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Sweet Potato Bacon Salad with Warm Cider Dressing. Smoky, sweet, and spicy sweet potatoes roasted in a mix of seasonings, then tossed with shredded kale, sesame seeds, crispy bacon, and juicy pomegranates. Toss the salad with my warm sweet and tangy cider dressing with fresh citrus and ginger. So much flavor and color in this kale salad! Share this salad with friends and family at your next holiday meal or dinner party. It’s the salad that everyone can’t get enough of!
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The holiday recipes are back-to-back this week! It’s such a fun time of year to share new recipes – my favorite actually! Even though things are busy, sharing recipes with you all during the holidays is the most special to me. I’m so lucky that I get to do this every single year!
When I get messages about how certain recipes have been shared and loved with family and friends, it just makes me the happiest!
I don’t think any holiday table is complete without a big, beautiful salad.
For holiday salads, I love to use kale as my greens. With kale, I know I can make the salad the morning of or even the day before if I need to. The greens always hold up so well!
This will be a great salad to complement all of your holiday dinners! The flavors are smoky, with some sweetness and spice. It’s delish!
Here are the details
Ingredients
- sweet potatoes – red sweet potatoes are my favorite! They have the best color and flavor
- salted butter or olive oil
- smoked paprika
- chipotle chili powder
- cinnamon
- kale, or swap your favorite mix of greens!
- sesame seeds
- pomegranate arils
- chili flakes
- bacon
- shallot
- apple cider vinegar
- honey
- fresh thyme
- pickled or fresh ginger
Special Tools
Nothing special, but a skillet and a salad bowl are key!
Step 1: roast the sweet potatoes
My sweet potatoes were long and skinny, so I sliced them into rounds. You can do the same, or if your potatoes are larger, cube them.
On a baking sheet, toss the potatoes with butter or oil. I prefer butter. Then add the seasonings, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, cinnamon, and salt.
Roast until the potatoes until they are very soft, about 20 minutes.
Step 2: make the dressing
Use the time while the potatoes roast to make the dressing.
First, crisp the bacon and drain off the excess fat. Then, using the same skillet, cook the shallot until it’s caramelized. Add the apple cider, thyme, orange zest, honey, and ginger. Season the dressing with salt and chili flakes.
Step 3: toss the kale
Now, add the kale to a big salad bowl and pour over the warm dressing. Massage the dressing onto the kale to help break it down and make it less tough.
Finish up the salad
To the bowl of dressed kale, add the roasted sweet potatoes and top with sesame seeds. Finish with crispy bacon and pomegranate arils.
It is going to be so pretty!
It’s a wonderfully simple salad that’s perfect for all your holiday entertaining—whether it’s Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, or Christmas!
Hoping you all give this delicious wintery salad a try!
Looking for other salad recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Fall Harvest Roasted Butternut Squash and Pomegranate Salad
Shredded Brussels Sprout Bacon Salad with Warm Cider Vinaigrette
Pomegranate Salad with Maple Candied Walnuts
Autumn Harvest Honeycrisp Apple and Feta Salad
Lastly, if you make this Sweet Potato Bacon Salad be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sweet Potato Ginger Salad
Ingredients
- 2 sweet potatoes, cubed or sliced into rounds
- 2 tablespoons salted butter or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- salt and black pepper
- 4 cups shredded kale
- 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
- 1 1/2 cups pomegranate arils
Orange Cider Dressing
- 6 thick-cut slices of bacon, chopped, (omit if vegetarian)
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- salt and black pepper
- chili flakes
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F.2. On a baking sheet, combine the sweet potatoes, butter/olive oil, paprika, chili powder, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft and charing on the edges. 3. Meanwhile, make the dressing. Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crisp. Drain onto a paper towel. Wipe the skillet clean. 4. To the same skillet, add the olive oil and shallot. Cook until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool slightly. Add the apple cider vinegar, honey, thyme, orange zest, and ginger. Season with salt and chili flakes.5. Add the kale to a big salad bowl and pour the dressing over the kale, massaging the dressing into the kale. Top the salad with roasted sweet potatoes and sesame seeds. Sprinkle the pomegranate arils and crumbled bacon on top. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
The flavor profile is amazing but the spice is too much. I highly recommend cutting the chipotle chili powder and paprika in half and maybe doing an extra drizzle of honey on top. I’m from San Diego so I can handle my spice, but the spice level was overpowering to the otherwise perfect flavor of the salad.
