How To Build A Hearty Sweet Potato Salad Bowl
This recipe for roasted sweet potato salad is a great outline for making a flavorful and fulfilling meal. Starting with oven roasted sweet potatoes, we add fresh salad greens (baby arugula and spinach are what we use here, but kale or romaine or any mix would work), thinly sliced apple, creamy goat cheese, candied pecans for a sweet crunch, and a citrus vinaigrette for a light and fresh dressing. Roasted sweet potatoes are a great way to add fiber, antioxidants, and beta carotene to your plate–they’re a super flavorful super food!!
Roast A Batch Of Sweet Potatoes For Great Salads All Week!
We understand that meal prep isn’t always at the top of everyone’s to-do list. That’s why we love roasted sweet potatoes! Once you roast them in a hot oven with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper, you’ve got a great base for many meals throughout the week. You can also make the candied pecans in advance to sprinkle on top of salads and snack on by the handful. The other ingredients of this hearty salad are great standards to have in the fridge to use in several variations throughout the week–apples, pecans, and goat cheese are all super versatile ingredients, while baby arugula and spinach are a fabulous starting point for fresh salads. Some of our other favorite fresh salads are our Endive and Roquefort Salad with Pear Vinaigrette or our Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad with Creamy Maple Dressing.
How To Make This Salad Full of Fall Flavors
Mix the cut sweet potatoes with olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper and roast in a hot oven–crank it up to 425°F–for a nice caramelized flavor. We like to blast the sweet potato under the broil for a couple of minutes at the end to add even more golden brown goodness.
While the sweet potato is in the oven, you can make our recipe for stovetop Candied Pecans or Candied Walnuts.
Make the orange vinaigrette by whisking all of the ingredients until emulsified. Alternatively, you can use our favorite cheater method by shaking everything in a jar with a tightly closed lid.
In a large bowl, compose the salad using ¾ of the dressing with the spinach and arugula, along with ¾ of the goat cheese, ¾ of the apple pieces, 2 cups of the roasted sweet potato and 1 cup of the pecans. Toss everything well with the dressing.
Use the remaining spinach, arugula, goat cheese, apple pieces, and roasted sweet potato you reserved to top the dressed salad. This is a technique we love for a visually stunning salad. Finish by drizzling everything with the remaining citrus vinaigrette.
Tools You’ll Need
Salad bowl or large serving bowl
Our Favorite Sweet Potato Recipes
Here’s some more creative recipe ideas for sweet potatoes:
Fall For This Salad? We’d Love To See The Autumnal Beauty!
Did you make a big bowl of Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with Orange Vinaigrette? We’d love to see those crispy, crunchy salads. Tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!
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