
Come winter time, I love to continue to eat salads as leafy greens are in season and I believe nature has given us an abundance of them for a reason (to keep us well through the sneezing season, for more on that click here). However I always ‘warm’ them up by adding cooked vegetables, nuts, seeds and most importantly warming aromatic herbs and spices.
So I give you this Winter Potato Salad as a beautiful, nourishing addition to your winter salad list.
Take a look at the variations (below the main recipe) for suggestions to alter the recipe to suit many dietary requirements.
For lots more sides and salad inspo, take a look at my hugely popular ebook ˜Well Nourished Sides and Salads’– where vegetables become the hero of the dish! It’s great value at just $9.95, click HERE to take a look.

One of my all time favourite salads, this Winter Sweet Potato Salad is a nourishing, filling meal.
- 60-100 g of leafy greens such as watercress (my preference), rocket or baby spinach.
- 2 tablespoons ghee, butter or coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon maple or rice malt syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- Good pinch sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
- 1 large sweet potato, diced into approx. 1.5cm chunks (you can peel it or leave the skin on)
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 1 clove garlic, unpeeled
- 1 tablespoons ghee, butter or coconut oil
- 1 x 425g can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (or 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- ½ teaspoon cumin, ground
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric, ground
- Good pinch sea salt, to taste
- Zest and juice half a lemon
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon maple or rice malt syrup
- Flesh squeezed from the baked clove of garlic
- Sea salt and pepper to taste
- Preheat your oven to 180℃.
- In a small pot combine the ghee, butter or coconut oil, syrup, cinnamon and seasoning over a low heat unit the fat has melted and ingredients combined.
- Place the sweet potato, almonds and the whole garlic clove in a baking dish and pour over the above mixture, tossing to coat the sweet potato and almonds well. Arrange in a single layer and bake for 20-30 minutes until the sweet potato is just cooked through.
- Now prepare your chickpeas. Without rinsing the small pot, add the ghee, butter or coconut oil and heat gently to melt. Now add the chickpeas, spices and seasoning and stir over a low heat until you can start to smell the spices (just a few minutes).
- Remove from the heat and stir in the juice and zest. Set aside.
- Place you leafy greens in a serving bowl or plate.
- Once the potato is cooked, remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Make you dressing by combining the ingredients together well.
- Just prior to serving, toss the dressing through the leaves to coat and top with the cooled sweet potato, almonds and chickpeas.
Nut-free
Substitute the almonds with sunflower seeds.
Legume-free
Replace the chickpeas with a cup of cooked quinoa or buckwheat.
Garlic-free
Omit the garlic, there are enough lovely flavours so you won't miss it.
Fructose-friendly
Choose rice malt syrup as your sweetener.
Make it go further
Add a cup of cooked quinoa, diced or shredded chicken or a can of tuna.
Cherrylussh says
Looks great, but I can’t eat Chick Peas cooked like that (hummus, etc is fine). Do you have any substitute that would work equally well? Many thanks.
Georgia Harding says
Check out the legume-free variation above, either would be great G x
Cherrylussh says
Many thanks. … Should have read it better, sorry!
Ilka Mills says
I made your salad tonight with spinach and served it with BBQ marinated chicken(coconut milk, coconut oil, coriander, chilli, garlic, cumin, lime juice and rapadura sugar) . The flavours in your salad were delicious. Definitely make this again. Thank you so much Georgia.
Georgia Harding says
Thanks for taking the time to post me feedback Ilka. I make a very similar chicken marinade and the flavours are just perfect for this salad, I’m glad you enjoyed it G x
Jackie Tracy says
I made this on the weekend and it was great. Had the leftovers the next day for lunch and they were amazing! Definitely worth making extra for the next day!
Georgia Harding says
Glad you enjoyed it for dinner and lunch Jackie- Yes chickpeas are best the next day (they take on loads more flavour). Thanks for the feedback G x
Rikki says
OMG best looking and tasting salad I have ever made. Can’t wait to impress some guests now I’ve tried it out on hubby and got the tick of approval.
Georgia Harding says
This has been popular – one of my personal favourites. So glad you both enjoyed it Rikki G x
Penny says
I made this for the first time this week n finished it off for lunch today….so so good!!! I thought the amount of chick peas would turn me off as sometimes I find them really dry but they were really, really good in this salad! Thanks Georgia, another great recipe of yours added to my family table!
Georgia Harding says
You’re very welcome Penny – so glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the 5 stars too G x