Hi Trinity,
Thanks so much for making this salad and sharing your feedback! So sorry about the spice level. I hope you will make this again!!
Suggestion on what I can serve with this salad besides bread for a meal? Thanks!
Hi Ingrid,
Sure, this salad is really great with any main dish, chicken, steak, etc. Here are some ideas for you:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/pepper-short-ribs/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/creamed-corn-pork-chops/
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/lemon-chicken-and-rice/
I hope this helps! xx
This was an amazing salad. I didn’t have any pomegranate and it still turned out great. It’s relatively simple to make too.
Hi Melanie,
Happy Thursday! I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out nicely for you! XxT
This salad was amazing. Highly recommend. I didn’t have sesame seeds or pomegranate arils on hand so I omitted, and it was still amazing. I can definitely see where these toppers would add some nice crunch and colour, but the dish is still well worth it without. Don’t omit the orang zest – it was such a nice flavour to the dressing!
Hi Laura,
Amazing! Thank you for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was enjoyed! xxT
If I am bringing this dish to an evening Thanksgiving gathering, do you still recommend putting the dressing on ahead of time?
Hi Shelley,
I would wait to add the dressing until you are ready to serve. I hope you love this recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
This salad is very flavorful, healthy, and easy to make. I omitted the bacon, sesame seeds, and pomegranate arils. I especially liked the spices on the sweet potatoes and the shallots, ginger, and orange zest in the dressing.
Hey Laura,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your thoughts, so happy it worked for you!
Have a great week!
Do you think this would still be good if you omitted the spice on the sweet potatoes, except the cinnamon? Trying to make it kid friendly… would it still have enough flavor for adults?
Hi Karrin,
Totally, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope you love this recipe! Happy Thanksgiving! xx
Wow, I don’t know if I need anything else in my life after this one. Love the heartiness of this salad, but also the freshness. We added quinoa and think it will make a great prepped meal for the next few days. Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Camille,
Wonderful! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it was enjoyed! Happy Sunday! xx
Might have used a little over the 4 cups of kale but felt like there was barely any dressing. Very gingery. Seemed to over power the other flavors.
I see where I went work as i guess you cook the shallots in a HALF CUP of oil and add that all the the reat of the dressing…. Feels like that part could be written better
Ahh so sorry about that!
Hi Lindsey,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear you didn’t love it! Let me know if there is anything I can help with! xx
Please do something about your website. I have tried posting this comment twice, but the page kicks me out. Scrolling down it reloaded the page twice and brought me back to the top of the page. The skip to recipe button doesn’t consistently work. Also, I counted 18 ads total on this one recipe. Eighteen!
Calm down she already apologized for it. Eat some kale you need the vitamins and SMILE! 🙂
You call this Sweet Potato Bacon Salad in the heading but then call it Sweet Potato Ginger Salad later in the recipe. It helps your readers to know which is the proper title, despite the ingredients being the same. Please proofread your recipes before posting. Your readers deserve this.
If you’re veggie, I imagine swapping the bacon for tamari almonds would be pretty delish.
Great looking recipe…I’ll be trying this tonight!
Sounds like a great idea, Hanna!! I hope you love this salad, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
What is a “red sweet potato”? I know Japanese sweet potatoes have red skin and white interior, but your photos show orange insides. Do you mean orange sweet potatoes to use for this recipe? Thanks.
Hi Deb,
You can use your favorite sweet potato for this recipe, I love using red sweet potatoes, which are extra-moist and flavorful, with orange flesh and a red-copper to plum skin color. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Recipe looks delicious, it would be better if the ads didn’t print over the recipe. Most sites when you use the “print” button and a new window pops up with no ads for printing. This did not.
Hi there,
Thanks for sharing your feedback. The ads should absolutely not print over the recipe. I just tested this and did not have that issue. Did you print from the recipe card? Please let me know how we can help! xx
Hi Tieghan,
FYI – this recipe title says “Sweet Potato Bacon Salad with Warm Cider Dressing”, but when you scroll down to the recipe, it’s “Sweet Potato Ginger Salad”. Looks tasty, though!
Thanks so much for pointing this out, Carole! Let me know if you give this salad a try! xT
Question. Not big fan of raw kale. What can I substitute it with?
Hi Beth,
You could use any other greens that you enjoy, arugula would be nice! Please let me know if you have any other questions! XxT