Southwestern wild rice and sweet potato salad is loaded with healthy veggies and tossed in a chili lime vinaigrette. Gluten-free, vegan, and perfect for lunch or a side salad!
We're on a mission to banish boring salads once and for all - and this colorful wild rice and sweet potato salad is anything but boring! Best of all, it's ideal for meal prep along with our classic cobb salad or this hearty taco salad!
This southwestern wild rice and sweet potato salad is loaded with crunchy carrots, celery, fresh cilantro, red onion, and a tangy chili lime vinaigrette!
With wild rice and roasted sweet potatoes as the base, it's hearty, healthy, and absolutely delicious! It's sweet and savory, crunchy, and smothered in flavor thanks to the chili lime vinaigrette.
reasons you'll love this recipe
- the sweet potatoes and wild rice are complimented by the savory flavors of the chili lime vinaigrette
- it's packed with nourishing veggies - you'll truly feel like you're eating the rainbow!
- it's vegan-friendly and gluten-free, and can work for meal prep
recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped this sweet potato salad recipe. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
ingredient notes
- sweet potato - around 4 cups of cubes which is 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes
- veggies - red onion, bell peppers, carrots and celery. You can swap these out for what you have in the fridge!
- wild rice blend - we prefer the texture of a wild rice blend, but you could go 100% wild rice if that's your thing! This is the blend we used.
- cilantro - only add if you are eating this salad within a few hours of making it
- chili lime vinaigrette - an all-time fave! Made with white wine vinegar, olive oil, chili powder, garlic, lime juice, honey and dijon, it's absolutely delicious.
Step by step directions
Prepare Sweet potatoes
Heat oven to 425°F. Toss sweet potato in olive oil, and season with salt & pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet or baking dish.
Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and turn the, then continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until a fork goes into the sweet potatoes easily. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Prepare Wild Rice
Cook rice according to package directions. You should end up with just over 2 cups of cooked rice. Allow to cool completely before assembling the salad.
Vinaigrette
Shake together all ingredients for the chili lime vinaigrette.
Combine Salad
Combine cooled sweet potato, cooled rice, and remaining salad ingredients including carrot, celery, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, and cilantro. Add the chili lime vinaigrette, and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Tips for the perfect salad
- hot or cold? we prefer to serve this salad cold, and allow the rice and sweet potatoes to cool before mixing it all together. It would be delicious warmed as well!
- big batch - this makes 8 servings, so it's good for feeding a crowd. You can easily cut the recipe in half if you need to.
- meal prep - this salad does not keep well after tossing in the dressing, but you could meal prep it by prepping all the ingredients except the cilantro. Leave the dressing off until you are ready to serve.
fAQ
Yes, you can! Just swap the honey for maple syrup at a 1:1 ratio.
Sure! You could swap for quinoa, or brown rice for a similar texture. We haven't tested this recipe with cauliflower rice, but it could work out for a more low-carb option!
We love this Instant Pot wild rice pilaf, cranberry almond rice pilaf, and Thai slow chicken and wild rice soup!
Variations
This is a really great 'clean out the fridge' kind of salad! There are so many variations and different veggies that would be great to include:
- roast up some cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, brussels sprouts or broccoli with the sweet potatoes
- add in some fresh tomatoes when serving
- make it spicy with some fresh minced jalapeno peppers
storage + meal prep
This salad does not keep well after tossing in the dressing, but you could meal prep it by prepping all the ingredients except the cilantro. To store for meal prep:
- Omit the cilantro and add a can of black beans (optional, but adds protein if serving as a meal).
- Leave the dressing off until you are ready to serve.
- Portion out into 2 cup meal prep containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!
Southwestern Wild Rice and Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
Roasted Sweet Potato
- 4 cups sweet potato peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes; roughly 1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt & pepper
Salad
- ¾ cup wild rice blend uncooked
- 1 carrot peeled and grated
- 1 celery finely chopped
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 yellow pepper diced
- ¼ cup red onion finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro leaves roughly chopped; loosely packed
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons honey maple syrup to make it vegan
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Roast Sweet Potatoes - Heat oven to 425°F. Toss sweaHeat oven to 425°F. Toss sweet potato in olive oil, and season with salt & pepper. Arrange on a baking sheet or baking dish.Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and turn the, then continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until a fork goes into the sweet potatoes easily. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
- Prepare wild rice - Cook rice according to package directions. You should end up with just over 2 cups of cooked rice. Allow to cool completely before assembling the salad.
- Vinaigrette - Shake together all vinaigrette ingredients and toss salad thoroughly.
- Combine salad - combine cooled sweet potato, cooled rice, and remaining salad ingredients including carrot, celery, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, and cilantro. Add the chili lime vinaigrette, and toss to combine. Enjoy!
Tips:
- Omit the cilantro and add a can of black beans (optional, but adds protein if serving as a meal).
- Leave the dressing off until you are ready to serve.
- Portion out into 2 cup meal prep containers and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Video
Nutrition Information
© Sweet Peas & Saffron - Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited.
Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
Cameo says
Has anyone tried freezing this and thawing it out later?
Denise says
Hi Cameo, I wouldn't recommend freezing this one, the veggies will soften and may get slimy.
