Sweet Potato Salad

This roasted sweet potato salad recipe is a perfect fall lunch or side dish! Feta cheese, avocado, and a bright tahini dressing fill it with flavor.

sweet potato salad recipe

I hope you’re all excited, because this sweet potato salad recipe is the first of many fall salads that I have coming your way this season! I love salad all year long (Like, who can say no to a tomato salad in the summer?), but fall salads have a special place in my heart. We move away from juicy summer bounty towards sweeter, starchier veggies like sweet potatoes and squash. And after a few months of craving leafless salads filled with tomatoes and corn, I want nothing more than a bowl of fall greens like spinach, arugula, or kale. Together, these fresh greens and hearty autumn veggies create salads that are light and healthy, but satisfying, too.

In this roasted sweet potato salad recipe, some of my all-time favorite ingredients come together in one place. It boasts arugula, feta cheese, pepitas, avocado, tahini dressing, and roasted sweet potatoes. I mean, talk about a perfect combination. The tangy feta contrasts with the caramelized sweet potatoes, while the creamy avocado plays off the crunchy pepitas. The arugula makes the whole thing light and fresh, and the bright tahini dressing ties it all together. If this sweet potato salad isn’t an ideal fall lunch, I don’t know what is.

Sweet potato salad recipe ingredients

Sweet Potato Salad Recipe Ingredients

A few basic ingredients fill this sweet potato salad recipe with delicious texture and flavor:

  • Sweet potatoes, of course! I roast them until they’re caramelized on the outside and tender in the middle.
  • Arugula – I’m obsessed with these soft bitter greens! If you don’t have arugula on hand, spinach, massaged kale, or baby lettuces would be great here too.
  • Avocado – It adds creamy richness to this hearty sweet potato salad.
  • Pepitas – For crunch!
  • Feta cheese – I love how its tangy flavor plays off the caramelized sweet potatoes. If you’re vegan, skip the cheese entirely, or replace it with a few pickled red onions for pop.
  • Tahini dressing – This bright, nutty dressing ties it all together! It’s a simple mix of tahini, lemon juice, maple syrup, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, water, and salt.

To make this recipe, roast the sweet potatoes and whisk together the dressing. Then, assemble the salad in a large bowl or platter with the arugula, roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, pepitas, and feta cheese. Drizzle on the dressing, and enjoy!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Hands tossing sweet potatoes with oil on a baking sheet

Tips and Variations

  • Let the sweet potatoes cool before you toss everything together. If you assemble the salad when the sweet potatoes are hot from the oven, the arugula will wilt. Instead, give them a chance to cool before you toss everything together. That way, the arugula will still be vibrant when you eat.
  • Add the dressing and the avocado at the last minute. This recipe is a great one to meal prep for lunch, but if you make it in advance, store the dressing and the avocado separately until you eat. If you add the dressing too early, the salad will get soggy. Similarly, if you cut the avocado too far ahead of time, it’ll turn brown and bitter. But if you add them both at the last minute, it’ll be delicious.
  • Change it up! I love this sweet potato salad recipe as-written, but feel free to get creative with it! Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Let me know what variations you try!

Roasted sweet potatoes on a baking sheet

Sweet Potato Salad Serving Suggestions

This sweet potato salad recipe is a delicious healthy lunch! Enjoy it on its own, or pair it with a slice of avocado toast, crusty bread, or homemade focaccia. It’d also be yummy with a grilled cheese sandwich or a cup of soup like my Tomato Basil Soup, Carrot Ginger Soup, Many-Veggie Soup, Butternut Squash Soup, or Curried Lentil Soup. Find more of my favorite soup recipes here!

I also love to serve this sweet potato salad as a side dish. Pair it with your favorite protein, or serve it with one of these recipes for a fresh, healthy dinner:

For more easy dinner ideas, check out this post!

sweet potato salad

More Favorite Hearty Salads

If you love this sweet potato salad recipe, try one of these hearty salads next:

For more of my favorite salad recipes, check out this post!

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Sweet Potato Salad

rate this recipe:
4.97 from 29 votes
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves 4
This roasted sweet potato salad recipe is a delicious lunch or side dish! If you're making it in advance, wait to add the dressing and the avocado until right before you eat.

Ingredients

  • 2 Roasted Sweet Potatoes
  • 1 recipe Tahini Dressing
  • 4 cups arugula
  • â…“ cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • Lemon wedge, for squeezing
  • 3 tablespoons toasted pepitas
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • Prepare the Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Tahini Dressing according to the recipes.
  • Assemble the salad on a large platter with the arugula, a drizzle of dressing, the sweet potatoes, and feta. Top with the avocado slices and squeeze a little lemon juice over the avocado. Drizzle with more dressing and top with the pepitas. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

33 comments

4.97 from 29 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Kathy
    10.06.2024

    5 stars
    This recipe is great! I followed the suggestion to add other roasted veggies so I did broccoli and Brussel sprouts, and I also added in roasted chickpeas. Very filling and delicious

  2. Dori
    09.25.2024

    Not sure what I did wrong- after 25 minutes of roasting my sweet potatoes were still soft but burned on the bottom. I thought I spread them out pretty well.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.25.2024

      Hi Dori, I’d check that your oven temperature is accurate. Also, be sure to place the baking sheet on the middle rack.

