Easy Vegan Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Peanut Dressing

Spiced Peanut Sweet Potato Salad, from Deliciously Ella

Photo by Ty Mecham

Test Kitchen-Approved

Author Notes

As anyone who has ever met me can confirm, I don't like to go a day without eating peanut butter. This warm sweet potato salad from Deliciously Ella makes that so, so easy. I love to add the optional chopped radicchio, for crunch and for a subtle bitterness that balances the dish beautifully.

Printed with permission from Ella Mills (Woodward)'s "Deliciously Ella: The Plant-Based Cookbook": "I think this is my favorite recipe in the book; I'm completely addicted to it. The sweet potatoes are roasted with ginger, cinnamon and cumin until they're perfectly tender, then they're tossed with sesame seeds, dates, parsley and a smooth peanut butter dressing while still warm. They're heaven! I eat these on their own, because they're just so good, but they are a great side too. At the deli we sometimes serve this with chopped radicchio, which is a delicious addition and adds some more color to the dish." —Ella Quittner

Prep time 5 minutes
Cook time 50 minutes
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Ingredients

For the Salad
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 handful of parsley, chopped
45 grams dates, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon (heaped) black sesame seeds (white sesame seeds also work—you'll just need to toast them)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 handful of peanuts, chopped and toasted, for serving (optional)
1 handful chopped radicchio for serving (optional)

For the Dressing
2 tablespoons date syrup or maple syrup
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 lemon, juiced (you'll use the juice)

In This Recipe

Directions

Preheat the oven to 240°C (464°F, fan 220°C) .
Place the sweet potatoes in a large baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil, add the spices and some salt and pepper and mix well, ensuring everything gets coated. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until they're really soft.
While the sweet potatoes are cooking, make the dressing, whisking everything with some salt until smooth.
Next, place the parsley and dates in a large bowl with the sesame seeds. Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, add them to the bowl with the dressing and mix everything together. Sprinkle with toasted peanuts, if using, serve and enjoy.

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Ella Quittner is a a writer at Food52. She covers food, travel, wellness, lifestyle, home, novelty snacks, and internet-famous sandwiches. You can follow her on Instagram @equittner, or Twitter at @ellaquittner. She also develops recipes for Food52, and has a soft spot for all pasta, anything spicy, and salty chocolate things.

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8 Reviews

NXL July 4, 2019

This was fantastic! Like some others, it seemed like a lot of sweetness to me, so I used only 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. I think using none would have been fine. I substituted cilantro for the parsley, and almond butter for peanut butter because that's what I had on hand. Also added heat with some pepper flakes. The arugula was a nice bitterness.

Niki C. May 20, 2019

This was great! The only thing I would change is the sweetness of the dressing. Between that, the sweet potatoes and the dates it's a little much. I'd cut the syrup in the dressing in half, if not omit it entirely.

Katie H. May 15, 2019

I didn’t have dates so I left those out. I figured the maple syrup and the sweetness of the potatoes would carry through. They did. Although, I’m sure the texture of dates would be lovely in this dish.

It tasted good hot and cold while holding up as leftovers.

The next day for leftovers I tossed this with an equal amount of spicy Farro.

debsiegel May 15, 2019

Any thoughts on how tahini would pair with the spices if I used that instead of peanut butter in the dressing?

kimmiebeck May 6, 2019

How much is 45 grams dates?

Amber B. May 8, 2019

A little less than 2 oz

Kyle E. May 8, 2019

It’s about like 6 dates. Just use the nutritional guide on the package if it’s provided.

Bubba May 10, 2019

15 grams is a tablespoon. So 45g is 3 tablespoons or 1.5 ounces