Alli says
I made this last night and we loved it. So pretty and tasty. I'm looking forward to the leftovers for my lunch today. 🙂
I'm sure it's delicious as written, but I did make a couple of changes: 1. I saw my semi-solid coconut oil in the pantry when I reached in for the olive oil, and decided to toss the sweet potatoes with that. It added a very light flavor that worked perfectly with the chile-lime flavors. 2. I was out of cumin - oh no, what to do! In place of the 1/4 tsp of cumin, I added 1/8 tsp each of turmeric and coriander. Luckily it tasted fine. 🙂 But next time (probably next week) I'll use the cumin. 3. I left out the celery just because nobody in my family is crazy about it, and the salad already had such a variety of color and crunch.
Thank you for sharing this lovely tasty recipe!
Denise says
Love your modifications, and I'm glad you enjoyed the salad!
Stephanie says
The salad was fabulous! I used farro since I had it on hand. Warmed it up just a little bit to take the chill off of it. Any ideas on calorie count?
Denise says
Love that you used farro, now I want to try it! I haven't added nutritional info to this recipe yet (most of my older recipes don't have that info) but I'll let you know as soon as I do!
Megan Davies says
This salad looks incredible! I think i'm going to try and make it tonight and save the rest for lunch! I'm assuming this is meant to be eaten cold, could I warm it as well?
Denise says
Hi Megan! Thanks so much! You know, I've only eaten it cold. I bet it would be yummy hot, too though...let me know how it is if you try it!
Julie says
I made this tonight and I wanted to lick my plate. The vinaigrette was amazing with the sweet potato. I didn't have any wild rice, so I used quinoa. I also added black beans and corn.
Denise says
I'm so glad you liked the salad, Julie! I bet the quinoa, black beans and corn were delicious!
Heidi says
Made it. Tasted it. Loved it! Wondering how many calories this is per serving or how many weight watchers points? - thanks
Denise says
Hi Heidi! I'm so glad you liked the salad! I'm not actually sure how many calories or WW points are in the salad (I don't provide them for legal reasons), however you could try putting it through a calculator like My Fitness Pal or Spark Recipes.
Ms. Becky says
I just made this salad and it is delicious. I am often wary of trying new things - I buy strictly organic and if the recipe doesn't pan out, I've wasted all that good stuff. It has happened many times, I tell you. Well, this time I did not strike out! Thanks for a delicious, nutritious salad that I'm able to make for my husband's lunch. I hope you have a beautiful day!
Denise says
Hi Ms Becky! So glad you liked the salad 🙂 There is nothing worse than wasting good ingredients, especially organic! Have a great week!
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says
We didn't get very many trick-or-treaters either since it was raining and chilly. This salad looks perfect for detoxing! Love all those glorious sweet potatoes and the chili lime vinaigrette sounds amazing!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
Shawn and I did the same thing with the scary movies on Netflix! Waaaay too scary looking! We settled on Hocus Pocus. That's a safe one. Sharknado is so funny, huh? They're coming out with part 2 soon. I love this wild rice bowl! Perfect for fall. And that chilli lime vinaigrette is perfect for this.
Denise says
Aaah I was looking at Hocus Pocus on On Demand but we don't have it on our netflix and I didn't want to pay $6. But I loved Hocus Pocus so much growing up I went to see it in the theaters twice! I want to re-watch it 🙂
Jess @ Flying on Jess Fuel says
oooh, this sounds awesome! Such a PRETTY salad and full of delicious ingredients, too! I love that all the colors means lots of nutrients!!
Denise says
Totally! I hadn't meant to put so many veggies in the salad but just kept going and couldn't stop myself. I like a nice rainbow in my salad 😉
Annie @Maebells says
I am such a bad salad maker, I never come up with a good flavor combo. I love this though! I can't wait to try it!
Denise says
Thanks, Nicole! I often put honey in my vinaigrettes to just get a touch of sweetness, you should try it!
Raquel @ My California Roots says
YUM! That looks so delicious. The dressing sounds so good! Chili, honey & lime are the perfect dressing combo, in my opinion 🙂
Denise says
Thanks Raquel! The dressing is my favorite part 🙂 Trying to think of what I can put it on next!
Isadora @ she likes food says
We had way more trick or treaters than I thought we were gonna get and it was so much fun! I still ate way too much candy now and could really use a salad like this! I love everything you put in here and that vinaigrette sounds awesome!
Denise says
I'm jealous of your trick-or-treaters, Isadora! Love seeing the little kiddos in their costumes 🙂 Thanks so much!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
I can't believe that Halloween is over and it's November already! Time sure flies. This salad looks amazing, Denise! I love the pretty colors and combination of veggies. Sounds like a perfect fall salad!
Denise says
Thanks, Cailee, I'm a sweet potato addict, and I see you are one too 🙂
Kristine @ Kristine's Kitchen says
Wow, this looks SO good! I love how colorful and healthy it is. Recipes that I can make for dinner and then enjoy for lunches later in the week are my favorite! Pinned!
Denise says
Thanks, Kristine! I love multi-purpose dishes, less work for me 🙂
Emma {Emma's Little Kitchen} says
It is certainly time to bust out the hearty, grainy salads! I'm going to start with this one, lush!
Denise says
It snowed here yesterday! Now that it's November, I'm really getting into the hearty foods. Thanks, Emma!
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
What a delicious salad recipe Denise! The star of this whole dish though is that chilli and lime vinaigrette.. it looks and sounds so delicious. Definitely a recipe I can see myself creating!
Denise says
Oh I am in love with the Chili-Lime Vinaigrette. I could put it on any salad 🙂 Thanks, Thalia!
Leah | So, How's It Taste? says
Look at that color! Gorgeous! I am drooling over this one. This sounds so good and I bet the leftovers are awesome, too. Might have to make this for the work week!
Denise says
Thanks, Leah! It makes for a great lunch 🙂