Skip the white potatoes and make this roasted sweet potato salad instead! It has chopped spinach, creamy avocado chunks, red onion and dried cranberries. Light and refreshing, it’s the perfect potato salad for spring picnics and summer BBQs.
One of my favorite memories about summer as a child was all the family cookouts. My extended family has always been close, so it seemed like every weekend we were hosting or attending some sort of cookout or family function.
Of course, these get-togethers always involved food – things like hot dogs, hamburgers, deviled eggs and lots of side salads. Naturally, my favorite dishes were the salads… healthy pasta salad, potato salad, broccoli raisin salad, watergate salad and strawberry pretzel salad. Now you know where my love for salads comes from. 😉
Turns out, many of these “salads” aren’t really the healthiest. I mean watergate salad and strawberry pretzel salad are literally just desserts with the word salad in the name.
While I certainly enjoyed all of those salads as a kid, it never hurts to upgrade a bit. So that’s what I’ve done here. This sweet potato salad is a remake of traditional potato salad, but this version is packed with veggies (spinach, red onion and avocado), has some dried cranberries for some sweetness and there’s no real dressing — just lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, which makes for a sweet and zesty salad.
The potatoes can be roasted ahead of time and once that step is done the salad comes together in a matter of minutes. It’s great served cold (or at room temp), making it perfect for BBQs, potlucks and parties.
Anything with roasted sweet potatoes is bound to be delicious, and this roasted sweet potato salad is no exception. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but roasting veggies brings out their natural sweetness. And sweet potatoes are such a nutrient-rich vegetable. They’re loaded with fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C. In addition, the orange and purple varieties of sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants that help protect the body from free radicals.
Once you the sweet potatoes are roasted you simply let them cool and then toss with the spinach, red onion, dried cranberries, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and avocado. That’s it! It so simple, but so so good.
I love serving this dish as a side for dinner with my apple cider vinegar chicken, these baked chicken tenders or grilled lemon pepper shrimp skewers. It’s great served cold or at room temp, which also makes it perfect for BBQs, potlucks and parties. One batch makes about 6 servings so if you’re making it for a potluck you may want to double the recipe.
I recommend serving this salad right away, but it you want to prep it ahead of time, you can roast the sweet potatoes and chop all the veggies up to a day in advance. After roasting, let the sweet potatoes cool and store in the fridge until you’re ready to make the salad. The avocado is best added just before serving, but leftovers of the salad will keep in the fridge for up to 2 days. The avocado might turn a little brown so not the prettiest for serving to guests, but it will still taste good!
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One of my favourite salads ever
Ahh yay! So glad you loved this salad, Amber. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
love this dish! I’ve made it twice and it’s so simple, hearty, and has lots of flavor! With some protein it’s the perfect lunch/dinner.
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Natashia. Thanks for making it and for coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
I made this today. I replaced the Apple cider vinegar with red wine vinegar. I added 2 avocados , I blended the red wine vinegar with the lemon juice, and added ground cilantro, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and garlic and herbs salt free seasoning! Delicous!
YUM! I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, Melissa. Thank you for your review + star rating, I so appreciate it!
This is quite possibly my favorite salad! I did have changes because I used what I had on hand- not a hemp seed and dried cranberry person but followed the rest of the recipe exactly. Thank you – I truly loved this salad!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Jessica! Thank you so much for leaving a review, I really appreciate it.
I made the Sweet potato salad tonight, practicing for doing it for Thanksgiving! So good! We have more vegetarians this year,so this is good for the veggie lovers and sweet potato people. I substituted Balsamic vinegar for apple cider vinegar 😃
Yay!! Happy to hear this sweet potato salad was a success, Gussie. Thanks for the review and star rating. I really appreciate it!