Sweet Potato Kale Crunch Salad

This crisp, crunchy, and hearty kale salad features roasted sweet potato, couscous, and a zesty lime vinaigrette! It's fantastic for meal prep and is an easy way to up your fiber intake.

I love a good meal preppable salad, and that's exactly what this sweet potato kale salad is!

It features my go-to roasted sweet potatoes with smokey and savory seasonings paired with a creamy lime vinaigrette alongside a few other nutritious ingredients. The lime dressing is heavily inspired by my chipotle ranch dressing, but it uses olive oil instead of yogurt.

The crunch comes from a crisp base of cabbage and kale, alongside a pop of texture from sweet corn and pepitas. I'll definitely be adding this to my regular salad rotation alongside my staple kale chickpea salad and curry couscous salad.

Ingredients and variations

• Couscous: I love using couscous because it takes only about 10 minutes to cook. Quinoa or farro are great swaps if you prefer those.
• Cabbage: I prefer red cabbage for a pop of color, but green cabbage also works.
• Kale: I prefer lacinato kale (dinosaur kale) but curly kale also works. This recipe uses a full bunch of kale.
• Cauliflower: We use just about ¼ of a cauliflower. This is an easy way to add in some extra veggies and texture to the salad.
• Ear of corn: Fresh sweet corn adds an unparalleled pop of sweetness and texture. Don't skip this one!
• Sweet potato: Choose orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. I leave the skin on because it makes the sweet potato a little crispier, and peeled roasted sweet potato tends to become mushy.
• Chickpeas: For protein. Feel free to use any type of bean or protein, such as baked tempeh or baked tofu.
• Pepitas: AKA roasted pumpkin seeds. I recommend using roasted pumpkin seeds instead of raw, as they have more crunch, texture, and flavor.
• Feta: I used vegan feta (Follow Your Heart brand) but regular works. Cotija is another great option.

Tips and methods

• I use Pinch of Yum's method of food processing the salad base so that the cabbage and cauliflower are nice and crumbly and bite-sized.
• If you don't have a food processor, just roughly chop everything by hand. It will take a bit more time but it gets the job done.
• I don't food process the kale because it breaks it down too much for my liking. Instead, thinly slice the kale into tiny ribbons.
• Scale up or down: This recipe makes 4 large meal-sized salads. Scale ingredients up and down based on how you like your salad. I think of this salad more as a guideline than a strict recipe.

More delicious salads

Recipe

Want to Save This Recipe?

Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!

Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.

Email *

Save This!

By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Cozy Peach Kitchen

Sweet Potato Kale Crunch Salad

Cassidy Reeser, MS, RD

A crunchy base of kale, cabbage, and cauliflower pairs with crisp corn and pumpkin seeds and flavorful roasted sweet potato. This is a meal-prep-friendly salad that's tossed in a simple lime vinaigrette.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 50 minutes mins

Servings 4 main dish salads

Equipment

• 1 food processor optional, see notes

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Salad Ingredients

• ▢ 1 large sweet potato
• ▢ 1 teaspoon olive oil more as needed
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder or regular chili powder
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ¾ cup couscous plus boiling water & salt, to cook
• ▢ ½ small red cabbage roughly 1 pound
• ▢ ¼ small head of cauliflower optional
• ▢ 1 bunch (6-8 ounces) dinosaur kale curly kale also works
• ▢ 1 ear sweet corn
• ▢ 15 ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• ▢ ½ cup feta
• ▢ ¼ cup roasted pumpkin seeds
• ▢ lime zest, chopped cilantro, and avocado for serving; optional

Lime Vinaigrette

• ▢ ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 chipotle chili pepper from a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• ▢ ¼ cup lime juice ~2-3 limes (I prefer fresh limes so I can use the zest too)
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
• ▢ 1-2 teaspoons honey adjust to taste

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Dice the sweet potato into ½-inch pieces. Toss with 1-2 teaspoons olive oil, ¼ teaspoon chipotle chili powder (or regular chili powder), ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Roast at 400F for 25-30 minutes, or until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.
• Prepare couscous according to package instructions. Typically, this is done by adding ¾ cup boiling water or broth to ¾ cup dry couscous with a pinch of salt. Cover and set aside for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and fluff with a fork.
• Roughly chop the cabbage and cauliflower. Add to a food processor with a standard blade attachment. Pulse until broken down into very tiny pieces. Transfer to a large bowl.
• Thinly slice the kale into ribbons. I keep the stems and roughly chop them, but you can remove them if you prefer. Toss this with the cabbage and cauliflower.
• To the kale and cabbage mixture add the corn kernels from the ear of sweet corn, chickpeas, feta, and pumpkin seeds. Add the sweet potato and couscous when they are done cooking. Add the zest of one lime, if using fresh limes.
• Make the dressing by blending together ¼ cup olive oil, 2 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1 chipotle chili pepper (optional, adds a touch of spice), ¼ cup lime juice, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika, and 1-2 teaspoon honey, to taste. Adjust seasonings, as needed.
• If serving as one large salad, toss the salad with the dressing now. If preparing for meal prep, divide the salad between containers and portion the dressing out into separate containers. I recommend dressing the salad just before serving, for best quality. Serve topped with cubed avocado and chopped cilantro, if desired. Enjoy!

Notes

1. Make without a food processor: The food processor just makes breaking down the cauliflower and cabbage easier. If you don't have a food processor, simply chop the cabbage and cauliflower until it's very small.
2. I serve the salad as a mix of warm and cool ingredients (warm sweet potato and couscous, chilled vegetables.) For a fully chilled salad, toss everything except for the dressing together, cover, and chill for 2 hours before serving. Toss with the dressing just before serving.
3. If you're making this for meal prep lunches, I recommend storing the dressing separately and tossing the salad just before eating. While the salad is still delicious and keeps well with the dressing on, it's even better if you are able to keep the two components separate.

Nutrition

Calories: 623kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 18gFat: 30gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 7gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 652mgPotassium: 906mgFiber: 12gSugar: 13gVitamin A: 13169IUVitamin C: 61mgCalcium: 202mgIron: 4mg

Did you make this?I love hearing how it went! Leave a review or tag me on Instagram @cozypeachkitchen so I can see your creations!