I don’t know about you, but I need a good salad right about now. I’ve been kind of over doing the comfort foods lately and my body is like, “pleeeease, can I have some fresh vegetables??” But I’m still trying to enjoy these fall vibes, so I whipped up this Autumn Kale and Sweet Potato Salad. It meal preps well, which means that every time I open my fridge there is a delicious salad staring at me, ready to be eaten. That helps. That helps a lot. :P
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How Long Do the Salads Last?
Thanks to the heartiness of kale and the low moisture ingredients, you can prep this salad and keep it in your fridge for about five days. You can either keep the dressing separate, or toss the salad in the dressing ahead of time to help soften the kale. If you do toss the salad in the dressing before storage, you may want to make extra dressing, as some of it will be absorbed as the salad refrigerates.
Can I Use a Different Green?
Yes, if you are not a fan of the texture of kale, you can swap it out for spinach. You might also consider trying lacinato kale, which is a little bit softer than the curly kale I used. You can also make this salad over finely shredded cabbage and carrots, which would be similar to my Sweet Crunch Winter Salad.
What Other Dressings Can I Use
This slightly sweet and savory Maple Tahini Dressing is by far the best match for these flavors, but if you must swap it out for something else I would go with some sort of sweet vinaigrette, like either a honey poppyseed, apple cider or pomegranate vinaigrette, honey mustard dressing, or even a raspberry vinaigrette.
Swap Out the Sweet Potatoes
If you happen to have leftover roasted winter squash of any kind (butternut, acorn, delicata, pumpkin, kabocha, etc.) you can use that in place of the sweet potatoes and still have all those fall flavors! I just find sweet potatoes to be easier to source and prepare, so I chose those today.
Autumn Kale and Sweet Potato Salad
Servings 4Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes ($2.40)
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)
Maple Tahini Dressing
- 1/4 cup tahini ($0.85)
- 1/4 cup water ($0.00)
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice ($0.09)
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup ($0.60)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.02)
Salad
- 6 cups chopped kale (about 1/2 bunch) ($0.50)
- 1 large apple* ($0.70)
- 1/4 cup pepitas ($0.60)
- 1/4 cup chopped pecans ($0.52)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries ($0.22)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes into 1/2-inch pieces. Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet and add the cooking oil, cinnamon, cumin, smoked paprika, and salt. Toss the sweet potatoes until they are coated in oil and spices.
- Roast the sweet potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they are tender and browned on the edges, stirring once half way through.
- While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the rest of the salad. Start with the dressing. Add the tahini, water, lemon juice, maple syrup, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt to a blender or bowl. Blend or whisk together until the ingredients are emulsified and smooth. Set the dressing aside.
- Pull the kale leaves from the tough woody stems and rinse them well in a colander with cool water. Drain the kale well, then slice it into thin strips (they don't have to be perfect, so don't stress about this, just aim for smaller pieces). Divide the sliced kale between four bowls or containers.
- Cut the apple into quarters and remove the core. Cut each quarter into thin slices. Add the apple slices to each container.
- Add 1 Tbsp each of the pepitas, chopped pecans, and dried cranberries to each container. When the sweet potatoes are finished roasting, let them cool for about 5 minutes, then divide them between the containers. Divide the dressing between four small containers. Enjoy the salad immediately or refrigerate up to five days.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Love kale salads? Try these other awesome kale salads:
How to Make Autumn Kale and Sweet Potato Salad – Step by Step Photos
Start with the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Peel and dice 2 lbs. sweet potatoes into ½-inch cubes. Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1 Tbsp oil, ¼ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground cumin, ¼ tsp smoked paprika, and ¼ tsp salt. Toss until the sweet potatoes are coated in oil and spices.
Roast the sweet potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they’re tender and browned on the edges, stirring half way through roasting.
While the sweet potatoes are roasting, prepare the rest of the salad. Begin with the dressing. Add ¼ cup tahini, ¼ cup water, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, 2 Tbsp maple syrup, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp cayenne, and ¼ tsp salt to a blender or bowl. Blend or whisk until the ingredients are smooth.
Pull the kale leaves from the woody stems and give them a good rinse with cool water in a colander. Drain well, then slice the kale into thin strips (this doesn’t have to be perfect, so don’t stress, just aim for smaller pieces).
Cut a large apple into quarters, then remove the core. Slice each quarter into thin slices.
