Sweet Potato-Pecan Salad Recipe (2024)

By John Willoughby

Sweet Potato-Pecan Salad Recipe (1)

Total Time
25 minutes
Rating
4(295)
Notes
Read community notes

Southern-style sweet potato salad with pecans makes an excellent companion for fried chicken.

Featured in: Fried Chicken’s Northern Exposure

Learn: How to Cook Potatoes

Learn: Basic Knife Skills

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Ingredients

Yield:6 side-dish servings

  • 4medium sweet potatoes (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into uniform 2-inch chunks
  • 2tablespoons salt
  • ½red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
  • ½green bell pepper, seeded and diced small
  • ½large red onion, diced small
  • ¼cup finely chopped parsley
  • 3tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 3tablespoons ketchup
  • 1teaspoon minced garlic
  • ¾cup olive oil
  • ¼cup cider vinegar
  • 1tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 2tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • cup pecan halves, lightly toasted

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

400 calories; 31 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 22 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 29 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 8 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 571 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Sweet Potato-Pecan Salad Recipe (2)

Preparation

  1. Step

    1

    Fill sink or a large bowl with water and ice cubes. Put sweet potatoes in a large saucepan, add the salt and water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork but still offer some resistance and don’t break apart, 10 to 12 minutes.

  2. Step

    2

    Drain potatoes and immediately put them into the ice-water bath. After 1 minute, remove potatoes, drain again, and put into a large bowl along with diced peppers, onion and parsley.

  3. Step

    3

    Make the dressing: In a large bowl, combine mustard, ketchup and garlic. Add olive oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly. Whisk in vinegar, Worcestershire and lime juice, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

  4. Step

    4

    Pour dressing over sweet potatoes, add pecans and toss gently.

Ratings

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out of 5

295

user ratings

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Private Notes

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Cooking Notes

Lesley

I've made this dish on at least 5 occasions this summer. It's really delicious. I use less oil (1/3 C), about 1/4 C lemon juice, and cilantro (instead of parsley). Although the salad can be made a day ahead, add the toasted pecans just before serving.

Katherine

I took the recommendation of someone below and replaced the 3/4 c oil with 1/3 c oil and 1/4 c lemon juice. It was still way more liquidy than I like my cold salads - I don't like to have the bottom third swimming. My fried who doesn't mind that said it looked fine to her. Definitely not 3/4 c oil though - that would have been way too oily.

AJ

And an apple, dont forget to add an apple.

AJ

Add 2 cups of torn greens of some kind and only 1 sweet potato for a very nice lunch salad.

Anne

Spicy pecans to use with this: pecans with butter and salt melted together. Toss with some Worcestershire, some cayenne, some cinnamon...then baked 30 min at 300.It works great with this salad if you don't eat the pecans first.

Judith S.

A big hit at work. I roasted the sweet potatoes which worked well (peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks; roasted at 400 for about 40 min checking periodically). I also used walnuts b/c I didn't have pecans and scallions b/c I didn't have red onion. Super easy and I would make again.

Magpie

I note the direction to stop the potatoes from cooking; seeking advice from anyone who has made this, should they be lukewarm when dressed? Completely cold? Does it matter? Thank you.

Read the notes and hold back some dressing :)

I should have read all of the notes on this. I used 1/4 cup oil and glad I did. But I made the mistake of pouring all of the dressing onto the salad. As many posters have noted, it's way too much dressing for the two pounds of sweet potatoes. The salad is delicious, though, and I'll make this again! I like Paisley's idea of using some of the extra dressing on beets and AJ's idea of adding an apple.

Somewhere In 413

I really liked this salad, I tweaked it by using the lime zest and adding Trader Joe's Everyday seasoning. I like heavily dressed salads and used only half after making it with 7 potatoes, about 4 lbs. As many have said, way more dressing than needed.

Will roast the sweet potatoes next time

Unusual but tasty. I added a Granny Smith Apple and reduced the oil to 1/4cup as suggested. Dressing almost overpowers the veggies.

Susan

Followed suggestions for less oil and adding lemon juice. Also made and used 1/2 amount of dressing, which was plenty. Tasted great and received plenty of compliments.

Good but too much dressing

The dressing is essentially a BBQ vinaigrette and it makes about 1/3 cup more than you need. I would add it in little amounts to taste. I also added bacon because bacon makes everything better.

