This Kale Sweet Potato Salad with Sundried Tomatoes is the perfect fall and winter salad and it's surprisingly easy to make. Crunchy, salty, packed with flavor, and dressed with the best sherry vinaigrette!
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Why This Recipe Works
- This salad combines all the best flavors and textures which results in a delicious salad you won't be able to resist!
- Crunchy cucumber and onion, salty sun-dried tomatoes, soft herby sweet potatoes, creamy goat cheese, and hearty massaged kale. All sprinkled with hemp seeds and drizzled with sherry vinegar. A true match made in heaven.
- The salad can easily be customized or made completely vegan.
- It's perfect for meal prep!
Ingredients
There are a few key pieces and other additions that can change depending on what you have in the fridge or are craving.
- Roasted sweet potatoes - The star of the show! I like to cut them into bite-sized pieces and season them with lots of dried herbs. The exact measurments are in the recipe card.
- Kale - I'm using dinosaur kale, also called Cavolo Nero, in this salad but you can use any kale you like. It's important to
- Sundried tomatoes - These add lots of flavor and saltiness to the salad. I like using sundried tomatoes in oil and just rinsing them before chopping. This gets rid off some of the excess salt and oil. You can use dry sundried tomatoes too and soak them in hot water for 10-20 minutes before chopping.
- Chopped veggies - I'm using chopped cucumber and sliced red onion here but tomatoes, or pickled onion work just as well.
- Soft goat cheese - This adds a nice creaminess but can be skipped to keep this salad completely vegan.
- Sherry Vinagrette - Sherry vinager is such a nice sweet vinegar, I find it to be perfect for fall salads. If you don't have it, you can use apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice.
Substitutions and Variations
- Roasted squash - The roasted sweet potatoes can be swapped for any hearty roasted vegetable. Butternut, honeynut, delicata, acorn, or sweet dumpling are all types of squash that could be roasted.
- Feta cheese - This is a great substitute if you're not a fan of goat cheese.
- Mixed lettuce - If you're not a fan of kale, you don't have to skip on this salad! It's just as delicious with mixed greens or simple romaine. I recommend trying baby kale, it's softer than regular kale and similar to regular lettuce.
- Vinaigrette - This salad works with lots of variations of the same vinaigrette. All you need is olive oil, various dried herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, or marjoram), an acid (lemon juice, ACV, champagne vinegar, red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar), and salt and pepper. This will get you a basic vinaigrette that will be delicious with this salad even with any of the different variations mentioned above!
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Start by chopping the sweet potatoes and roasting them at 400F for 40 minutes.
2. To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients and set aside until ready to serve.
3. + 4. Add finely chopped kale into a large bowl, sprinkle it with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil and massage the kale with your hands the same way you'd knead dough until it's dark green and reduces in size. This step is optional but it makes the kale easier to chew.
5. Layer the rest of your ingredients (sweet potatoes, cucumber, sundried tomatoes, red onion, and goat cheese) on top of the kale and toss it all together before drizzling with the vinaigrette and tossing again gently.
Serving and Storing
This salad does well both served right away and prepped for later. I usually store my salad and my dressing separately to avoid greens wilting down but since this salad has kale which is tougher and won't wilt as quickly, it's not as important to do that.
The salad keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days and it's the perfect salad for meal prep!
FAQs
Any kale will work in this recipe. Curly kale, dinosaur kale, and baby kale are my favorite ones.
Technically yes, it just won't taste the same. Yellow potatoes are tougher than sweet potatoes and might take longer to cook.
No, you don't have to but I usually do because I find the skin too tough anyway.
I recommend either using vegan cheese or just skipping it altogether. You can add tofu or more veggies to make up for it.
More Salads You'll Enjoy
Below are four of my favorite salads, the last one is more summer appropriate than autumn but it's my favorite and made with potatoes so I had to include it! Definitely check out the Eggplant Lentil salad, it's one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest!
