This sweet potato and beetroot salad is the ultimate salad. Full of flavor, textures and nutrients, this’ll keep you full AND happy! Drizzled with my favorite homemade balsamic vinegar dressing, you’ll fall in love with the first bite.
Why should I make this sweet potato and beetroot salad?
The vegetables roast at the same temperature, so it’s actually really easy to prepare them at the same time.
You can roast the sweet potato and beetroot in advance, making prep work even simpler!
The flavors are spot on. The potato and beet add so much more dimension to a simple arugula salad, and make this very filling.
The salad is full of nutritional value, and is a great way of adding some health to your day.
This is a crowd pleaser! It’s my most requested salad ever.
Ingredients you need for the salad:
The greens: I really like using arugula. The pepperiness of the leaves work so well with the caramelized sweet potatoes and beetroot. You can use rocket leaves, baby spinach, a mix of greens, even lettuce if you prefer.
The cheese: My favorite cheese to use in this salad is feta cheese. The saltiness is a great offset to the dressing and the caramelized vegetables.
The nuts: You can leave out the nuts if you aren’t a fan, but toasted pecans or walnuts add such a great crunch and texture to the salad. You can add raw nuts too, but toasting them a little in the oven definitely amps up their flavor. Try adding roasted pistachios for a change and for some beautiful color!
The dressing: My go to salad dressing. It’s an olive oil based balsamic vinaigrette, with honey for sweetness and a pinch of salt and pepper. Tip: for a totally game-changing dressing, prepare it in advance, and add a thinly sliced red onion. The onion will pickle in the vinegar if kept for a couple hours. SO yummy!
Sweet potatoes: I used 2 medium sweet potatoes, the orange ones. It seems like a lot before roasting, but they’ll shrink in the oven.
Beetroot: One large beetroot gives beautiful color and flavor to the salad. So good for you too!
How to roast the beetroot and sweet potato:
The good thing is they both can cook at the same temperature in the oven, so you can put them in at the same time. Preheat the oven to 425 F (220C) before starting.
For the sweet potatoes: Wash, peel and cut the sweet potato into 1 inch sized cubes. Drizzle the sweet potato cubes with olive oil, and optionally add a pinch of cinnamon.
Toss to coat and scatter the cubes out onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Make sure they aren’t on top of each other, give them enough space to be in a single layer so they don’t steam and turn soggy. Roast for around 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, or until crisp on the edges and cooked through in the center.
For the beetroot: You don’t need oil or any seasoning. Just wash the beetroot well, don’t peel it, and wrap it in foil. Pop it in the oven at 425F, and roast for 45 minutes-1 hour until a fork or knife inserted into the beetroot easily slides through. You can also wrap the beetroot with parchment paper if you don’t prefer to use foil.
After the beetroot is cooked, allow it to cool until you are comfortable handling it, and peel and chop it into cubes. It should peel very easily, with the skin coming off in strips.
Assembling the sweet potato and beetroot salad:
The arugula or greens will serve as the base for the salad, so spread the leaves out in a layer on the base of your serving dish. I prefer using a more shallow dish for this as opposed to a deep salad bowl so that I get a better ratio of greens to toppings.
On top of the arugula leaves, add the roasted cubed sweet potatoes and beetroot, once they’ve cooled so they don’t wilt the leaves. Scatter on the nuts and the crumbled feta cheese evenly.
Shake or stir the dressing well before pouring it evenly on the top of the salad. Give a quick toss to combine the salad with the dressing, without mixing too vigorously so you maintain the way it looks, and enjoy immediately!
Preparing the salad in advance:
Several components of this recipe can be made in advance. You can prepare the salad dressing and store in a jar in the fridge for a week.
You can also roast the sweet potato and beetroot ahead of time, cut them into cubes and store them in air tight containers in the fridge. They’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge.
If you want to assemble the whole salad early in the day for later on, I’d recommend adding the dressing right before serving.
If you liked this recipe, you might like:
Strawberry Salad with Grilled Halloumi
Sweet Potato and Beetroot Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 2-3 tsp honey or maple syrup taste and adjust sweetness
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
For the sweet potatoes:
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled, cut into small cubes
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- pinch cinnamon powder, optional
- 1 beetroot
To assemble the salad:
- 2 boxes arugula leaves, washed each box is around 5 oz, 145 g
- 1/2 cup roughly chopped toasted pecans or walnuts, or untoasted or omit. toast by placing whole pecans on a baking sheet and baking at 180 C (350 F) for 5-7 min until fragrant, Remove from baking sheet immediately, cool then chop.
- 1/2 cup feta cheese, crumbled 100 g
Instructions
Make the dressing:
- Make dressing by whisking together all the dressing ingredients, the olive oil, vinegar, honey, mustard, salt and pepper until well combined. Add the sliced red onion and toss to coat. Store in fridge until ready to use.
Roast the beetroot and sweet potatoes:
- Arrange washed and dried arugula leaves in serving bowl. Top with chunks of roasted beetroot, dates, feta cheese you crumble in your hands, pecans, and pomegranate seeds (if using).
- Immediately before serving, add dressing and toss to combine.
- Preheat oven to 425 F (220C). Place the sweet potato cubes on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle cinnamon if using, and toss to coat evenly. Make sure the sweet potato cubes are in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Wash the beetroot, then wrap in foil and place in the oven alongside the sweet potatoes.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for about 30-35 minutes total, tossing halfway into coooking time until crisp on the outside and cooked through. Set aside until cooled.
- Roast the beetroot for 45 minutes to 1 hour until a knife inserted easily pierces through to the center. Let the beetroot cool until you can comfortably handling it before peeling it. The peel will easily fall off in strips. Cut into cubes and set aside.
To assemble the salad:
- Layer the washed and dried arugula leaves onto the base of your serving plate. Top with roasted sweet potatoes, roasted beetroot cubes, chopped nuts, and crumbled feta cheese.
- Drizzle the dressing evenly on top of the salad, toss lightly to combine and enjoy immediately.
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