This Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice, and Arugula Salad is filling and fresh with a deliciously simple lemon and olive oil dressing.
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Bravo! As a well seasoned home chef, I recommend this recipe. A lot of flavor and goodness. Will definitely be making this again!
Shelli
Favorite salad.
I say that all the time, and in theory it’s a total oxymoron, but lately salads are my favorite way to get all the food I want to eat (flavor, texture, color, nutrition, give me everything) all on one plate. I know, I’m a food hog, and salads are my vice.
Part of the appeal of salads is my love affair with dressings. Simple, homemade dressings that have lots of flavor. For example, garlic, olive oil, lemon. As pictured above. But more on that in two seconds.
Let’s reflect on wild rice. Being a born and raised Minnesota girl, I feel this deep pride for that dark, nutty, chewy northern wild rice that can take on any shape and form and be universally delicious. I’ll be the first to admit – chicken wild rice soup has been posted at least 82 times on this here blog (but can it ever be overdone? I mean, really?) and I think way back when the blog started I would do “experimental” things like wild rice flatbread, which I will not link and don’t search it because I cannot confidently vouch for the quality of that recipe. I do remember loving it, but the recipe? I don’t know. I was just a blog baby. Have compassion.
But then things started to get interesting in the wild rice department. I started to branch out and use wild rice in salads. Okay, one, in particular. And so many of us loved it so much together, which sent me to the moon and back and landed me back at my dining room table with yet another wild rice and other yummy stuff salad in front of my face. Because when something works, don’t reinvent the wheel.
Just reinvent it a little bit and add roasted sweet potatoes.
Today we celebrate the wonderfulness that is wild rice in a salad with fresh, sweet, earthy ingredients. And a lemon dressing that is 200% plate-lickable.
On a really happy note, Bjork and I are headed to Arizona in a few weeks. No, DAYS. I just realized that as I was typing. Holy wild rice, time has been so sneaky lately.
We are going to visit my sunny grandparents in sunny Arizona and it’s going to be a sunny good time. See the theme there? Other than eating my grandma’s cooking and sitting on the porch with my grandparents smelling the lemon trees in the backyard, I have a singular goal during this trip: to come back very bronzed-up and saturated with Vitamin D. Yes, I really am that deep of a person. I call it: girl on a mission.
In my defense, 50 days of below zero weather? YAH.
In all seriousness, I’m trying to be less of a person who sees salads as a pre-pool, pre-swimsuit, pre-post-winter-eating-vacation requirement and more of a person who loves salads because they’re healthy, whole, and make you beautifully naturally glowy and all that. But the true me is probably a little bit of both, so safe to say this is going to be salad week at our house.
aaand to that I say — JACKPOT!
Anyone else traveling somewhere warm? And will you be able to fit both Bjork and me in your suitecase, or just me? Lemme know.
Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice, and Arugula Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Roasted Sweet Potato, Wild Rice, and Arugula Salad: served with a simple lemon and olive oil dressing. I licked the plate clean. 300 calories.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked wild rice (about 1/2 cup raw)
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 3–4 cups)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cups arugula
- 1/2 cup cashew pieces
For the dressing
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons – more to taste)
- zest of the lemons
- 1/3 cup good quality olive oil
- 2 teaspoons agave nectar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Cook the wild rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, make the dressing by pureeing all the dressing ingredients in a food processor. When the rice is done, toss it with a little bit of the dressing and refrigerate. Let it rest for a little while so it takes on the flavors of the dressing (I let it chill completely, but you wouldn’t have to do that).
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the sweet potato pieces directly on a baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil and sprinkle with the chili powder, salt, and pepper. Stir directly on the pan to get everything mixed. Roast for 20-25 minutes, stirring every so often to keep from burning. When the sweet potatoes are golden brown on the outside, remove from the oven and set aside.
- Toss the arugula, wild rice, sweet potatoes, cashews, and the remaining dressing together. Serve warm or cold. YUM.
