Colorful and super good for you, this Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad makes a great main dish or serve with chicken or salmon.
Do I even need to say a word here? Tell me looking at all the beautiful colors in this Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad doesn’t have you wanting some right now. It’s every bit as delicious as it is beautiful, and dare I say, even more so. All the flavor and textures are over the top! Fresh green lettuce, juicy tomatoes and black olives are to be expected and welcome here plus the red cabbage is a must! I worried it would add too much of a coleslaw flavor, but it didn’t and I’m in love with it in this salad. Then you get red onions AND scallions, both members of the onion family though distinctly different in texture and flavor. Sweet red peppers add a delicious crunch. Yellow corn is not only good for added color, but if you can use leftover roasted corn, all the better. Creamy avocados, black beans and oven roasted sweet potatoes are hearty and satisfying. This salad easily stands alone for a vegan or vegetarian main dish – or use it as the base for barbecued chicken or oven-roasted chicken breasts.
Toss everything together and you have your rainbow of vegetables for health all in one bowl. I list specific amounts in the recipe but add more or less of the ingredients that you love. Perfect to take on a summer picnic or barbecue, I think this goes well with any type of chicken or even salmon.
Top the salad with your favorite salad dressing. I use a combination of this roasted tomato vinaigrette and homemade ranch dressing and a few crispy onions or crushed tortilla chips for garnish. Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad is jam-packed with nutrients and is great to always have around. I wish I had some right now.
Tex Mex Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 medium-sized sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Green lettuce, chopped
- 1 15 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- ½ sweet red pepper, chopped
- 1 cup corn, fresh, frozen, or canned-rinsed and drained
- 1 large avocado, sliced
- 1 cup purple cabbage, chopped
- ½ red onion, sliced
- ½ cup scallions, chopped
- ½ cup black olives, sliced
- 1 lime for squeezing on the salad
- Crispy onions or crushed tortilla chips, for garnish
- Pickled red onions, for garnish
- Salad dressing of your choice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the chopped sweet potatoes on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss. Season with the cumin, chili powder, salt and black pepper, to taste. Place sheet in the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Using a spatula, toss the sweet potatoes. Roast for an additional 10 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are just tender. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Place all salad ingredients into a large salad bowl, saving crispy onions and/or tortilla chips for the garnish on top.
- Squeeze fresh lime juice over the salad.
- Serve with choice of salad dressing. This salad keeps well for 3 days in the refrigerator
Cook's Note:
- I like to roast or grill the corn for the salad. This salad is very flexible. Feel free to add your favorite Mexican toppings to the mix. Don't use the avocado dressing if you need the salad to be vegan.
I love anything that has sweet potato in it 🙂 Thank Sally!
Fabulous! Thank you for creating easy, healthy meals! Delicious and seasonal. Can’t wait to make this!!!
Looks very tasty and healthy. Thanks for the recipe!
I get compliments every time I make this salad and I direct them to your site 🙂 Such a wonderful dish to have any time of the year, week, or day. Thank you GDM for sharing. One of out favorites!
Very easy, healthy and tasty! I baked the red onion with the sweet potatoes since I do not like raw onion. Delicious!
This was SO GOOD! I never thought to put sweet potatoes in salad. My new favorite trick 🙂 Thanks Sally for sharing.
Thanks, Steven! This is a favorite of mine for sweet potatoes, too.
This salad is beautiful and delicious! Totally satisfying. Thanks for another great recipe, Sally!
This looks astoundingly tasty! I can’t get over how colorful it is – wow!
Thank you! It is as tasty as it is pretty. 🙂 I hope you try it!