Roasted Sweet Potato Cauliflower Salad
on Nov 01, 2024
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This roasted sweet potato cauliflower salad is a mostly sheet pan salad with lots of vegetables, greens and grains. While the veggies roast, I simmer farro and make sherry vinaigrette. Then I toss everything with baby spinach and arugula, toasted walnuts, red onions and fresh herbs. This is a big salad that eats like a meal.
Also, try this sweet potato chickpea kale salad or this roasted cauliflower salad.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It is a sheet pan salad where the feature vegetables roast together in the oven on the same baking sheet. Then you have minimal prep other than that including making the vinaigrette and cooking the farro.
Roasted vegetables are for so much more than just side dishes. When you roast sweet potatoes and cauliflower, they get browned and caramelized on the edges. That adds nice texture and flavor to go with the leafy greens.
Farro makes the salad filling. I love adding cooked grains to salads. You end up with the best of both worlds for a meal with lettuce and whole grains.
The Ingredients
This is what you need:
- Sweet potatoes: Two medium sweet potatoes is about 1 pound. Peel the potatoes before you dice them. You can substitute with butternut squash.
- Cauliflower: Buy a whole head of cauliflower and not precut florets. That’s because then you can slice the cauliflower and you end up with lots of flat sides. They make direct contact with the hot metal of the pan and brown more.
- Farro is has a good chewy bite and is closest to barley. It is also great for side dishes. Remember that it is not gluten free. Substitute with brown rice if you have gluten sensitivities.
- Baby spinach & arugula: I used to always make this salad with only spinach, but after testing it a few different ways, I prefer a mix of spinach and arugula. You get a nice peppery, mustardy taste from arugula.
- Red onions give the salad a sharp accent. Make sure to finely chop them. You can substitute with scallions. These green onions will be more mild.
- Walnuts: Toast the nuts on sheet pan in a 350-degree F oven for 5-7 minutes. This will really bring out their flavor.
- Parsley: I also add chopped fresh herbs, which I am a big fan of in salads.
- Sherry vinaigrette: The dressing is a combination of minced garlic, whole grain mustard, kosher salt, black pepper, sherry vinegar and extra virgin olive oil. Red wine vinegar is a good swap for sherry vinegar. You will also need salt, pepper and oil to toss the sweet potatoes and cauliflower in for roasting.
How To Make This Roasted Sweet Potato Cauliflower Salad
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
1. Prep the sweet potatoes and cauliflower. On a sheet pan, toss them with oil, salt and pepper. Then arrange them, so they are in a single layer.
2. Roast the sweet potatoes and cauliflower. Give them 30-35 minutes. About halfway through roasting flip over the cauliflower and potatoes. They both should be browned on the edges, and the sweet potatoes should be tender in the middle.
3. Cook the farro on the stove. Combine the grains and water in a pot. Bring them to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer them uncovered. Assuming you are using pearled farro, it will cook in 12-15 minutes. You want the grains retain their satisfyingly chewy consistency. Then drain the farro and remaining water in a fine mesh strainer.
4. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, stir the garlic, mustard, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil.
5. Combine the salad ingredients including the roasted vegetables, baby spinach and arugula, farro, red onions, toasted walnuts and chopped parsley.
6. Drizzle the dressing into the salad. Toss to combine.
Serving
This is a salad I make for lunch and dinner during the fall and winter months, but I still think it’s worthy of being a Thanksgiving salad or for another holiday meal. To turn it into an even heartier main dish salad, you can add a protein like roasted chicken or salmon, shrimp or even tofu.
Leftovers & Storage
As always, it’s best to only dress the amount of salad you are planning to eat in one sitting. Do your best to plan ahead if you’re doing meal prep or if you think you’re going to end up with leftovers. Then you can save it up to 3 days in an airtight container. If the lettuce is dressed, it will wilt faster. Keep the extra vinaigrette in a separate mason jar or another container.
Recipe Tips
Don’t line the pan. The olive oil on the vegetables is enough to prevent them from sticking to the baking sheet. They will brown better too.
You can roast the cauliflower and sweet potatoes up to 2 days in advance. Keep them in the fridge in an airtight container. Then let them sit at room temperature for at least 15 minutes before you plan to assemble the salad, so they aren’t as cold as when you first take them out of the refrigerator.
You can make the vinaigrette up to 3 days ahead of time. Store it in the refrigerator in a jar. Take it out of the fridge 15 minutes before you’re going to toss it in the salad because the oil will harden in the chill of the fridge.
More Salad Recipes
Roasted Acorn Squash Salad
Kale Apple Salad
Apple Cabbage Salad
Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad
Moroccan Carrot Salad
Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad
Fig Arugula Salad
Kale Fingerling Potato Salad
Chopped Autumn Salad
Fall Harvest Salad
Butternut Squash Kale Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato Cauliflower Salad
Ingredients
For salad
- 1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), leaves removed, bottom stem trimmed, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For farro
- 1/2 cup pearled farro
- 1 1/2 cups water
For vinaigrette
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 1/4 cup olive oil
For salad
- 5 ounces baby spinach and arugula
- 1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
- 1/4 cup toasted walnuts
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Toss the cauliflower and sweet potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper on a sheet pan and spread them into a single layer.
- Roast for 30-35 minutes until the sweet potatoes and cauliflower are browned on the edges and the potatoes are tender in the middle. Flip over the cauliflower and potatoes about halfway through roasting.
- Combine the farro and water in a small saucepan. Bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the farro for 12-15 minutes until it is cooked through but still has a chewy bite. Drain the farro and remaining water from the saucepan into a fine mesh strainer. Rinse with cold water.
- For the vinaigrette, whisk the garlic, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil in a small bowl.
- Combine the roasted sweet potatoes and cauliflower, farro, baby spinach and arugula, red onions, walnuts and parsley a large bowl. Drizzle in the dressing, tossing to combine.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi do you eat this salad while vegetables still warm or is it good cold as well. Thinking about making it at Christmas but not sure if roast veggies taste good cold. Thanks Liz
Hi Liz. I think the salad is best if the veggies are warm or at room temperature.