Notes
Nutrition is for 6 servings. This salad is a little higher in calories and good fat (thank you, olive oil and cashews) but if you wanted to lighten it you could definitely cut some of the oil, the cashews, or add more arugula to bulk it up. You could also add more lemon juice to your dressing to make it go a little father while still keeping it light.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: sweet potato and wild rice salad, wild rice arugula salad, sweet potatoes and wild rice
This has become my go -to Friendsgiving salad – it can sit out for a bit and stays delicious!
Great salad, especially in the fall or for Thanksgiving.
I LOVE this recipe! I make it exactly as-is every year for Thanksgiving, Friendsgiving and Christmas—and it’s always a hit!
I have made this salad a couple of times to rave reviews. One of the beauties of it is that you can prepare all the ingredients in advance and just toss at the last minute. I have even cooked the rice and sweet potatoes the day before.
Thoughts on subbing butternut squash for sweet potato? I get a farm bag so I’m trying to use the ingredients in it. I think it’d work?!
Yes, that’d be a great substitute!
This salad is incredible. Love the dressing and have used it multiple times this week with other salad recipes, too!! Thank you!
So glad you like the salad, Coley!
This was so delicious! Will become a new staple heading into Fall.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this salad, Katie!
Seriously love this salad. Always follow the recipe but usually leave out the cashews. Filling enough for dinner with my partner and also great for meal prepped lunches.
Glad to hear you love the salad, Kristen!
Bravo! As a well seasoned home chef, I recommend this recipe. A lot of flavor and goodness. Will definitely be making this again!
Always a favorite!
Amazing
This was delicious! I am not a sweet potato fan but loved them in this salad. This could easily become a main dish salad with the addition of chicken or salmon. It’s a keeper!
four years later, this is DELICIOUS! I roasted the sweet potatoes in the skillet then wilted the arugula in the pan just before adding the rice. seriously so good!
Hi this salad looks delicious, I have all the ingredients except for the agave nectar can I substitute it for something else?
You could sub in some honey or sugar!
I am a caterer in Richmond VA, I sell my items on this online farmers market. https://flflr.luluslocalfood.com/Shopping/Search. I want to offer a salad like this on the market. May I use your photograph for a couple of weeks until I return from Europe and can take my own? I will credit you as the owner/ photographer.
Hi, question: Everything looks so healthy in this salad…why so many calories?? Jeannie
Hi, Jeannie! Lindsay mentioned in the recipe notes: “This salad is a little higher in calories and good fat (thank you, olive oil and cashews) but if you wanted to lighten it you could definitely cut some of the oil, the cashews, or add more arugula to bulk it up. You could also add more lemon juice to your dressing to make it go a little father while still keeping it light.”
Will this keep in the fridge? I’ve made all the components for lunches this week, but I’m not sure if I should mix it with the dessing or hold off
Hi, Sam! I would suggest keeping the components separate so that they don’t get soggy from the dressing. You could probably mix up one portion (with dressing) at night, and it would be fine at lunch the next day. 🙂
This is a perfect dinner for me. 🙂 Can you recommend some other dressings which go well with this salad?
Yay! A vegan recipe!
I made this for dinner last night and it was amazing! So simple too. I added some leftover shredded roasted chicken. My husband said it was his favorite thing I’ve made lately!
Wow – impressive! Thanks Taylor! 🙂
Oh, and I subbed honey at a 1:1 ratio for the agave as I am not vegan and don’t keep agave on hand since my neighbor keeps bees and she loves me 🙂
Awesome! Love that!
thanks for posting this (and lindsay, for posting this amazing dish)! i was going to ask if i could sub honey for the agave! 🙂
Yep – great idea!
This is a great recipe! The first time I made it I used watercress and sweet potatoes, peanuts and southwest seasonings. Today I’m using arugula, a butternut squash, and cashews with garam masala. I doubled the dressing to have some for a green salad later….yummy. What a great make ahead lunch for the week!
Yum! This looks great! Do you think the dressing would still taste good without the agave?
Yes, but I think you might want to add some kind of sweetness. Can you do honey?
I just made this salad and it was amazing, especially the dressing!!
So awesome! Thanks Natasha!
This was so good! YUMMY! Thank you for this.