This beautiful Sweet Potato Salad Recipe with maple cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes and pecans, smoky bacon, apples, dried cranberries, red onion, feta cheese, and a delicious maple vinaigrette is a delicious combination of flavors for a perfect salad any time of the year.
What we love about this Recipe for Sweet Potato Salad
The sweet potatoes and pecans! This salad is a big family favorite. The maple cinnamon roasted sweet potatoes and pecans are to die for! Both are amazing on their own and make the salad amazing. The hint of chili powder on the sweet potatoes and pecans and the addition of bacon in the salad make the perfect smoky-sweet flavor that we love. Paired with the natural sweetness and warmth of the cinnamon, chili powder is an amazingly addictive combination with sweet potatoes and nuts, it doesn’t make them spicy or hot. It is the perfect complement to the cinnamon and gives the sweet potatoes more depth. Add the craisins, apples, red onion, and feta and you truly have the perfectly balanced, addicting fall salad!
And the salad dressing! We love this maple vinaigrette with a bit of red onion blended in. We have tried a few other dressings with this salad and this is our absolute favorite. Give this salad a try! It is filling enough to eat as a meal for lunch and a beautiful addition to your dinner or holiday table. We like serving it with our maple spiced chicken, pork tenderloin, or honey mustard chicken.
If you are looking for other fall favorites, try our…
What you need to make this Sweet Potato Salad
You will need the following ingredients:
- Sweet potatoes
- Maple syrup
- Olive oil
- Chili powder
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Baby arugula
- Baby spring mix
- Medium granny smith apple
- Thick-cut bacon
- Medium red onion
- Dried cranberries
- Feta cheese
- Red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
Sweet Potato Salad Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- Different lettuces could be used. I like the combination of the arugula with the greens, but you could use all spinach or kale or a spring mix if needed. You could even use just arugula, but I like it best here combined with the baby spring mix. The color of the baby spring mix is pretty with the craisins and purple onion.
- Feta cheese could be substituted for goat cheese.
- Pomegranates are a wonderful addition to the salad or could be substituted for the craisins.
- Different varieties of apples could be substituted if needed.
- Pecans could be substituted for walnuts or replaced with a seed like pepitas.
- Squash, like butternut squash, could be substituted for the sweet potato.
- Regular bacon could be used over thick cut.
- Honey could possibly substitute for the maple syrup, though I haven’t tried it. Let me know if you do!
- Scallions could substitute for the red onion in the recipe.
- A different oil like avocado or vegetable oil could substitute for olive oil if needed.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1. Peel sweet potatoes and cut into approximately ¾ inch pieces. In a large bowl, combine maple syrup, olive oil, chili powder, cinnamon and salt. Measure 2 tablespoons of the syrup mixture and place in a small bowl with the pecans and stir to combine. Add the sweet potatoes to the remainder of the syrup mixture and stir to combine until all the sweet potatoes are covered.
Step 2. Transfer sweet potatoes to the prepared baking sheet and spread the potatoes so they lay evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, carefully remove from the oven and stir the potatoes, flipping to turn to promote even browning. With a spatula, gently slide the potatoes to one side of the pan and add the pecans to the empty side. Bake pecans and sweet potatoes for an additional 8-10 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and let cool 15 minutes.
Add sweet potatoes, pecans, craisins, bacon and feta cheese. . For the dressing, place oil, maple syrup, red onion, vinegar and salt in a blender. Blend on high until most of the red onion has blended into the dressing and is no longer in larger chunks.
Place greens in a large bowl and top with sliced onion and apples. Add sweet potatoes, pecans, craisins, bacon and feta cheese.
Add sweet potatoes, pecans, craisins, bacon and feta cheese.
Drizzle with dressing. Salad can be served in the bowl with ingredients on top or tossed. Salad can be also individually plated like the large bowl and have guests drizzle dressing on individual plates themselves.
Tips
- Don’t skip the chili powder! The chili powder on the sweet potatoes and pecans delivers a delicious smoky flavor, nothing spicy! It’s the perfect combination with cinnamon and makes both the sweet potatoes and pecans so addicting with the maple glaze.
- I love a good potato peeler, I’ve spent many a time peeling potatoes gifted from dear extended family growing up in Idaho. My favorite of all time is this one here from Pampered Chef or you can also get it here on Amazon.
