Hello, my lovely chickpeas! Today we are making a beautiful Fall Kale Salad With Roasted Sweet Potatoes! This salad is perfect for when your body wants some fresh veggies, but you also want to lean into the cozy fall vibes. This recipe combines favorite fall flavors like candied pecans and dried cranberries, and tops it all off with a Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing that you're going to love.
This is a perfect side salad with any fall or winter meal, or can be a great addition to your Thanksgiving or Christmas table!
Inspiration for Fall Kale Salad
As the family vegan, I usually end up bringing a few plant based dishes to holiday gatherings each year. Last year I decided that I needed a good go-to salad for these events, and this Fall Kale Salad With Roasted Sweet Potatoes was born!
I wanted this recipe to use basic enough ingredients that it would feel familiar to everyone, but also wanted it to feel fancy enough that it would fit right in at a holiday meal! We are using kale as our base, then throwing on some of my Easy Candied Pecans, dried cranberries, chopped apple, shallot, and some delicious roasted sweet potato. I also wanted the dressing here to be creamy and flavorful - which is just what my Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing does!
Although I originally created this as a holiday dish, it can definitely be enjoyed with any meal. Works great as a side salad with dinner, or you can eat a bigger serving on its own for a nutritious lunch!
Ingredients
We've got some great fall flavors packed into this salad - let's talk about them!
- Sweet potato: seasoned and roasted to perfection! This is one of the main stars of the show and it makes our salad more hearty and filling.
- Maple syrup, cumin, smoked paprika, & garlic salt: these all come together to give our roasted sweet potato some flavor! They are a great mix of sweet, savory, and smoky.
- Kale: every salad needs a green, and kale is ours! Kale works great in fall and winter recipes because it is in season and compliments other fall produce beautifully.
- Candied pecans, dried cranberries, & Gala apple: these all add a pop of sweetness, and each of them add an interesting texture to our salad! I especially love the crunch we get from the Easy Candied Pecans.
- Shallot: these are very slightly sweet but still mostly savory, so they add some savory vibes to balance out our even sweeter additions.
- Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing: a good salad dressing can truly bring the whole dish together, and that's exactly what this one does! The tahini makes it beautifully creamy, just what we want for this hearty salad.
How to Make Fall Kale Salad
You can of course find the full recipe at the bottom of this post, but here is the breakdown!
- Toss your sweet potato with the maple syrup, and then with seasonings. Spread on a prepared baking sheet.
- Roast your sweet potato for 10 minutes. Give it a flip, and roast 10 more minutes. Give it one last flip, and bake for a final 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool.
- Using your hands, massage the kale until it is soft.
- Drizzle your dressing onto the kale and toss. Add all other salad components and toss again.
- Serve & enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
Here are some ideas on ways you can change up this recipe to fit your preferences, as well as some ideas on how to best enjoy this Fall Kale Salad.
- The dried cranberries add some sweetness as well as a fun texture - but if you aren't a fan of their flavor, raisins would be a great substitute as well!
- If you want even more crunch to your salad, roasted pumpkin seeds would be a fun addition here!
- This recipe is perfect for holiday gatherings, so be sure to keep it in mind for Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, or even Christmas this year!
- Keep in mind that because this recipe has chopped apples, it's best to prepare it the day you are going to enjoy it so that the apples don't brown. If you are on a time crunch and want to prepare the majority of the salad ahead of time, I suggest leaving off the apples and salad dressing until the day-of.
- Looking for other veggie-forward recipes to enjoy this holiday season? Check out my Fall Harvest Butternut Squash Casserole and my Smoky Roasted Brussels Sprouts next!
Enjoy!
Fall Kale Salad With Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
- 3 cups sweet potato - (about 1 large sweet potato), peeled & diced
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
Salad
- 1 large bunch kale - stems removed & discarded, leaves coarsely chopped or torn
- 1 recipe of Joyful Balance Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing
- ½ cup Joyful Balance Easy Candied Pecans - (or store-bought candied nuts of choice)
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 Gala apple - diced
- 1 shallot - thinly sliced
Instructions
- Prepare your sweet potato: Preheat oven to 400F. Toss diced sweet potato with maple syrup until evenly coated. Toss again with cumin, smoked paprika, and garlic salt. Spread sweet potato onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper.
- Roast your sweet potato: Place baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully flip the sweet potato, and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven again, give one more flip, and then return to oven and allow to roast 5-10 more minutes (or until they are cooked to your liking - watch them closely in this stage as they tend to cook quickly at this point!). Your sweet potatoes should be fork tender. Allow to cool.
- Massage the kale: Place kale in large bowl. Massage with your hands until the kale softens a bit and becomes a slightly brighter green.
- Assemble your salad: Drizzle your Creamy Tahini Salad Dressing on the kale and toss well. Add your roasted sweet potatoes, candied pecans, dried cranberries, Gala apple, and shallot. Toss again and serve.
Happy cooking! If you made this recipe don’t forget to tag me (@joyfulbalanceofficial) on facebook or instagram so I can cheer you on for your salad-making ways.
Stay joyfully balanced!
David says
My pre-cruise diet started today and this sounds amazing! Going on the shopping list for this week.
Delaney Marie says
Sounds perfect! Enjoy!
Greta says
Looks delicious! I'll make this for lunch today, thanks for this yummy salad recipe!
Delaney Marie says
It makes a great lunch! Enjoy!
seema says
I love a colouful salad especially when the weather changes. This kale salad with roasted sweet potatoes is yummy.
Delaney Marie says
Totally agree! The more color the better 🙂 So glad you enjoyed!