  3. Anita R
    08.02.2024

    5 stars
    I substituted baby spinach for the arugula. Used vegan feta cheese. This recipe is DELICIOUS!! Filling, healthy…feels fancy enough for company. Even people who often don’t like what I make were amazed by how good it was. This will be in my rotation for sure! Was looking for something new to do with sweet potatoes that I needed to use

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      08.02.2024

      Hi Anita, I’m so glad you loved the salad!

  4. Carol C
    03.10.2024

    5 stars
    I just made this tonight. It’s relatively easy to throw together – not too much slicing and dicing.
    The freshness is nice and the tahini dressing really makes it pop.
    I think this could be eaten as a light lunch or dinner or even paired with a protein.

    Thanks!!

  5. Simone
    03.05.2024

    5 stars
    YUMMO. I wanted to bulk this up a bit so I could have it for dinner and then lunches the next day, so added some red onion which I roasted with the sweet potato, quinoa and fresh basil.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.08.2024

      Hi Simone, those add-ins sound delicious!

  6. Ollie
    02.01.2024

    5 stars
    This salad is SO good and filling. I feel amazing after eating it and I crave it all the time! ?
    I genuinely believe I will make the salad for the rest of my life. Thank you for such a yummy and simple recipe!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      02.02.2024

      Hi Ollie, such a sweet comment! I’m so glad you love the salad.

  7. Julia
    10.21.2023

    4 stars
    I was pleased to find this inexpensive-ingredients autumn salad, and it wasn’t hard to pull it together. My sister was excited when she saw it, and I loved bringing such a pretty salad to the table! It was a little less flavorful than I expected. Next time I would add more maple syrup and lemon juice to the dressing. Enjoyable nonetheless!

  8. Ree
    04.16.2023

    5 stars
    Made this yesterday. Only change I made was I used Spring Mix wirh Arugula because my son doesn’t mind some arugula mixed in, but not all arugula.

    I doubled the recipe and thank God I did, because this disappeared so fast. Every morsel gone! I put on the table two small bowls with low sugar dried cranberries and glazed pecans, if anyone wanted to put some on top. I tried it as is and with cranberries and pecans, oh my, this will be in the rotation, with or without the extras! Thank you for another amazing recipe!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.20.2023

      I’m so glad you loved the salad!

  9. JamilliaLocs
    10.18.2022

    5 stars
    I was looking for something to do with these organic sweet potatoes & this was a hit the flavor profile was amazing, definitely going in to regular rotation, thank you

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      10.21.2022

      I’m so glad you enjoyed them!

  10. Kelly
    09.11.2022

    5 stars
    I made this last night… OUTSTANDING! My avocado was at its peak so it made it 5+ 🙂 The flavors come together well. Putting this into the weekly rotation it was so good.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.13.2022

      Hi Kelly, I’m so glad you loved this one as much as I do 🙂

  11. Ainhoa Arbizu
    07.05.2022

    5 stars
    I just discovered this recipe by accident since I wanted to do something with sweet potatoes. It was delicious. I replaced the avocado since the ones at home were too hard for cucumber and I added sunflower seeds instead of pepitas. I can’t wait to try it again with the avocado. Thank you ?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.07.2022

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  12. Ferol Garcia
    04.18.2022

    5 stars
    Well-received at two Easter gatherings. Easy to make ahead and assemble if bringing to a party.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      04.20.2022

      I’m so glad it was a hit!

  13. Whitney
    02.01.2022

    This looks delicious. Does this make 4 entrée size servings or serves 4 as a side dish?

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      02.01.2022

      Hi Whitney, I’d say 4 as a light entree (ie, lunch), or as a side dish. If I were serving it for dinner to 4, I might add bread and a soup.

    • Jessica
      03.26.2022

      I just wanted to say that tahini dressing is one of the best things i’ve had in a while. I just discovered tahini and i was looking for what to do with it. So this was perfect. I replaced the pepitas with sunflower seeds and i didn’t have feta but this still tasted awesome! Thank you

      • Jeanine Donofrio
        03.27.2022

        Hi Jessica, I’m so glad you loved it!

  14. Audrey
    01.15.2022

    5 stars
    Very good, I added some chicken breast to it and it was so good, definitely will be making tHis again

  15. Stacy
    08.06.2021

    Just wishing you would use volume (cups) or weight for the sweet potatoes. Two is so ambiguous when they come in such a wide range of sizes. Love the tahini dressing!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.06.2021

      Hi Stacey, 2 medium sweet potatoes will work fine, the measurement doesn’t have to be super exact in this case.

  16. Dani
    02.09.2021

    5 stars
    This salad is delicious! I added the recommended pickled red onion – highly recommend.

  17. Christine
    09.28.2020

    5 stars
    Very delicious! I love this recipe, and I recommended it to family and friends.

  18. Karine
    09.22.2020

    5 stars
    I love sweet potatoe and this salad was awesome! Keep up the good work and if you want you can see some recipes in my new blog as well! Take care!

  19. Sabrina from newkitchenlife.com
    09.21.2020

    5 stars
    I’m always in for sweet potatoes, and as a salad, very nice and new to me too, and tahini dressing is nice too, thank you!

  20. Lisa Ellsmore
    09.20.2020

    5 stars
    Tasty combo of flavors! Kids loved it too!

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.