This Sweet Potato Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing can be served cold or room temperature. If you haven’t tried sweet potatoes in potato salad, this is definitely the time to start. I love a potato salad that works cold or warm. It makes things so much easier if you’re serving outside or buffet.
This recipe is so easy to pull together, and it packs a TON of flavor. Since you roast the sweet potatoes in the oven, the hardest part is cubing them up. Then you just mix up the tangy dressing and dump it over the top of the sweet potatoes + some green onions + red bell pepper. It’s as easy as that. Serve it up with burgers, steak, chicken or shrimp – it goes with pretty much any protein. It also makes a great meal-prep option, and an addition to green salads or protein bowls too.
If you’re not a cilantro person, fresh parsley works well too. Or use extra scallion. Top it with pumpkin seeds or sunflowers seeds for added crunch if you like. Make it your own!
About Sweet Potatoes: There are several varieties of sweet potatoes, but really two types: orange or white flesh. Orange sweet potatoes are dense, velvety on the inside and sweeter. White sweet potatoes are starchier and more like “standard” potatoes. In either case, sweet potatoes are lower on the glycemic index and higher in vitamin density than other potatoes. That’s why they are included in the Paleo diet and other low-carb diets. This recipe works with either type, but I prefer orange here. (Also, sweet potatoes and yams are NOT the same thing. But that’s a post for another day.) Sweet potatoes is also spelled sweetpotatoes – in fact, most sweetpotato farmers will tell you it’s one word, not two.
Want more sweet potato goodness? Try my Sweet Potatoes With Gingersnap Cranberry Crumble, Butter Pecan Sweet Potatoes and this Kale + Sweet Potato Lasagna. I also mastered Oven-Baked Sweet Potato Fries– those are worth a try too!
Sweet Potato Salad with Chili-Lime Dressing
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cut into bite size (1/4-inch) cubes
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 medium red bell pepper diced into small pieces
- 4 scallions white and tender green parts, sliced
- 1/4 cup minced cilantro leaves
- 3 tablespoons lime juice plus grated zest of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin according to your taste
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Toss the cubed sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and some salt and pepper on a sheet pan. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer; roast until just tender, about 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and then transfer to a large bowl. Add the bell pepper, scallions and cilantro.
- In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the lime juice and zest, chili powder, cumin, a generous pinch of salt, and a couple of grinds of black pepper. Pour the dressing over the salad; toss very gently. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled. This dish can be assembled a day in advance. Some think it improves with a day of melding in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Photos: Meg van der Kruik
Since this recipe is so simple & you bought those limes, you probably have time for a margarita.
Winner: Best Recipe
Recipe Entry from Eat Well Event Recipe Contest 2011
Original recipe submitted by: Pamela McGuffey
Recipe edited by KC Cornwell, G-Free Foodie