- Delicata Squash Baby Kale Salad with Balsamic Fig Vinaigrette
- Persimmon Salad with Goat Brie and Pomegranate Seeds
- Za'atar Roasted Eggplant Lentil Salad with Sundried Tomatoes
- Greek Potato Salad with Feta
📖 Recipe
Kale Sweet Potato Salad with Sundried Tomatoes
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
Sherry Dressing:
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- 1 tsp maple syrup (or honey)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
- ¼ tsp sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Kale Salad:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (700g), peeled and diced (5-6 cups diced)
- 1-2 tablespoon avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
- 1 tsp each dried oregano, rosemary, and thyme
- 1 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder (or to taste, optional)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 large bunch Lacinato kale (see notes), stems removed and finely chopped (6-8 cups)
- 1 english cucumber, diced
- 1 medium red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil, drained, rinsed, and chopped
- ½ cup (100g) soft goat cheese or feta cheese
- 1-2 tablespoon hemp seeds (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
Sherry Dressing:
- Combine all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid and shake to combine. Set aside until ready to serve.
Kale Salad:
- Preheat your oven to 400F (200C).
- Spread the diced sweet potato on a large baking tray and drizzle with avocado oil. Toss.
- Season with dried oregano, rosemary, thyme, smoked paprika, chipotle powder, sea salt, and pepper. Toss to coat everything well.
- Roast for 40 minutes tossing once.
- While that’s roasting, prep the rest of the ingredients and the dressing (see notes about prepping the kale).
- When the sweet potatoes are done, let them cool down for a few minutes.
- Combine everything in a large bowl. The kale, cucumber, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes, and goat cheese. Drizzle with the dressing, toss, and serve.
Notes
Lacinato Kale: I prefer this kale over regular kale, it has flat leaves and darker color. It’s also called black or dinosaur kale or cavolo nero. You can use any kale you have or any greens you prefer.
I highly recommend massaging the kale before serving. It loosens up the fibers, makes the kale softer and easier to chew. Simply put the chopped kale in a large bowl, add 1 teaspoon olive oil and a small pinch of sea salt, and massage with your hands for 30 seconds or so. It will reduce in size and turn darker.
Dressing: If you don’t have fresh herbs, use 1 teaspoon dried. I like to break up dried rosemary in the palm of my hand before using it as it can be pretty hard and sharp which is why I’m using fresh. You can use any other fresh or dried herbs you like. Chives, sage, or parsley work great.
Storing: Store the salad in the fridge for up to 2 days with the cheese and 3 without. If it’s already dressed, the kale will wilt down faster but I personally don’t mind.
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Sienna says
sweat potatoes in a salad?!?! I'm loving this! Wish I had some right now! Will certainly be making this next week after a trip to the grocery store!
khoingn | The Broad Life says
Wow, this seems to be a good dish to try. I'm thinking of making one next week, it must be delicious!
Alita Pacio says
I love your recipe but I'm not a fan of Kale, I will try mixed lettuce as a substitute
Beth Pierce says
Thanks for sharing this healthy-looking recipe. Its perfect to add to my list
briannemanzb says
I'm always a look out for new healthy recipes. this is great. Thanks for sharing
Eileen M Loya says
Looks like a yummy salad to me. Those roasted sweet potatoes made this salad extra special. I love sweet potatoes and to have them in a salad is a dish I would definitely make.
Gervin Khan says
This salad recipe looks really delicious, easy, and healthy. I would love to make this for everyone. Thank you!
Clarice says
Wow! This looks delicious. I have never tried sweet potato salad with tomatoes so, I am very excited to follow your recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Autumn Murray says
Yum to the yum! This salad looks and sounds delicious! I love the fact that it doesn't have mayonnaise in it. Just pinned it to make later. Thank you!
Elise Ho says
This salad has so many things that I love. I will certainly make it.
Gladys Nava says
This looks like a healthy salad. I bet the taste was really good. Can't wait to try!
Thena Franssen says
This recipe looks perfect! I'm going to make this for my Thanksgiving meal as I've been looking for a simple side dish recipe.
Kat says
hmm Kale is a bit too bitter for me. I'll use romaine lettuce instead and see how its gonna go.
Neha says
I love kale paired with sun dried tomatoes and sweet potato is just my favorite!!! I need to try this recipe out.
Ntensibe Edgar says
Oh wow...it's the whole combination for me on this one. At the start, I wondered how the final product would turn out...till I saw it. I am now more intrigued. I will give it a try, for sure.