This potato salad is distinctive, daring, and delectable–one of my favorite recipes! I’ll often bring this dish to potlucks or parties since everyone loves it.
- For the salad:
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled, and cut into ¾-inch pieces (about 6 cups)
- 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach leaves
- ½ cup raisins (brown or golden)
- 2 ribs celery, sliced or chopped (about ⅔ cup)
- ½ cup sliced almonds (plus extra for garnish)
- 4 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
- Creamy Curry Dressing:
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ cup water
- 2 ounces raw, unsalted cashews (about ½ cup)
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 teaspoon curry powder
- 1 medium clove garlic, sliced
- To start the dressing, zest the orange first before juicing it. Set the zest aside.
- Place all of the dressing ingredients, except the orange zest, into a blender and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the cashews can soften).
- To make the salad, place the sweet potatoes into a soup pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, uncovered. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and cook until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart when pierced with a knife, about 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, and set aside.
- Once the potatoes have thoroughly drained, place them into a large bowl, along with the spinach, celery, raisins, almonds, and green onions.
- Blend the dressing ingredients until smooth. Stir the orange zest into the blended dressing with a fork (but don't blend it). Then stir the dressing into the salad. Serve warm or chilled, plain or topped with sliced almonds.
Above: Interestingly, sweet potatoes and yams are not related; they are two different species of root vegetable. The orange-reddish “yam” and the golden sweet potato (right) that we find in U.S. grocery stores are actually both varieties of sweet potato, but the orange-red ones were dubbed “yams” to distinguish the two. True yams are native to Africa and Asia (left), and are very starchy with dark brown, tree bark-like skin. To read an article about sweet potatoes vs. yams, click here.
Above: Curry powders are a blend of spices, and come in many varieties. I use a basic yellow curry, such as the one above left, that is mild and sweet since I’m not a fan of super spicy foods. And if you’re serving this salad to a group, I would opt for this milder variety. But if you like it hot and spicy, seek out a curry powder that has more of a kick, like a red Thai curry. You can even make your own curry powder blend; just search “curry powder recipes” online. It’s also fun to visit a spice shop and smell all the different types of curries before choosing.
Above: This dish is perfect for when you want a different kind of potato dish around the holidays. It’s especially good served right away when it’s still a bit warm.
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!
Thank you so much..I am just beginning to think about Tgiving and would love some non oil recipes to begin to experiment with!
Only thing I don’t have is cashews.. Will be buying some to try this recipe! Sounds soooo good….
This looks amazing! Can’t wait to make it this weekend!!
can i substitute
something for the orange juice?
thanks
You could substitute another type of juice, or just make up the difference with water. 🙂
Another keeper, Cathy! I made this today and ate two helpings. I have a plant-strong potluck to go to later this month and I plan on taking this. Easy to make and not a lot of mess.
Next time I will plump my raisins like you suggested. My goldens don’t get used as often and tend to harden up a bit.
I have a question though. I got my curry spice from a local spice store and it is labeled “mild.” I was wondering what you used and if it was spicy at all..
Hi Kathy, that’s great, thank you for the comment! 🙂 My curry was also mild and not spicy.
Very nice! A potato salad with a difference. Who knew to use sweet potatoes! Also love that you gave variations at the end too.
Out of the ball park with this recipe Cathy! I had some “yams” from the farmer’s market and subbed out the spinach with kale (put it in the cooking water for the last minute) and it all turned out delicious! I love the fresh OJ with the curry. The almonds and celery add a nice crunch. You have a way with putting together flavors and textures in a very satisfying way. Love it!
Thank you so much, Jen! 😉
I love this one Cathy! It’s my absolute favorite potato salad!
Yummy! I had cabbage on hand, so I used the outer leaves, and put them in with the potatoes…. Wow… this is amazing! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Tried this today (2/17/14) with a couple of substitutions, and it was fantastic! Thank you!
I doubled up on the garlic (2 cloves) in the dressing, and I had a little more orange juice than the recipe specifies — I used what was in the orange I squeezed (about 1/3 cup instead of 1/2). We had no almonds, so I used a mix of walnuts, pignoli, and pecans. No spinach on hand either, so I steamed some kale and used that for the greenery. And, I’m without a zesting tool at the moment, so I just squeezed a little fresh lemon juice into the salad.
