Okay, I’ll admit I just made this salad as a vehicle for the lime crema. It’s all about the crema. This stuff is seriously life changing and I haven’t been able to stop making it since my first batch. So, I just threw together a bunch of my other favorite ingredients, all of which happened to make a beautiful natural rainbow of colors, and ended up with this Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad (…with lime crema).
Meal Prep Ready!
This salad is great for meal prepping for the week. Just mix together the salad ingredients, but add the dressing each day as needed. You can top it with some grilled or rotisserie chicken, maybe roll it all together inside a tortilla, and you’re good to go! Another fun add-in that I thought about (but opted out of in favor of keeping things simple) is crushed up tortilla chips or tortilla strips. I think that crunch would be a really fun addition. And of course you could always add a bit of avocado or sliced jalapeños if that’s your jam.
Use Roasted Frozen Corn for Even More Flavor
Oh, also, if you have a Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s in your area, you can make this salad even easier. They both sell frozen roasted corn, which you can use instead of my skillet charred corn. I went the budget route and made my own this time, but the pre-roasted frozen corn is seriously awesome (I think it’s usually cheaper at TJ’s than WF).
How to Store Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad
The “rainbow” ingredients of this salad should store well, even once stirred together, but I suggest leaving the crema off until just before serving.
Goes great with: Baked Beef & Black Bean Tacos, Chipotle Portobello Oven Fajitas, Cilantro Lime Drumsticks, Weeknight Enchiladas.
Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad with Lime Crema
Servings 6 1.33 cups eachIngredients
LIME CREMA
- 8 oz. sour cream ($1.00)
- 1 fresh lime ($0.50)
- 1 small clove garlic, minced ($0.08)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
ROASTED SWEET POTATOES
- 1.5 lb. sweet potatoes ($1.57)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- 1 tsp ground cumin ($0.10)
- Salt to taste ($0.02)
BLACKENED CORN
- 1 lb. frozen corn kernels, thawed ($1.49)
- 2 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.08)
- Salt to taste ($0.02)
SALAD
- 1 15oz. can black beans ( $0.99)
- 1 red bell pepper ($1.50)
- 1/4 red onion* ($0.25)
- 1/4 bunch fresh cilantro ($0.23)
Instructions
- If you haven’t yet, take the corn out of the freezer and allow it to begin thawing. Preheat the oven to 400ºF.
- Peel the sweet potatoes, then cut them into a small dice (1/4-1/2 inch cubes). Place the cubes on a baking sheet, drizzle with cooking oil, cumin, and a pinch or two of salt. Toss the sweet potato cubes until they are all coated in oil and spices. Roast the sweet potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they are soft and slightly browned on the edges. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the lime crema. Use a small-holed cheese grater or a zester to remove the thin layer of green zest from the lime. Add about 1 tsp of the zest and 1 Tbsp of the lime juice to the sour cream, along with the minced clove of garlic and 1/4 tsp of salt. Stir to combine. Taste and adjust the lime juice as desired. Refrigerate the crema until ready to use.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the thawed corn and let cook until the corn is blistered and charred on the edges. Avoid stirring too often to allow it to blacken a bit. Let the corn cool slightly.
- Finely dice the red bell pepper and red onion. Rinse and drain the black beans. Pull the cilantro leaves from their stems and then roughly chop.
- Combine the roasted sweet potatoes, blackened corn, black beans, red bell pepper, red onion, and cilantro in a large dish. Stir to combine. Add some of the lime crema and toss until the salad is lightly coated. Add a little more lime crema on top just before serving.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
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How To Make Rainbow Sweet Potato Salad – Step by Step Photos
If you haven’t already, take one pound of frozen corn kernels out of the freezer to thaw. If you are planning on charring them in a skillet like I did, they need to be completely thawed. Also, preheat the oven to 400ºF.
Peel and dice about 1.5 lbs. sweet potatoes (that was two small sweet potatoes for me, or one really large one). Place them on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Sprinkle 1 tsp cumin on top and a pinch or two of salt. Toss until all the sweet potatoes are coating in oil and spices.
