal as much as the next person, but sometimes nothing sounds better than a big bowlful of healthy goodness, and this roasted sweet potato and kale salad is exactly that. We hope it hits the spot, and gets you one meal closer to your health goals, too! Let us know how you liked it! Snap a photo of your salad, and maybe even a video of the beautiful people you feed it to. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
