This Fall Roasted Sweet Potato Salad is full of flavor and makes the perfect healthy lunch or vegetarian dinner side dish.
So fall kinda tricked me.
Last week, we had thunderstorms and rain here in Northern CA. It was cool enough to need a sweater at night, so I assumed fall was on the horizon. I broke out the apple scented candles and started meal planning cozy meals, soups, and stews.
Then this week hits and the weather forecast is 95 degrees here and in 100’s next week.
Which is great, except I’m already on the fall flavor food train and I don’t want to get off. Bring on all the roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes and creamy soups.
Case in point, I made this Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice & Arugula Salad from Pinch of Yum two weeks ago. It was heavenly! Since then, I have made it three more times, each time changing it up a bit each time until I created my version of the best Fall Roasted Sweet Potato Salad.
The original recipe itself was wonderful, but I changed it up to meet my family’s food preferences and to accommodate the items we typically have stocked in our pantry.
For example, my husband isn’t always the biggest fan of arugula, so I do a combo of spinach and arugula for him. I also never have cashews on hand because I don’t really like them, so I used sunflower seeds. We were also out of chili powder the second time I made this, so I substituted a combination of curry powder and turmeric on the sweet potatoes instead and it was amazing! It gives it such a warm flavor with just a hint of spice that it’s now became my go-to roasted sweet potato marinade.
I recently read the book Bread and Wine, A Love Letter to Life Around the Table with Recipes by Shauna Niequist. I loved every page of this book but one thing that really stuck with me was when she said that cooking is really about following a recipe the first time and then each time after that making it your own to accommodate your tastes, your preferences and your style of cooking.
This Fall Roasted Sweet Potato Salad makes the perfect lunch or accompaniment to dinner during those crisp fall days.
Now if someone would just tell Northern California that summer is over, I’d greatly appreciate it. In the meantime, you can find me poolside with this salad with a strawberry prosecco pop on the side.
Fall Roasted Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes cubed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1 cup wild rice
- 1 cup spinach leaves
- 1 cup arugula
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- Dressing -
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- Pinch of salt & pepper
- Optional Garnish: 2 tbsp goat cheese crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
- Meanwhile, cook the wild rice according to the instructions on the package. When the rice is done, remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature
- While the rice cooks, cube the sweet potato (I prefer the skin on) into uniform size cubes
- Place in large bowl, add 1 tbsp olive oil, curry powder and turmeric. Mix until all the sweet potato pieces are evenly coated
- Spread sweet potatoes onto a foil lined baking sheet into a single layer
- Place in the oven and roast for 25-30 minutes, until outside is golden brown and inside is soft
- Allow sweet potatoes to cool slightly before serving
- Make the dressing by combining remaining olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper in a jar and whisking until combined
- To prepare the salad, combine spinach, arugula, roasted sweet potatoes, wild rice, and sunflower seeds in a large bowl.
- Add dressing and toss salad to combine
- Garnish with goat cheese is desired
I seriously want to stop what I’m doing right now and make this! I love the color and the texture on the sweet potato looks so delicious. What a perfect fall salad!
The sweet potatoes came out perfect! golden and slightly crispy on the outside and soft in the middle!
This is just absolutely beautiful! Great recipe –
Thanks Ginger!
This salad speaks Fall and I’m loving everything about it!!
Thanks so much Lauren!
I have enjoyed your blog so I have nominated you for the blogger recognition award! Head on over to my most recent post below to see what you need to do to pass it on! https://www.mindfulnessinfaithandfood.com/blogger-recognition-award/
Thank you so much, so honored!
Such a beautiful fall salad! And I’m loving your gold flatware 🙂
Thanks Whitney, gotta love target finds!
Looks delicious! I need to remember to add sweet potatoes to my salads more often.
thanks Maria, it makes them so filling!
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