Healthy Sweet Potato Salad Recipe

Healthy dinner in a hurry! This is a delicious, warm, sweet potato salad recipe with kale, perfect for when the days are starting to turn cooler. Packed with beta-carotene and vitamin A from the sweet potatoes and kale, plus healthy fibres from the nuts and wild rice.

We'll be using packets of microwavable basmati and wild rice, so it's a doddle to make! An ideal weekday dinner, or lunch, when you're short on time but don't want to compromise on nutrition and taste.

For other low calories recipes, have a look at this healthy tuna pâté or this easy beetroot hummus.

Key ingredient notes and substitutions

**Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full list of ingredients.

Sweet potatoes

We love using the orange-fleshed variety, usually with red skins. They are much sweeter than white sweet potatoes and hold their shape better when cooked.

Microwave rice

We use the mixed packets of basmati and wild rice (Tilda brand in the UK, Uncle Ben's in the USA).

You can cook your own favourite rice variety from scratch. You will need 500g of cooked rice in total. Great options are wild rice, brown rice or a blend of the two. Black rice in particular looks fantastic with the orange sweet potato and bright green kale!

Red onion

We use red onions for the colour contrast. White onions also work fine.

Kale

Part of the cabbage family and provides a lovely texture and lots of nutrition to the salad.

Red pesto

Unlike green pesto with a basil base, red pesto is made from red peppers or tomatoes.

Nuts

We use pecan- and pine nuts. We suggest to toast the pine nuts beforehand. The flavour is much more intense when doing so. However, we have used them un-toasted and it works perfectly well too.

Other nuts to consider adding are cashews or walnuts.

How to make this recipe

Step 1

Peel the sweet potatoes using a large, sharp knife. Slice them into chunks that are roughly 2.5cm (1 inch) in width.

Sweet potatoes can be quite difficult and hard to slice. Use extreme caution when slicing them, working slowly with a large sharp knife.

Place a damp paper towel or tea towel underneath your cutting board to prevent it from slipping on the counter when you need to apply downward force with the knife.

You can chop the onion reasonably small, but big enough for a bite, circa 1cm (0.4 inch) pieces.

Step 2

Break the raw pecan pieces into smaller bite-sized chunks by hand rather than precisely chopping them with a knife. Larger irregular chunks with a bit of texture work best for adding bite and crunch to the salad.

For the pine nuts, toast them lightly in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until just starting to turn golden. Toasting intensifies their flavour. Set them aside in a small bowl.

Step 3

Add the sweet potato chunks to a saucepan of lightly salted water. Cook over medium heat until the sweet potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork but still holding their shape without falling apart.

It is better to lightly salt the sweet potatoes while they cook so the salt has time to penetrate and season them, rather than only salting them once added to the salad.

Once cooked, thoroughly drain the sweet potatoes and then place the lid back on the pot to allow them to steam dry for 1-2 minutes. This also keeps them warm while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Step 4

Cook the microwave rice according to the packet instructions.

Step 5

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the olive oil and sliced red onion. Cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion pieces are soft and turning lightly golden brown.

Add the chopped kale leaves to the onions. Continue cooking for 2 full minutes, stirring frequently. The volume of kale will reduce dramatically as it cooks down.

After cooking the kale for 2 minutes, stir in the red pepper pesto until combined.

Step 6

Add the cooked rice and the toasted nuts to the skillet with the onion and kale mixture. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Gently fold together using a spatula. Cook for 1-2 more minutes over low heat to warm everything through.

Step 7

Finally, add the cooked sweet potato cubes to the skillet. Gently fold them into the rice and kale mixture, taking care to keep the potato chunks intact rather than mashing them.

Serve the salad warm in a large bowl, or let cool to room temperature if preferred.

Variations and additional add-ins

• Black beans.

• Green onions (spring onions).

• A squeeze of lime juice or lemon juice.

• Pomegranate seeds.

• Cooked and halved Brussels sprouts.

• Creamy avocado slices as a topping for some added healthy fats.

• A sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds or poppy seeds.

• Crispy bacon.

• A drizzle of olive oil or Tahini dressing.

• Fresh cilantro (coriander).

• Red bell pepper.

• Goat cheese, blue cheese, whipped feta cheese or a grating of parmesan.

• Add dried cranberries for pops of colour and sweetness.

• Swap the kale for baby spinach.

• Add a tangy honey mustard dressing.

Serving suggestions

• Best served warm but also tasty at room temperature.

• Serve as a stand-alone main or a side dish. It's the perfect side dish to grilled meat dishes or a BBQ.

Storage suggestions

Any leftover salad will keep well in the fridge, stored in an airtight container, for 2 days. Gently warm through in a pan, or for a couple of minutes in the microwave.

Not suitable for freezing.