This roasted sweet potato and arugula salad recipe features some of my favorite fall flavors and always tastes so delicious this time of year.
Things are finally (fi-na-lly!) cooling off here in Barcelona this week after the summer’s unrelenting heat wave, which of course instantly has me craving all of my nostalgic fall faves…including this yummy roasted sweet potato and arugula salad. ♡
It’s a simple one that you could easily make anytime of year. But the combination of roasted potatoes, tart dried cranberries and toasted pecans always feels so quintessentially “fall” to me. And when combined with fresh peppery arugula, creamy avocado, tangy goat cheese (or whatever cheese you love best), and a zippy lemon dressing, this salad hits the perfect balance between cozy and hearty yet still fresh and light, which feels just perfect for these sometimes-warm, sometimes-cool days we’re enjoying right now as we move into the new season ahead.
Here in our house, we most often serve this as an entrée salad, but it would also make a lovely side dish for a dinner or holiday meal if you’d like. And if you feel like adding in an extra protein, some grilled chicken or bacon would be delicious mixed in too.
Let’s make some salad together!
Favorite Fall Salad Ingredients
To make this delicious roasted sweet potato and arugula salad, you will need:
- Sweet potatoes: You’re welcome to peel or leave these unpeeled. We’ll then dice them into 1/2-inch cubes, toss with olive oil, season generously with salt and pepper, and roast until tender.
- Greens: I’m partial to the peppery flavor of fresh arugula in this salad, but you could also use baby kale (or other varieties of kale), baby spinach, or any other salad greens that you prefer.
- Avocado: Feel free to dice or thinly slice the avocado, which adds a lovely creaminess to the salad.
- Crumbled cheese: I love the tart and tangy flavor of goat cheese in this salad, but feta, blue, cheddar, or Manchego cheese would be delicious alternatives too.
- Nuts: Just about any of your favorite nuts or seeds will work well in this salad — pecans, walnuts, almonds, pepitas, you choose!
- Dried berries: Dried cranberries always feel so quintessentially fall-ish to me, but dried cherries, raisins or even apricots would work well too.
- Dressing: My everyday salad dressing goes beautifully with this salad, made with a quick blend of olive oil, lemon juice, Dijon, garlic, salt and pepper.
Recipe Variations
There are so many delicious ways that you can customize this fall salad recipe, so please feel free to make it your own! For example, you are welcome to…
- Add a protein: Cooked chicken, bacon, steak, shrimp or tofu would be delicious mixed in here.
- Add other mix-ins: Extra roasted veggies (such as beets, butternut squash, carrots, fennel, green beans or pumpkin), extra fresh veggies (bell pepper, radishes, red onion), rice or grains (quinoa, farro, wild rice), beans, olives, or sun-dried tomatoes would be other fun options for mix-ins.
- Use a different dressing: I also love making this salad with my dreamy tahini dressing for a different spin on the recipe.
- Make it vegan: Swap your favorite vegan cheese in place of goat cheese, or omit the cheese altogether and add in a sprinkle of nutritional yeast.
More Favorite Salad Recipes
Looking for more green salad recipes to enjoy this season? Here are a few of my faves:
- Everyday Kale Salad
- Orange, Fennel and Avocado Salad
- Pear Salad with Gorgonzola and Candied Walnuts
- Roasted Chickpea, Avocado and Cucumber Salad
- Brussels Sprouts Salad with Apples and Walnuts
Feel-Good Fall Salad
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch cubes
- fine sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- 5 ounces arugula or baby kale
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (or feta or blue cheese)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans, lightly toasted
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries
Dressing Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 small clove garlic, pressed or minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
Instructions
- To Make The Dressing: Whisk all ingredients together in a bowl (or shake together in a mason jar) until combined. Use immediately or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.
- To Roast The Potatoes: Heat oven to 400°F. Spread the diced sweet potatoes out on a medium baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil, and toss until the sweet potatoes are evenly coated. Season the sweet potatoes generously with salt and pepper. Then bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and lightly browned/caramelized around the edges.. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- To Assemble The Salad: Once the sweet potatoes are ready to go, add them to a large serving bowl along with the arugula, avocado, goat cheese, nuts and cranberries. Drizzle with the dressing, and toss until combined. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
We like a complex in terms of texture salad for Thanksgiving. This one delivered. Not hard to make and easy to adjust to preferences (feta vs goat cheese). Very tasty as breakfast with a fried egg.
LOVED this. Perfect combination of flavors.
When you say “serve immediately,” you mean it! The flavors in this salad are wonderful, but mine became gloppy in the few minutes it sat on the table while we ate our soup. Everyone loved it anyway but agreed that the arugula was a mess. When I make it again–and I will–I will either use a heartier green (like spinach) or mix the dressing with all of the ingredients except the arugula and serve the dressed salad on individual beds of greens. Delicious!
This is a delicious salad! The dressing provides just enough tartness. I used roasted beets instead of sweet potatoes because that is what I had. Everyone loved it!!
Made this tonight for my husband and me and we both agreed it was delicious! Thanks!
great salad, sweet potatoes, yes, my favorite, nice dressing too that hits a lot of flavor highpoints, thank you!
This looked so good that I had to make it for supper tonight! It was delicious! I loved the creaminess of the avocado and goat cheese, together with the sweetness of the sweet potato. I served mine with kale instead of arugula. Gold!
This salad sounds great. I would definitely add protein to make it a whole meal. I am wondering if your 4-6 servings is 4 mains or 6 side salads? I would not want to toss the whole thing with dressing if it’s 4 mains, because I’m feeding only two people.
This looks fabulous! I will taste test with the resident “picky eater” who insists he is not picky and tell you how it goes. I know I will love it!
which olive oil is should use extra virgin or pomace olive oil
I usually use extra virgin. :)