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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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I googled a sweet potato salad and came across this recipe. It is amazing!!! Adding to my list of regulars. This was the first recipe I tried from your site. Do you have any other favorites I should try next? (I typically prefer lower fat recipes.)
So glad you enjoyed this salad, Julie!! So glad you found it. I have tons of delicious recipes on the blog, what are you looking for… salads, dinner ideas, dessert ideas, snacks, etc.?
Thank you so much for your response! I was looking for Dinner ideas, salads, meal prep, anything really. I have looked at your website, and so many interest me that I can’t decide which one to try first. 😃 What are some of your fan favorites that You would suggest I should try next? Thank you again!
Hey Julie! It’s hard to choose, but some of the most popular recipes are: Egg Roll in a Bowl, protein balls, Mexican Street Corn Salad, cauliflower nachos and baked oatmeal cups.
I made 1/2 batch because it was just for me. Had it for lunch and dinner. Although there wasn’t much left for dinner because I couldn’t stop eating it at lunch!! Absolutely delicious!. Was skeptical about only vinegar and lemon juice for the dressing but it was perfect. Will definitely be making this again and again and again.
Yay!! I’m so pumped this salad was a hit, Nancy! Thanks for making it and coming back to leave a review. I so appreciate it!
Thank you very much for sharing valuable Article.
Hi Brittany,
I was wondering if you could recommend a different dressing for this salad? I really want to try it but I’m not a huge Apple cider vinegar fan. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks so much!
Hey Jennifer – Maybe this white balsamic dressing? I also have a bunch of dressings here you can check out!
This was excellent! The combination of flavors becomes greater than the sum of its parts!
I did have some left over and sadly (but as would be expected) it just wasn’t the same after being in the fridge. My advice is either scale to the right amount you’ll eat that day, or scale your appetite up to the amount you make, lol! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed this salad, Jill. Another option for leftovers is to leave out the liquid, portion out how much you want to eat add the liquid and immediately serve. Then for the leftovers, add the lemon juice + acv right before serving.