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Savory Sweet Potato Salad

4.93 from 14 votes
Total 30 minutes
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Savory Sweet Potato Salad is a mouth-watering sweet potato salad with arugula, pomegranate, dried cherries, quinoa, and pepitas in apple cider vinaigrette. It represents every flavor of the palate and makes the perfect fall season side dish.

scattered sweet potato salad on tray

Sweet potato salad has been a favorite holiday side dish for the past few years and it's a hit! As a kid, we always had candied sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving dinner, and I loved them. But, it's way too sweet for a holiday side dish now that I'm an adult...with a waistline...that I'd like to keep. This sweet potato salad...it's lightly sweet, tart, savory, crunchy, and peppery all at once! It's a must-have holiday recipe for the sweet potato lovers out there.

Table of Contents hide
1) Savory Sweet Potato Salad Ingredients
2) How to make Sweet Potato Salad
3) Sweet potato salad - flavor and texture galore!
4) Grab these easy potato recipes
5) Fall recipes we love
6) 📖 Recipe
7) Savory Sweet Potato Salad

Savory Sweet Potato Salad Ingredients

  • quinoa - You can make a classic stove cooked quinoa or make Instant Pot quinoa.
  • sweet potatoes - Make oven baked, stove boiled, or pressure cooker sweet potatoes.
  • raw pepitas - also called pumpkin seeds
  • arugula
  • pomegranate seeds
  • dried cherries
  • apple cider vinegar
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • maple syrup
  • salt and pepper
scattered sweet potato salad on tray

How to make Sweet Potato Salad

  • Step 1. Cook the quinoa and allow to cool.
  • Step 2. Cook the sweet potato (recipe includes microwave and oven-roasting instructions).
  • Step 3. Toast the pumpkin seeds.
  • Step 4. Whisk together salad dressing ingredients and refrigerate.
  • Step 5. To serve, toss all ingredients together...and devour!

You can prep each ingredient up to a few days in advance, store them separately in the refrigerator, and toss everything together just before your throw down goes down.

Once this salad is dressed, it needs to be served immediately as the arugula wilts over time.

open faced pomegranate, tray of salad ingredients, scattered sweet potato salad on tray

Sweet potato salad - flavor and texture galore!

When you get a bite of this salad with morsels of each ingredient, you'll get savory from the sweet potatoes and pumpkin seeds and slightly bitter flavor from the arugula, tart from the pomegranate, sweetness from the sweet potatoes and dried cherries, and maple dressing, all perfectly balanced with a touch of salt.

arugula, cooked quinoa, dried cherries, diced sweet potato, pomegranate, and toasted pumpkin seeds on baking sheet

Grab these easy potato recipes

Fall recipes we love

📖 Recipe

Stay nourished through winter with quinoa, pomegranate, dried cherries, arugula, and pumpkin seeds in apple cider vinaigrette. Fall and Winter Sweet Potato Salad #quinoasalad #pomegranate #thanksgiving #christmas #holidaysalad

Savory Sweet Potato Salad

Savory Sweet Potato Salad is a mouth-watering sweet potato salad with arugula, pomegranate, dried cherries, quinoa, and pepitas in apple cider vinaigrette. It represents every flavor of the palate and makes the perfect holiday dinner side dish.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total time30 minutes
Yield 4 1-cup servings
Author Traci Antonovich
4.93 from 14 votes
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When scaling the recipe 2x or 3x, the gray ingredient note stays the same. Adjust quantities accordingly.

Ingredients 

For the Salad:

  • ½ cup dry Quinoa, or 1 cup cooked
  • 1 medium Sweet Potato
  • ¼ cup Pepitas
  • 2 cups Baby Arugula
  • ½ cup Pomegranate Arils
  • ¼ cup Dried Cherries, lightly chopped

For the vinaigrette:

  • 2 tablespoons Bragg Raw Apple Cider Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 teaspoons Maple Syrup
  • ¼ teaspoon Sea Salt
  • Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

  • Cook dry QUINOA according to package instructions; allow to cool.

