Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Kale Salad
Full of color and texture, this Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Kale Salad is packed with chopped apple, feta, and a zippy dijon vinaigrette. It’s easy to throw together and makes a great fall dinner for two.
If you think salads are boring, try adding roasted sweet potatoes – they’ll instantly liven up any pile of greens (yes, even kale). Then grab some salty feta, crisp apple, dried cranberries, beans, and crunchy toasted nuts.
Toss it all with a tangy vinaigrette (that you whipped up in less than a minute!) and prepare your belly for a filling flavor-packed roasted sweet potatoes and kale salad.
Ingredient Notes
The key to a really good dinner-sized salad is having a variety of textures and flavors. If you don’t have all of the ingredients we used, just substitute what you have on hand!
Kale: The Lacinato (or dinosaur) variety is my favorite. It’s still hearty but feels less like you’re eating a shrub. To mix things up throw in some thinly sliced brussels sprouts or cabbage.
Apple: Any crisp and crunchy variety will do – gala, granny smith, Honeycrisp. Asian pear or Fuyu persimmon are also good options.
Feta Cheese: Swap it for crumbled goat cheese, gorgonzola, or grated White cheddar.
Sweet Potatoes: Cut into small ½-thick pieces they cook up quickly. If you’re having trouble slicing raw sweet potatoes, try popping them in the microwave for a minute to soften slightly first.
Nuts and Dried Fruit: Add extra crunch and sweetness. Try sliced almonds, pecans, pistachios, dried cranberries, cherries, or dates (pitted and chopped).
Small Batch Dressing: We used this tangy dijon vinaigrette but our orange vinaigrette or sriracha vinaigrette would also pair nicely with the flavors in this salad.
Toasting Tip
Ready for a fun kitchen hack? You can skip dirtying another pan and toast the nuts while you finish the sweet potatoes!
Once the sweet potatoes are fork-tender, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Use a spatula to scooch them to one side of the pan and add the almonds to the other side.
Return the pan to the oven and cook until the nuts are lightly toasted about 4 to 5 minutes.
*Similar to toasting coconut, the nuts will brown quickly so make sure to set a timer and don’t wander off.
Get More Kitchen Hacks >>> 29 Cooking Tips and Tricks for Smaller Households
How to Massage Kale
Depending on the variety, raw kale can be fibrous and hard to chew. A few minutes of massaging it with your hands will break down the kale. Making it softer and easier to eat.
Personally, I like the more aggressive unsoftened texture. But if you’re not a fan here’s how to massage kale:
- Use a knife or your hands to strip the kale leaves from their woody stems.
- Then chop or tear the leaves into small pieces.
- Rinse the kale and dry it well (we like to do this in our salad spinner).
- Add it to a large bowl and drizzle lightly with oil, salad dressing, or a squeeze of lemon juice.
- With clean hands massage the kale by squeezing and scrunching it for a few minutes until it’s tender and darker in color.
Once it’s softened, toss the kale with the rest of the dressing, add some toppings, and dig in!
More Reasons To Love Sweet Potatoes
- Quick Baked Sweet Potatoes
- 10 Quick and Easy Sweet Potato Toppings
- BBQ Tempeh Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Mini Sweet Potato Hand Pies
- Sweet Potato Veggie Wrap
- Streusel Topped Sweet Potatoes
- Easy Sweet Potato Nachos
- Pizza Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Kale Salad
Packed with great flavors and textures, this filling salad is easy to adapt to the ingredients you have on hand. Just don’t skip the smoky roasted sweet potatoes, they’re too good to miss out on!
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 Small Sweet Potatoes, about 10 to 12 ounces
- 2 teaspoons Avocado Oil or Olive Oil
- ÂĽ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ÂĽ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- Salt and Black Pepper, to taste
For The Salad
- 3 Tablespoons (21 grams) Sliced Almonds
- 3 to 4 cups Chopped Lacinato (Dinosaur) Kale, about 1 small bunch
- Half a Medium Apple, cored and diced
- 3/4 cup Cooked Navy Beans, rinsed and drained if using canned
- 3 Tablespoons (35 grams) Crumbled Feta Cheese
- 1 Tablespoon Dried Cranberries
Dijon Dressing
- 1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Maple Syrup
- 2 teaspoons Dijon Mustard
- Pinch Salt and Black Pepper, add more to taste
Instructions
Roast Sweet Potatoes:
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. If using a toaster oven, adjust the rack to the bottom position and select the BAKE setting.
- Chop the sweet potatoes into ½-inch thick pieces. Pile on a rimmed quarter sheet pan and drizzle with the oil. Sprinkle over the paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and arrange in a single layer.
- Roast for 20 minutes, flip sweet potatoes, and continue cooking until fork-tender, about 5 minutes more.
Toast Nuts:
- Once the sweet potatoes are ready, lower the oven temp to 350°F. Scooch the roasted potatoes to one side and add the sliced almonds to the pan. Cook until toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes. Keep an eye on them, the nuts toast up quickly.
Make Dressing:
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a small mason jar. Screw on the lid and shake well to combine.
Assemble Salads:
- Place the kale in a large bowl. Massage and scrunch the kale with your hands for 1 to 2 minutes to soften.
- Top with sweet potatoes, almond slices, apple, beans, feta, and dried cranberries. Shake the vinaigrette again, drizzle over everything and toss. Divide the salad between two bowls and dig in!
Notes
Make-Ahead Option: Leave the cheese and toasted nuts off and add just before serving. Otherwise, the cheese will become mushy and the nuts will be chewy.
Got a big appetite today? Add some leftover cooked grains like brown rice, quinoa, or farro. Crispy tofu or tempeh also make great high-protein additions and diced avocado is never a bad thing.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1 salad with half of the dressingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 520Total Fat: 20.9gSaturated Fat: 4.6gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 416mgCarbohydrates: 72.3gFiber: 11.6gSugar: 11.5gProtein: 15.7g
What a delicious salad – so perfect for fall! I seriously love kale salads and I love that this has apple and cranberries and pecans and oh, ALL the good stuff 🙂 That srirachi vinaigrette sounds divine! Yumming now!
Yay a fellow kale salad lover! Thanks for Yumming I hope you enjoy it.