When the sweet potatoes are finished roasting, let them cool for about five minutes. Divide the kale between four bowls or meal prep containers, followed by the apple slices, and the roasted sweet potato.
Then add 1 Tbsp dried cranberries, pepitas, and chopped pecans to each bowl or container. Divide the dressing into four small containers as well.
Drizzle the maple tahini dressing over top, then enjoy!
Or refrigerate the salad up to five days and enjoy later. :)
I crumbled some truffle honey goat cheese over the top and this is one of the most delicious salads I’ve ever eaten. Going in the regular rotation for sure!
Usually salads leave me hungry for more, but this recipe was perfectly filling! Loved how the sweet potatoes were seasoned, and the sauce complimented the salad really well. Will definitely make this again!
Can you freeze this meal?
Hi, Julien! I would not recommend freezing this meal. However, once assembled into meal prep containers as Beth demonstrates, it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. — Marion :)
Hi Marion, thanks for the reply!
What a perfect fall salad! I doubled the spice mixture, tossing half with the potatoes and half with a can of rinsed/drained chickpeas (in a separate bowl). During the last 15 min of the potatoes roasting, I added the chickpeas to the pan and roasted them all together. Super hearty.
This was great! We had it as one big hearty salad for dinner. We kept your recipe as is and it satisfied everyone’s taste buds. Will make this again and I’ve already sent the link to my neighbor!
this is so good I honestly can’t believe it! I used peanut butter instead of tahini because I could not find it for the life of me, but I can’t wait to try it with tahini <3
This is so good. I’ve made it several times and always love it so much. I don’t make any changes (other than removing pecans due to allergies). The dressing is perfect with this hearty salad.
Instead of the Tahini, do you have a suggestion for a different base for the dressing? My kiddo doesn’t love tahini but I’d love to pair the salad up with something that would work with this delish-sounding recipe. Thanks!
You can sub tahini with your fave nut butter. XOXO -Monti
Just finished eating this delicious salad! As I said, it was delicious :P
I am ready to make this today, and can’t wait to try it! This just sounds so filling and flavorful, but refreshing, thank you, Beth!
Just curious, how do you keep your sliced apples from browning if you meal prep these salads? You didn’t mention tossing them in lemon juice or similar…maybe they don’t brown if you seal up the salad container?
I just don’t worry about the browning, honestly! Haha. It’s just cosmetic. But if you keep the slices all together as if the apple were whole instead of separated or fanned out like in the photo, the cut surfaces won’t be exposed to oxygen and won’t brown, only the two outer sides will. Or you can toss in lemon juice if you prefer. :)
I ran out of tahini and used sunflower seed butter instead. It turned out so good I almost licked the bottom of the dressing bowl.
This is so delicious! I can’t stop making it! Thanks for sharing!
I love this recipe! I used sweet potato and butternut squash, it is divine.
When you meal prep this recipe do you warm the potatoes up later or eat them cold?
I leave them cold. :)
I don’t like most salads as my entree just because I don’t like a lot of raw veggies, but OMG this salad is like fireworks in my mouth!! I love the spiced sweet potatoes. I subbed kale with spinach and made a homemade honey mustard and it is phenomenal!! Definitely recommend for a quick refreshing lunch.
I had some butternut squash with no calling in life, so I used that instead of sweet potato. This came out a total winner, love it!
Made this for Thanksgiving but had no dried cranberries so I swapped in fresh pomegranate. YUM!
The tartness does a nice balancing act w the salad dressing.
Thanks for another really good (and adaptable) recipe!
I was looking at this and at the wilted kale and lentil salad that also has sweet potatoes. Do you think adding lentils here might work?
Yes, I think you could do that. :) Lentils are pretty neutral and work great in all sorts of salads.
Very good for lunches for the week. Held up great in containers. Super filling. Is it heavy on the sweet potatoes, though. next time I’ll increase the kale.
Tastes amazing and has plenty of anti-inflammatory foods. AWESOME
I made this last year and pulled it back up to make again this upcoming season. It is delicious. Thank you for the inspiring recipes Beth!
Is the calorie value for the entire recipe, or for one portion?
It’s per serving. I clarified the wording on that and recalculated the values using our new database and it came out close, but slightly lower. :)
This recipe is amazing! I’m learning how to make myself meals and this was such a good meal for a beginner. It was so cheap to shop for, super easy to make, and tastes like something I’d get at a fancy restaurant. Thanks so much for making this recipe!
