This Roasted Sweet Potato Arugula Salad is easy to make, simple, and you can serve it on its own or as a side. It has delicious roasted sweet potatoes, peppery arugula, salty feta and olives, creamy avocado, and crunchy roasted sunflower seeds. It's vegetarian and gluten-free!
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Why You'll Love This Sweet Potato Salad
Lots of flavor and a variety of textures - This salad has it all! Tender roasted sweet potatoes, peppery arugula, salty feta and briny olives, fresh veggies, and a lemony honey mustard dressing. I also highly recommend sprinkling the salad with my Honey Roasted Sunflower Seeds for some extra crunch!
Easy and simple - The main part of the prep is chopping the sweet potato (you could always buy it diced already). You can make the dressing and get the rest of the veggies ready while the potatoes roast, and you'll still have time to spare! The ingredients are very simple and easy to find in most grocery stores.
Main or a side - This salad makes a great light lunch or dinner, but you can also serve it as a side with your favorite protein. Some great add-ins are cooked chickpeas, beans, or other protein, like roasted chicken, canned tuna, or roasted salmon. I add them directly into the salad for easy prep or if I'm taking it with me somewhere.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes - Look for firm sweet potatoes without any visible black spots or mold. You'll roast them with avocado oil, Italian seasoning (homemade or store-bought), sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, garlic and onion powder, and sweet paprika.
- Arugula - I'm using baby arugula here. It's the younger version of arugula that's less spicy and much more common (at least where I live). I like buying it pre-washed in a 5-oz box. It should be easy to find in most grocery stores, and it makes prep so much easier because you don't have to measure anything, just empty the container into a bowl or on a large serving platter!
- Veggies - I'm only adding cherry tomatoes, red onion, and avocado (which I forgot in the photos, ops!), but feel free to add other veggies like bell peppers or cucumber to make the salad bigger.
- Feta cheese - I always recommend using a block of feta (sheep or goat), and crumbling it yourself. I like to stay away from pre-crumbled feta when possible because it has unnecessary additives and just isn't as good.
- Olives - This one is optional if you're not a fat but highly recommended! I like Kalamata olives here, but use any you like.
- Honey mustard dressing - This is a very simple vinaigrette made with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, whole-grain mustard, honey, grated garlic, and fresh parsley. You can use garlic powder if you prefer, and swap the parsley for chives or cilantro.
- Sunflower seeds - You can add plain raw ones to keep it simple, or try my Honey Roasted Sunflower Seeds. They're perfect for this salad!
Variations and Substitutions
- Different greens - If you don't have baby arugula, a great substitute is baby spinach, baby kale, or mesclun. I also have a Kale Sweet Potato Salad you can try!
- Add protein - Toss in cooked chickpeas, diced sauteed or roasted chicken, shredded rossiterie chicken, or serve it with steak, salmon, or any other protein!
- Onion - If you don't like the flavor of raw onion, you can soak the sliced onion in cold water for 5 minutes, and it will remove some of its bite. You can also swap it for green onion, shallots, or even Quick Pickled Red Onion!
- Goat's cheese - If you don't have feta, you can also crumble some soft goat cheese on top! Do this at the very end so it doesn't mix with the dressing.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Peel and dice your sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Dry them with a paper towel and add them to the baking sheet.
- Drizzle the sweet potatoes with avocado oil and toss to coat well. Season them with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss again to all pieces well.
- Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet, making sure they have enough space and aren’t overlapping.
- Roast them in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip, and roast for another 15-20 minutes. You can raise the temperature to 450°F before putting the potatoes back into the oven if you want them crisper on the outside.
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- While the potatoes are roasting, prepare the rest of the salad.
- To make the dressing, add olive oil, lemon juice, honey, whole grain mustard, grated garlic, and finely chopped parsley to a jar or a medium-sized bowl. Whisk vigorously until well mixed and emulsified. Set aside.
- Chop all your veggies and to a large serving plate, add baby arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, and kalamata olives.
- Once your sweet potatoes are ready, add them to the salad and garnish with crumbled feta, sliced or diced avocado, and sunflower seeds.
- Drizzle the salad with the honey mustard vinaigrette you prepared earlier and enjoy!
- Alternatively, you can toss everything but the feta, avocado, and sunflower seeds with the dressing in a large bowl, and then serve the salad on individual plates garnished with feta, avocado, and sunflower seeds. I add the three later because the sunflower seeds tend to fall to the bottom of the bowl, and the feta and avocado can get too mushy.
