Here’s how to make the best homemade roasted sweet potato salad recipe that absolutely everyone will love. This healthy salad is packed with fresh vegetables and delicious ingredients!
Why you’ll love this easy sweet potato salad
- Crowd friendly recipe. It’s the perfect appetizer or side dish to serve at parties, potlucks, picnics, barbecues, or any other time you need a colorful one bowl recipe to impress a group of hungry guests.
- Fast and simple to prepare. The veggie salad is quick to throw together if you receive a last minute invite. It calls for just a few basic ingredients that should be readily available at most traditional grocery stores or farmers markets.
- Super healthy. Dairy free, soy free, gluten free, added sugar free, low calorie, low fat, and vegan options are all included in this superfood sweet potato dish. It’s high in vitamin A, vitamin C, protein and fiber and is easily adaptable to fit Whole30 and paleo diets.
- Good for meal prep. This is one of my favorite almost instant healthy lunches to enjoy year round. Just portion the salad into meal prep containers and refrigerate for up to five days. Then grab and go as desired throughout the week!
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Step by step recipe video
Watch the sweet potato salad video above.
This healthy sweet potato salad, with its tasty lime and garlic dressing, was inspired by the first friend I ever made after moving into my new apartment.
She brought a similar salad as an appetizer to a potluck brunch I hosted a few years ago, and I fell completely in love with the array of textures and flavors.
I immediately asked for the recipe and have been making my own version ever since!
Here’s the best way How to cook sweet potatoes
Do you eat the salad hot or cold?
Because the recipe is filled with an array of fresh produce and can be served warm or cold, it’s a terrific option for either summer or Fall.
The recipe yields a large batch. I like to prepare it on Sunday afternoon and serve it hot from the oven with dinner that night. Then I eat leftovers cold from the fridge during the week.
So whether you choose to serve it on Thanksgiving, Super Bowl, Fourth of July, for a fancy dinner party or as a regular Monday work lunch, this sweet potato salad is always a welcome option at the table.
The salad needs no mayonnaise, no mustard, and it can even be oil free.
Sweet potato salad ingredients
The high fiber salad recipe calls for roasted sweet potatoes, diced onions, minced garlic, lime juice, red bell pepper, vegetable or olive oil, black beans, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper, and optional corn.
Sweet potato – If you prefer, the sweet potatoes can also be substituted with yams, Japanese white sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, or baked butternut squash.
Black beans – Use either canned beans or fresh cooked beans. And feel free to exchange black beans for chickpeas, pinto beans, kidney beans, or lentils.
Onions and red peppers – White or red onions work equally well. And if you want to use a yellow or orange bell pepper, that is totally fine.
Seasonings – I almost always take a shortcut by using jarred minced garlic instead of chopping my own. Likewise, you can buy fresh limes or a jar of lime juice. Lemon juice may be substituted if you do not have limes on hand.
Cilantro – Not everyone likes cilantro (hello to my soap gene friends!). So I will often leave it on the side or add it at the end when serving the healthy salad to dinner guests.
With so many different flavors and textures, the one bowl dish will completely captivate your tastebuds.
And you can change it up to suit what you have on hand. I will sometimes add fresh corn, zucchini, apple, walnuts, or chopped avocado, similar to this Avocado Salad recipe.
How to make the sweet potato vegetable salad
- Start by gathering all of your ingredients and lining two standard size baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, and dice the onion. Toss the sweet potatoes and diced onion with oil or fat free spray.
- Then sprinkle with salt and optional pepper, add the garlic, and spread the raw sweet potatoes in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheets.
- Place the trays in a non preheated oven (in other words, a cold oven) on the center rack. Now turn the oven on to 450° Fahrenheit or 232° Celsius.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until the potatoes are lightly browned and soft in the centers and the onions are sweet and caramelized.
- Meanwhile, dice or chop the bell peppers. Drain and rinse the beans well.
- Add all of the ingredients, including the sweet potatoes and onions, to a large bowl. Toss until evenly combined. Serve hot or cold.
- Allow leftovers to cool fully before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator for up to five days. Leftover salad can also be frozen, although the texture of the vegetables will not be quite as crisp and crunchy once thawed or reheated.
Recipe serving suggestions
Serve as a side with protein. Traditionally, people often serve potato salads alongside hamburgers, grilled chicken, steak, bacon and eggs, meatloaf, pork, or shrimp.