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Frequently Asked Questions
| Can the sweet potatoes be made in advance? |
| Roasted sweet potatoes can last 3-5 days, covered, in the fridge, or can be frozen for up to a year. For the best texture, if you roast the potatoes in advance, I would reheat the potatoes in a preheated 400-degree oven for 10 minutes before serving. |
| Can I roast the pecans in advance? |
| Yes, for best quality, roasted nuts last 2 weeks at room temperature stored in an airtight container and can last up to a month in the fridge. Roasted nuts do not keep as long as raw nuts. |
| How do I store leftovers for a salad? |
| Due to the delicacy of the greens used in a salad and the high moisture content of some vegetables, tossed salads don’t often last long and get soggy and wilted quickly. Some ways to help your salad last longer are: 1. Ensure all the ingredients are completely dry before storing, especially the lettuce used. 2. Don’t add all the dressing at once when eating. If you know you are going to save some salad for later, store the salad ingredients and dressing separately. Once the dressing is applied, any acidity in the dressing causes the lettuce to wilt quickly. 3. Store some of the salad ingredients separately. Any cheese, tomatoes, proteins, cooked ingredients, or wet ingredients should be stored in separate containers. 4. Avoid storing your salad ingredients at the very back of the fridge where the lettuce could potentially freeze. 5. Make sure all ingredients are properly covered in air-tight containers in the fridge. You can place paper towels between layers of lettuce leaves to make sure they are dry and prevent wilting. |
Sweet Potato Salad Recipe
4
servings30
minutes40
minutes1
hour10
minutesThis beautiful Sweet Potato Salad Recipe with maple cinnamon-roasted sweet potatoes and pecans, smoky bacon, apples, dried cranberries, red onion, feta cheese, and a delicious maple vinaigrette is a delicious combination of flavors for a perfect salad any time of the year.
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Salad:
2 pounds sweet potatoes (3 medium-sized potatoes)
1 cup whole pecans
⅓ cup maple syrup
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
2.5 ounces baby arugula (half of a 5 oz. container,, approximately 2 1/2 packed cups)
2.5 ounces baby spring mix (half of a 5 oz container, approximately 2 1/2 packed cups)
6 ounces (4-5 slices) thick-cut bacon, chopped
1 medium granny smith apple, thinly sliced
½ medium red onion, sliced and then quartered
½ cup dried cranberries
¼ cup feta cheese
Maple Vinaigrette:
⅓ cup olive oil
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup finely chopped red onion
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Peel sweet potatoes and cut into approximately ¾ inch pieces.
- In a large bowl, combine maple syrup, olive oil, chili powder, cinnamon and salt. Measure 2 tablespoons of the syrup mixture and place in a small bowl with the pecans and stir to combine. Add the sweet potatoes to the remainder of the syrup mixture and stir to combine until all the sweet potatoes are covered.
- Transfer sweet potatoes to the prepared baking sheet and spread the potatoes so they lay evenly on the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, carefully remove from the oven, and stir the potatoes, flipping to turn to promote even browning. With a spatula, gently slide the potatoes to one side of the pan and add the pecans to the empty side. Bake pecans and sweet potatoes for an additional 8-10 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.
- While sweet potatoes cook, in a skillet on medium heat cook chopped bacon until cooked through and evenly browned. Carefully transfer cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towels to cool.
- For the dressing, place oil, maple syrup, red onion, vinegar, and salt in a blender. Blend on high until most of the red onion has blended into the dressing and is no longer in larger chunks.
- Place greens in a large bowl and top with sliced onion and apples. Add sweet potatoes, pecans, craisins, bacon, and feta cheese. Drizzle with dressing. Salad can be served in the bowl with ingredients on top or tossed. Salad can be also individually plated like the large bowl and have guests drizzle dressing on individual plates themselves.
Notes
- The chili powder on the sweet potatoes and pecans delivers a delicious smoky flavor, nothing spicy! It’s the perfect combination with cinnamon and makes both the sweet potatoes and pecans so addicting with the maple glaze. Both the roasted sweet potatoes and pecans are delicious on their own and add so much flavor to the salad.
- The bacon adds a smokiness and crunch that pairs beautifully with the sweet potatoes but if you need this vegetarian, you can skip the bacon if needed.
- As soon as you toss the salad, the sweet potatoes fall to the bottom of the bowl, so I prefer to plate the salad and drizzle the dressing over the top to serve. It also is a prettier presentation.
Sweet potatoes are my favorite! Love the arugula also…so yummy!
Thank you so much! The roasted sweet potatoes here are so delicious! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!