Success Tips
- Add the avocado and sunflower seeds at the end - If you're tossing everything together in a large mixing bowl, skip these and add them to the serving plate at the end. I do this because avocado gets too mush,y and the sunflower seeds fall to the bottom of the bowl. I also do this with feta when I don't want it to melt and mix with the dressing, but it's not as necessary.
- Don't mix it, layer it - If you want the salad to be extra pretty when serving, don't mix everything in a big bowl, but layer all the ingredients on a serving plate and drizzle that with the dressing. This makes sure everything is evenly distributed, and the arugula won't wilt in the dressing as quickly.
- A main or a side - You can totally serve this salad on its own for a light lunch, add chickpeas for a little more protein, or serve it as a side. It's delicious with anything from roasted chicken, steak, to fish!
Make-ahead options and Storing
Ideally, if you want to make the salad ahead of time, it's best to store all the ingredients separately, especially the dressing. If you do want to get it as ready as you can, just leave out the avocado and dressing.
I like to add the feta right before serving as well, but it can go with the rest of the salad ingredients when you're prepping it the night before.
Storing with dressing: Once you add the dressing, store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Storing without dressing: If you store the salad separately from the dressing, you can store it for up to 2-3 days in the fridge. I recommend storing it this way because arugula wilts quickly, so it's best to add the dressing only right before serving.
FAQs
Sweet potatoes are very soft by nature and hard to get crispy. The inside will always stay tender because that's just their texture. If you want them to have an extra crispy coating, toss them with cornstarch or tapioca flour before roasting. See my Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes for more tips!
More Sweet Potato Recipes
Below are a few other recipes that feature sweet potatoes you should definitely try if you liked this salad. There's something to choose from for anyone! If you want to see more salads, just head over to all salad recipes. There are tons to choose from!
- Kale Sweet Potato Salad with Sundried Tomatoes (similar to this salad)
- Lentil Salad with Fennel and Sweet Potato (an old recipe of mine, but so good!)
- Crispy Roasted Sweet Potatoes (delicious for breakfast)
- Roasted Cauliflower and Sweet Potatoes (a great fall and winter side)
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Print📖 Recipe
Roasted Sweet Potato Arugula Salad
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This Roasted Sweet Potato Arugula Salad is easy to make, and you can serve it on its own or as a side. It has delicious roasted sweet potatoes, peppery arugula, salty feta and olives, creamy avocado, and crunchy roasted sunflower seeds. It's simple, vegetarian, and gluten-free!
Ingredients
Roasted sweet potatoes
- 2 medium sweet potatoes (approx. 1.8 lbs or 850g)
- 1 tbsp avocado oil (or other cooking oil)
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp sweet paprika
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Honey mustard vinaigrette
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 small clove garlic, grated (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Arugula salad
- 6-7 cups baby arugula (1 box)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ avocado, diced
- ½ cup raw or roasted sunflower seeds (I used my Honey Roasted Sunflower Seeds)
Instructions
Roasted sweet potatoes
- Preheat your oven to 425°F and prepare a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Peel and dice your sweet potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Dry them with a paper towel and add to the baking sheet.
- Drizzle the sweet potatoes with avocado oil and toss to coat well.
- Season with Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, sweet paprika, sea salt, and black pepper. Toss again to all pieces well.
- Spread the potatoes on the baking sheet, making sure they have enough space and aren’t overlapping.
- Roast them in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip, and roast for another 15-20 minutes. You can raise the temperature to 450°F before putting the potatoes back into the oven if you want them crisper on the outside.
- While they’re roasting, prepare the rest of the salad.
Honey mustard vinaigrette
- Add olive oil, lemon juice, honey, whole grain mustard, grated garlic, and finely chopped parsley to a jar or a medium-sized bowl. Whisk vigorously until well mixed and emulsified. Set aside.
Arugula salad
- To a large serving plate, add baby arugula, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, and kalamata olives.
- Once your sweet potatoes are ready, add them to the salad and garnish with crumbled feta, sliced or diced avocado, and sunflower seeds.
- Drizzle with your honey mustard vinaigrette and enjoy!
- Alternatively, you can toss everything but the feta, avocado, and sunflower seeds with the dressing in a large bowl, and then serve the salad on individual plates garnished with feta, avocado, and sunflower seeds.
Notes
Storing: Arugula wilts quickly, especially once stored in the fridge so this salad takes the best right after it’s made. If needed, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
Make-ahead options: If you want to make it ahead, I recommend roasting the sweet potatoes, making the dressing, and chopping your veggies the night before and storing them all in separate containers in the fridge. The dressing will last you for up to 5 days, roasted sweet potatoes for 3-4 days, and chopped veggies for 1-2 days.
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