I am giving this a 5 star because I loved the dressing. I made it as written the first time and found it to have too many sweet elements (apple, sweet potatoes, cinnamon & cranberries). Since I had a lot of dressing left over,I gave it a second try with spring greens, roasted butternut squash tossed in butter, salt & pepper, pepita seeds, salted pistachio seeds and a dried few cranberries. I liked it much better.
This salad is delicious! I loved the roasted sweet potatoes and my daughter bought a cosmic crisp apple (1/2 honey crisp/1/2 enterprise), which was amazing. She also made an apple cider vinegar, honey, and Dijon mustard dressing. We got a box of cheese and meat goodies from our neighbor who works at a cheese factory and hubby recently bought some yummy bread. So we had ham sandwiches also.
This was fantastic! I was out of lemon juice so I used apple cider vinegar in the dressing and it was so good. Thanks for another great recipe, Beth.
I ran out of tahini, but I used some EVOO in its place and it was great!
Is there a fruit for apple we could sub in? We are allergic to apples.
Pears would be lovely and would stay within that Autumn theme. :)
This is the best salad i have ever tried in my whole life. I can’t wait to make it again and again and again. Where i am maple syrup is quite expensive so i put some honey instead and it was really good.
Really, really good!
There seemed to be a lot more sweet potato vs kale when assembling, but it turned out fine. I think you’d be okay with 1-1.5 lb if needed. I didn’t have pepitas but used everything else and it was great.
WOW! This was literally incredible. I’m not normally a salad guy but I’m so glad I tried this recipe. Will surely be a fall/winter go-to! Thank you!
I made this over the weekend and it is very good. I typically do not put sweet things in salads, but this is a great combination of fall flavors. The salad is also filling and not complicated to make.
I made this salad exactly as the recipe is written and I wouldn’t change a thing. So tasty and hearty!
do the apples not turn brown if you prep them in the salad for a week?
A little, but it doesn’t bother me. That doesn’t mean they’re rotten, it’s just exposure to oxygen. :)
I toss mine in a little bit of lemon juice before adding to the salad. They don’t brown at all after a few days.
I did not have tahini on hand so made an apple cider dressing that my family really liked with it. Tossed the dressing with the greens before topping them with the other components.
1 Tbsp apple cider, 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp stone ground Dijon mustard, 2 tsp maple syrup.
The dressing I made is a standard in my house and, like Beth’s salad, is flexible. No apple cider? Just reduce the mustard to 1 Tbsp (this adjusts both viscosity and the sweet/sharp balance). Don’t like or don’t have maple syrup? Use honey or agave nectar. Have normal Dijon mustard and not stone ground Dijon or no Dijon mustard at all but just standard coarse ground mustard? Fine, use that.. it will impact the taste and texture slightly but still works.
One of the reasons that I keep coming to Beth’s site for inspiration is how flexible (either for personal preference or budget reasons) many of her recipes are.
I want to make this salad soooo bad but I don’t like the taste of tahini. Do you have any substitutes for tahini? Thanks!
I don’t have any substitutions for tahini, unfortunately, but I did list some alternate dressing ideas up above the recipe. :)
“ I’ve been kind of over doing the comfort foods lately and my body is like, “pleeeease, can I have some fresh vegetables??” I feel seen!! Ha!
This salad is the perfect counter to all the cheesy comfort food I’ve had recently, and it’s delicious! I used what I had on hand – butternut squash, walnuts, and both kale & spinach. Delicious! Definitely will be utilizing this again this winter.
Thanks Beth!
Haha, I’m glad I’m not the only one that gets that way! I mean, I’m GLAD my body tells me when I’m over doing it, but I’m also glad to be able to relate. :)
Brilliant combination of flavors. No sweet potatoes in my house, but a small butternut squash did fine. I toasted both the pecans and pepitas and decided to roast some diced onion and a head of garlic with the squash, but saved those for another purpose. I’ve never cared for maple flavor, so used agave syrup in the dressing which was absolutely delicious. I think honey would have been another good sub for the syrup, but agave has an interesting mild flavor which nearly got lost in the tahini. Even so, the hint of it went well with the squash and nuts. Please keep fall flavors coming!
Delicious! Fantastic fall flavors, gorgeous color. Best salad I’ve had in a long while 😊