It’s a great recipe. Thank you again for all that you do to help people eat well and healthily.
Kris
Thanks Kris! Great substitutions! Thanks for the feedback and support! 😉
Just made the salad for lunch, and it is deliciouuuuussss! Thanks a lot for sharing your recipes. Will you be making recipes videos in the future? Personally I found it easier to follow and see the “big picture” of the recipe.
Thanks again.
Hi Steph, would love to do that. 🙂
My family loves this sweet potato salad recipe. It is such a favorite that I made some and packed it to take on an international flight to replace airline food. I usually make it just as the recipe states, but I have used regular raisins instead of golden, omitted the sliced almonds and substituted arugula for the spinach, all with good results.
Mmm, great substitutions Amy! 🙂 Thanks for your comment!
What a great recipe! I made it with yukon gold potatoes and loved it! Will try it with sweet potatoes next time. Thank you for the wonderful recipe!
Love this salad. I often make it the day before and find it travels well. Thanks!
As I was squeezing an orange for this recipe, I wondered, “why not peel the orange after zesting and toss the whole fruit into the Vita Mix with water, cashews, etc.? Has anyone here ever tried that?
If I had not already squeezed the orange, I would have tried it — in an effort to keep foods whole.
Thank you again (and again, again..) for this site, Cathy! It such treasure trove of wonderful recipes and inspiration.
regards,
Kris
Thanks Kris! Sounds good! 😉
This was amazing!! and easy to make .. I can not eat veggies from night shade family (no potato for me) .. so more sweet potato recipes would be great!! Thanks!!
I love this recipe 🙂 I don’t change it a bit but have used different varieties of potato and it is always great! Thanks!
Hey Cathy,
I’m allergic to nuts and worried about the fat since i want to consider consuming this weekly as a meal on my meal plan. Without the inclusion of cashews and almonds, will it flatten the recipe? Or hope it can come out just as nice still. Also, please can you recommend a good brand of raisins i can get. Everyone i see seems to be made with sunflower oil or has some kind of oil in the ingredient list, which I’m trying to evade, being sos free. Thanks a lot.
I think leaving the cashews out of the dressing would work, although I’ve not tried this. 🙂 Leaving almonds out is fine and easy.
Could you do this with brazil nuts instead of cashew nuts?
Sure! 🙂
Made this last night for dinner, sooo delicious!! My dressing didn’t turn out nice and smooth though so next time I think I’ll process it in my Nutribullet.
Kathy, I read your article about sweet potatoes and yams and found it very interesting.For this salad would you suggest I use the white sweet potatoes? Looks like you didn’t use the orange fleshy yams in the pictures of the salad. My guess is both would be yummy and I think the orange ones would be more colorful but many not hold their shape as well.
Plan to make this for a July 4th gathering-
Thanks
Julie
I think any kind would work fine. 🙂
This is absolutely delicious. I often bring to potlucks, we don’t have any vegan friends and they all love it. Several people have asked for the recipe. Thanks so much Cathy. I remember you fondly from my stay at True North.
Thanks so much, Barbara! 🙂 I love to bring this one to gatherings as well. It’s a crowd-pleaser.
Great recipe! Because of some food sensitivities I had to substitute the raisins for dried cranberries and the almonds for pecans and I don’t think it changed it too much. Tastes even better if you leave it overnight in the fridge. Thanks Cathy.
Yum! 🙂 Thanks Kevin!
Made this for after fourth of July family gathering. Made it with another dish and had it in the refrigerator when I found the golden raisens and sliced almonds still on the kitchen table. It tasted great testing before but had that aha moment that I missed something. The raisens and almonds just kicked it up a notch.
Found this in your cookbook
Thanks for another great potluck dish.
Great, thanks for the comment, Stephen! 🙂 I love this salad.
This is truly a favorite salad I keep going back to. The orange juice and zest adds a wonderful complement to the sweet potato. It is good in the lower-fat version as well.
Thanks again.
Hi Kevin! Great to hear from you! 🙂 And good to know that the LF version is good too! Yay!
Delicious! This may become my signature potluck dish. 🙂 It’s a really interesting blend of flavors. I tried my second helping with pecans as the garnish instead of almonds, which I also liked.
Yum!!