Sweet Potato Avocado Kale Salad Recipe

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This roasted sweet potato avocado kale salad is loaded up with the perfect mix of hearty ingredients and tossed with an irresistible chipotle tahini dressing.

A restaurant-worthy salad that you’re going to want to make again and again…and again. ♡

This Tex-Mex-inspired kale salad is loaded up with zesty roasted sweet potatoes, creamy avocado, crunchy pepitas, crisp red onion, black beans, a sprinkling of tangy cheese, and lots of cilantro. Then it’s drizzled with a heavenly chipotle-lime tahini dressing (easy to make with just 4-ingredients!). And, I’m telling you, a bite full of all those delicious flavors is pure salad perfection.

It’s one of those salads that’s satisfyingly hearty without being too heavy. It’s meal-prep-friendly if you’d like to prepare the different components ahead of time. It’s naturally gluten-free and easily can be made vegan by skipping the cheese. It would be delicious with chicken, steak, shrimp or chorizo if you feel like adding a protein. And while this recipe would be delicious served as a side salad, we happily make a meal out of it here in our house and always enjoy every last bite.

I truly can’t get enough of these flavors and know you’re going to be big fans of this one too. So grab some kale and let’s make a big green salad together!

Sweet Potato Avocado Kale Salad Ingredients

Here are a few notes about the ingredients you will need to make this kale salad recipe:

• Sweet potatoes: I recommend dicing these into ½-inch cubes so that they will roast quickly. You are welcome to leave the skins on (my preference) or peel the sweet potatoes before dicing.
• Seasonings: We’ll use a simple mix of ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, fine sea salt, and freshly-ground black pepper to season the sweet potatoes.
• Kale: Feel free to use either fresh curly kale or lacinato (a.k.a. “dinosaur” or Tuscan) kale. We will remove the tough stems and briefly massage the kale with oil to soften before adding it to the salad.
• Beans: I recommend a can of either black beans or pinto beans for this recipe, rinsed and drained.
• Avocado: We will dice one large ripe avocado to add to this salad, whose creamy texture and flavor is delicious here.
• Red onion: I recommend using a mandoline or a chef’s knife to very thinly slice the red onion, or you are welcome to dice it if you prefer.
• Cilantro: I like to add a generous amount of chopped fresh cilantro to this salad. But if you are cilantro-averse, you’re welcome to leave it out.
• Pepitas: I really love the texture and flavor of roasted pepitas in this salad, but feel free to use any other nuts or seeds that you may happen to have on hand. (Pecans, almonds, walnuts, pistachios or sunflower seeds would all be great options!)
• Cheese (optional): I love the salty, creamy kick that some crumbled cotija or feta cheese adds to this salad. But you’re welcome to omit cheese if you’d like this salad to be dairy-free or vegan.
• Chipotle tahini dressing: This dressing is easy to whip up with chipotle in adobo sauce, tahini, lime juice, and maple syrup.

Tips for Making This Salad

Full instructions for how to make this kale salad are included in the recipe below, but here are a few extra tips to keep in mind:

• Prep everything else while the sweet potatoes roast. Roasting the sweet potatoes is definitely the most time-intensive step of this recipe. So prep and pop the sweet potatoes in the oven, then do the rest of the chopping and mixing while they roast.
• Thin the dressing as needed. Different brands of tahini can vary significantly and affect the thickness of the dressing, so don’t hesitate to add more or less water as needed to get a pour-able consistency.
• Don’t forget to massage the kale. Taking the extra minute to massage the kale with olive oil really helps to soften its texture.

Potential Recipe Variations

This recipe is quite flexible, so please feel free to get creative and swap in your favorite ingredients. For example, you could…

• Add a protein: Add cooked chicken, pork, steak, shrimp, or chorizo.
• Add some whole grains: Add some cooked quinoa, farro, buckwheat, couscous, brown rice, or wild rice.
• Add extra veggies: Add extra veggies (raw or roasted), such as bell peppers, corn, jicama, or tomatoes.
• Add different legumes: Add a different type of legumes in place of the black beans, such as chickpeas or lentils.
• Add dried fruit: Add dried cranberries, dried cherries, chopped dried mango or chopped dried pineapple.

More Vegetarian Salad Recipes

Looking for more fresh vegetarian salad recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:

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