To cook the sweet potatoes

  • In the oven:
    Peel skin, chop into cubes, toss in extra virgin olive oil, and bake at 400° until tender (about 10-14 minutes); allow to cool before adding to the salad.
    In the microwave:
    Pierce raw SWEET POTATO several times with a knife; place in the microwave; cook on high until tender (5-8 minutes); allow to cool; remove skin; chop into bite-sized pieces; allow to cool before adding to the salad.

Toast the pepitas

  • Place PEPITAS on a baking tray under low-flame broiler in oven or toaster oven; gently toast until fragrant (be careful, they burn easily).

Apple cider vinaigrette

  • In a bowl, whisk together APPLE CIDER VINEGAR, OLIVE OIL, MAPLE SYRUP, SALT, and PEPPER; cover and chill up until needed.
  • To serve, toss together QUINOA, SWEET POTATO, ARUGULA, PUMPKIN SEEDS, POMEGRANATE ARILS, DRIED CHERRIES, and VINAIGRETTE.
Did you make this? We'd love your feedback!!Please rate and review it here or below ⤵️

Equipment

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 170mg | Potassium: 347mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 5117IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg
Course Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American
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Reader Interactions

4.93 from 14 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Comments

  1. Mary Helene says

    5 stars
    My new favorite any potato salad - thank goodness the family feels the same!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Yay! So glad you and your family love it...and thanks for popping in to let me know 🙂 I really appreciate it!

  2. Midge says

    4 stars
    CAn you skip the quinoa? Please advise.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Hi Midge, you can totally leave the quinoa out. No problem...enjoy!

  3. Sandi says

    5 stars
    This salad has everything we look for. Color, Flavors and healthiness. Perfect for Thanksgiving too.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Sandi! Yes, it has all of those things going on 🙂 All my favs!

  4. Jennifer | SavorwithJennifer.com says

    5 stars
    Wow! Fall on a plate in such a GORGEOUS way! Can't wait to try this.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Jennifer! Hope you love it like I do!

  5. Jill says

    5 stars
    I love all the ingredients in this salad. Plus it looks so pretty - perfect for Fall entertaining!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Jill! It is perfect for fall 🙂

  6. Kelly Anthony says

    5 stars
    This salad has it all! Oh my goodness, I wish I had a plate of it RIGHT NOW! So craving sweet potatoes after all those yummy photos!!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Kelly! Love the kind words 🙂

  7. Elaine Benoit says

    5 stars
    This salad looks so hearty and delicious! I love autumn salads and yours looks absolutely perfect!!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Elaine! Love hearing that...hope you get to try it out sometime 🙂

  8. Taylor Kiser says

    5 stars
    Love everything about this salad! It will be a beautiful addition to the Thanksgiving table!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Taylor! We love it for holiday feasts 🙂

  9. Lisa Bynum says

    5 stars
    Where I live, it still feels like summer. I'm so ready to start pulling out fall recipes, but it's too dang hot! This recipe is perfect! I can get all those yummy fall flavors without breaking a sweat.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Haha yep! You sure can! It's good through the winter too 🙂

  10. Michelle says

    So many Fall flavors! It looks fantastic!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Michelle!

  11. rebecca says

    5 stars
    this is FALL right here! looks delicious

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thanks Rebecca!

  12. Lisa | Garlic + Zest says

    5 stars
    I could eat this for lunch every day! Love the pomegranate -- I actually have one on my counter right now... Will have to make this!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Yay Lisa! Hope you love it like I do! Served it up for Thanksgiving last year...it was a hit 🙂

  13. Jacque says

    5 stars
    I LOVE a good salad to take on during the fall season. This looks like absolute perfection.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      You're makin my day with comments like that! Thank you 🙂

  14. Ginny McMeans says

    5 stars
    What a beautiful and flavorful salad! The sweet and tangy go perfectly together.

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thank you! Yes, that was the goal...thanks for saying so 🙂

  15. Jessy says

    I feel like you've found the most incredible flavor combo on this! I'm especially loving the addition of arugula!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thank you! Yes, I totally agree with you on the flavor combo...it was a happy accident a few years ago. And I'm hooked for life! 🙂

  16. Sarah says

    This salad is packed with flavor and all of my favorite ingredients. LOVE! ...especially that pomegranate mmm!

    Reply

    • Traci Antonovich says

      Thank you! I cannot resist this salad during the fall season... the pomegranate makes it!