Roast the sweet potatoes in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes, or until they are soft and slightly brown on the edges. Total cooking time will depend on how small you cut them, so be mindful. Let them cool slightly.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the lime crema. Zest one fresh lime (I use a small-holed cheese grater). Add about 1 tsp of the zest and 1 Tbsp of the lime juice to an 8oz. tub of sour cream. Also add one small clove of garlic (minced) and about 1/4 tsp salt. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust the lime juice as you see fit. Refrigerate the crema until ready to use.
If you’re not using frozen corn that came pre-roasted, heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Once hot, add 2 Tbsp cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the thawed corn kernels and let them cook until browned and blistered on the edges. Avoid stirring too often as this won’t allow the corn time to blacken. Season with a pinch or two of salt and let the corn cool slightly.
Drain and rinse a 15oz. can of black beans. Finely dice one red bell pepper and 1/4 of a red onion. Pull the leaves from 1/4 bunch of cilantro, and give them a rough chop. Combine the roasted sweet potatoes, charred corn, black beans, red bell pepper, red onion, and cilantro in a large bowl or dish.
Stir the salad ingredients to combine. If you’re meal prepping this salad, refrigerate it just like this without the dressing. If you’re going to serve it, add some of the crema, then stir until there is a light coating over the whole salad. Add more crema to the top of each serving. That pop of tart lime is more noticeable when you have some drizzled on top in addition to the light coating.
And that’s it! This Roasted Sweet Potato Rainbow Salad is SUPER FRESH. 💯
This is a super delicious and fresh recipe! It was even cheaper than quoted since several ingredients were on sale near me this week. I subbed Greek yogurt for the sour cream in the crema (wanted a bit of extra protein!) and added extra garlic and lime – so good!
This was delicious! We had it as a side with your Easy Fish Tacos!
Very good! I followed the recipe pretty much exactly except I used a can of corn (drained, still charred it though) which I thought turned out quite well. However, since I cook for myself I was getting a little tired of leftovers–until I made a creation that I just had to log on and share. I made a stuffed quesadilla with the leftovers! I imagine the crema could be drizzled on top, but I mixed it in first before assembling my quesadilla and it’s great! Just thought I’d share :)
I serve this warm and separate the components as a “build your own” sweet potato bowl! So good!!!
So I thought this recipe looked pretty good, was a little skeptical of the lime crema because I don’t really like lime too much but usually I can tolerate it ok with cilantro. I subbed some fat free plain yogurt for the sour cream to make it a little more diet friendly. Y’all. This so one of the best things I’ve eaten in my 32 years on this planet. The sweetness of the corn, sweet potatoes, red onion, and red bell pepper mixed with the tangy, sour, lime crema is just the perfect combo of flavors. I honestly just can’t wait until I’m hungry enough to eat again because it was just that good. I could easily see myself making this once a week. And the best part? I won’t have to share with my husband because he doesn’t like cilantro.
I just made this and it was delicious. I’ve said it before but this website is the only reason why I’m capable of feeding myself.
I made a few adjustments to this because I was trying to use up pantry items. Instead of using canned beans, I used Beth’s slow cooked beans recipe and use those beans instead. For the salsa in those beans, I used Trader Joes corn salsa and it was perfect in so many ways.
For the lime crema, I don’t like sour cream and never keep it on hand, so I used full fat greek yogurt instead and the lime crema was still delicious.
Also, I just realized I forgot the corn so I’m excited to see how this tastes with all of the ingredients present.
I love this recipe and have made it a bunch! I do like to use it for meal prep but agree with others who mention it doesn’t hold up spectacularly – generally I’ll make it for dinner and have the leftovers for the next two days and after that it’s a little lackluster, even with storing the crema separately and roasting the sweet potatoes properly.
My only concern is that typically you aren’t supposed to thaw frozen veggies, at least that was always my understanding… I don’t fully thaw them before blackening them and usually it works out okay, if not as “fire-roasted” as they could be. Is there any actual food safety concern with thawing frozen veggies, or is it just a quality thing?
Saw this on Instagram yesterday and made it last minute for Memorial Day bbq. It was beautiful and delicious!!!! Will be adding to meal prep. Swapped out sour cream for 0% fat Greek yogurt and used cooking spray instead of oil to save on calories. AMAZING 😁😁😁