Rick

This is quite tasty! As others have said, it’s rather heavy on the dressing. I used about half of what I made. I must say, I thought the sweet potatoes got a little lost among the other ingredients. I guess I was expecting it to be more potato-forward. I might try an adjustment or two next time.

Paisley

I've been trying to find this recipe again! I made it last year and it was delicious. The yield of the dressing was more than I needed for the sweet potatoes, I used the rest of the dressing for another salad a couple of days later using beets. My finicky uncle was visiting, and he loved it!

Approdesiac

The outcome was initially exciting, but quickly overwhelming. This dish could stand on its own or compliment a very basic, no frills, chicken entree. I’m all about a straightforward recipe and this one requires too much tweaking.

Anne

Spicy pecans to use with this: pecans with butter and salt melted together. Toss with some Worcestershire, some cayenne, some cinnamon...then baked 30 min at 300.It works great with this salad if you don't eat the pecans first.

EvaM

Loved the salad; served with grilled pork chops.For the dressing: Used 1/2 cup olive oil, and only poured half of the dressing on the sweet potato-pepper mixture; otherwise the salad would have been soupy.Added a few slices of jalapeno to the red & green peppers mix

Jtango

I used only 1/4 cup of olive oil and added 1 tablespoon of sriracha. Delicious!

Carolyn

Delicious! I doubled the recipe and was delighted to find out 1/2 cup vinegar was not too much.

AJ

Add 2 cups of torn greens of some kind and only 1 sweet potato for a very nice lunch salad.

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Sweet Potato-Pecan Salad Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to keep potatoes from falling apart when making potato salad? ›

To keep your salad from falling apart into mush, it's important to use the best potatoes for potato salad. Skip the russet potatoes and use a waxy variety instead, like Yukon gold, red potatoes or fingerlings. Learn more about which types of potatoes you should use for different recipes.

How many holes should you poke in a sweet potato? ›

Use a fork to poke 8 to 10 sets of holes in the skins of each sweet potato for ventilation and wrap each tightly in aluminum foil. Place on a baking sheet to catch the juice that will inevitably leak out. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour, or until soft.

Why does my potato salad get soggy? ›

Watery potato salads may be caused by the following: Type of potato used. A waxy or moist potato tends to stay that way when cooked. The Russet Burbank variety has high solids (starch to water ratio) and tends to be drier when cooked.

Should you rinse potatoes in cold water after boiling for potato salad? ›

Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.

Should you cut potatoes before boiling for potato salad? ›

Always cut up the potatoes into a dice before boiling them. If you boil the potatoes whole, the exterior of the potato will get too soft and crumbly before the interior has a chance to cook through. Best potatoes for potato salad? Russet, Yukon Gold, or red potatoes (new potatoes) are all excellent for potato salad.

What is the best type of potato to use for potato salad? ›

Waxy potatoes are generally considered the best for classic potato salad because they retain their shape, you don't have to peel them, and they have a smooth texture. People who prefer a creamy potato salad that soaks up dressing like a sponge, though, opt for a starchy potato.

How many days is homemade potato salad good for? ›

Assuming your potato salad is stored in the refrigerator, the USDA recommends that it be consumed within five days of when it was mad. But keep in mind, five days is intended as the absolute maximum and this rule only applies if the salad was held at a temperature below the danger zone range the entire time.

What happens if you forget to poke holes in sweet potatoes? ›

Typically holes are poked into a sweet potato to prevent a potato exploding in your oven. However, the chance of that happening is low, and according to Lifehacker, sweet potatoes will retain more flavor if you don't poke them. I tested this theory right away and found that flavorwise it didn't make a huge difference.

What's the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? ›

Are Yams and Sweet Potatoes the Same? No, yams and sweet potatoes are not the same. Yams have rough, dark brown skin that is often compared to tree bark, and their flesh is dry and starchy like a regular potato. Sweet potatoes have smooth reddish skin, softer flesh (when cooked), and a sweet flavor.

Why do you wrap sweet potatoes in foil? ›

Wrapping sweet potatoes in foil helps in a few ways. It prevents the exterior of the tuber from drying out and overheating too quickly, which would minimize enzymatic activity; it also results in a more evenly cooked texture.

Why don't you peel potatoes for potato salad? ›

There's no reason at all, so my advice is to leave the skins on. The skin on a potato adds a nice texture and flavor to the potato salad and it's also the healthiest part.

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