As a vegan, I love to serve it with veggie burgers, barbecue tofu, coleslaw, wraps, sandwiches or paninis, roasted brussels sprouts, avocado toast, or Tofu Scramble.
Or make it a main dish. You can also turn the roasted sweet potato salad into a light main meal by serving over quinoa, rice, kale, rocket greens, or spinach. Or slice an avocado over the top.
Add garnishes. Stir in a pop of texture and even more flavor by adding fresh pomegranate seeds, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, or vegan feta if desired.
Also be sure to try this Coconut Curry
Sweet Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped (2 lb before peeling)
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 tsp salt and optional pepper to taste
- 3 tbsp oil or fat free spray as needed
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 can black beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked beans
- 1 cup corn (optional)
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Toss sweet potatoes and onions with 1 1/2 tbsp oil (or spray) and the garlic.
- 2. Sprinkle with salt and optional pepper.
- 3. Arrange the seasoned sweet potatoes in a single layer on two parchment lined baking sheets.
- 4. Place on the center rack of a non-preheated oven.
- 5. Turn the oven on to 450° Fahrenheit (232° Celsius).
- 6. Bake 35 minutes, or until potatoes are soft.
- 7. Add all remaining ingredients to a large bowl, then toss with the sweet potatoes. Serve the sweet potato salad hot or cold.
Video
Notes
More healthy side dish recipes
I’d love to make this , and really appreciate the nutrition facts, the WW points are also helpful, but it would be great if the serving size was also included. Thanks!
I made this yesterday and had it today for brunch! I absolutely loved it.
The salad is really delicious! Not heavy but filling quite fast 🙂 I added also a goat cheese and avocado aside. Turned out they match alltogether.
Thanks for the recipe!
What can I use for flavor in substituting the red pepper. I can’t have nightshades. Have options for other ingredients but I really miss the red pepper flavor.
May I sub pinto beans for the black beans?
Sure 🙂
I made this salad and it was sooo yummy! Thanks!
Thank you Katie for this brilliant recipe! It was absolutely divine, and surprisingly satisfying. The only reason I made substitutions was due to the availability of ingredients. I used two medium-sized sweet potatoes, two medium-sized red onions, and about a cup of butternut squash that was winking at me in the fridge. Oh, and come to think of it, I sped up the cooking time by nuking the unpeeled-yet-scrubbed-and-pierced sweet potatoes in the microwave before putting them in the oven, and ditto for the squash. Plus, I threw-caution-to-the-wind, and added roughly three cups of kale massaged with olive oil and garlic powder (massaging kale is SO worth the 90 seconds of extra effort!). And thank-you to Mariia for suggesting a sprinkling of goat cheese. When I serve it for my non-vegan guests, I’ll definitely try this. Magnificent.
Question: Any recommendations for other varieties of beans? The black beans were good, yet I kept thinking there might be something better. I’m a chronic recipe tweaker.
Thank you so much for trying it, and honestly you can use pretty much any kind of bean! Pinto or garbanzo would be nice.
Mung Beans were excellent in this recipe!
Love your idea!
I love your recipes, even bought your cookbook, but I have to ask…you’re so slim, do you actually eat the foods you post?! How do you keep your trim figure!!
Kitchen smells delicious, wondering whether to drain beans & corn or include juice from both cans? Love the healthy aspect & coloring!
Hi, we drain them 🙂
Made this for a packed lunch today and it was awesome. Will definitely make this sweet potato salad again.
I cooked the sweet potato and diced onion combo in the air fryer. By the time the sweet potato was cooked the onion was a little too brown with a predominant flavor. Next time I will chop the onion into larger pieces to compensate, or cook the onion separately.
Thank you for the recipe.
I tried the recipe. It came out so well though I skipped cilantro. Love the salads, and thanks for sharing the recipe!
Really delicious, thank you.
So good Katie! Made it tonight, used the cilantro, cut corn from 2 cooked ears and a very light sprinkle of Penzey’s Arizona Dreamin! Served at room temp! Excellent!!
This was amazing my guests really loved it and wanted the recipe. I am making it again for girls day!
Flavorful flexible treat. My salads can never have enough “stuff “. My additions included fresh queso, quinoa, jalapeño and pepitas. Yummy!
Per sweet potato salad, can you add beets?