This winter salad with roasted sweet potatoes, goat cheese, dried cranberries and toasted pepitas (hulless pumpkin seeds) makes for the ultimate meal were the salad for the winter months. It’s as comforting as a salad could be in topped with rosemary vinaigrette. It’s such a fun combination of flavors and contrasting textures.

dired cranberry, roasted sweet potato, seeds, spinach

What you need for this Winter Salad:

Sweet Potato- roasting sweet potatoes is my favorite way to eat this hearty and healthy vegetable. It’s packed with nutrients and has a rich creamy flavor. When you roast them, they caramelize on the outside and add a delicious cozy flavor to the salad. If you don’t have sweet potatoes on hand try using roasted carrots as a substitute. If you enjoy roasted sweet potatoes you will enjoy Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Yogurt Dipping Sauce and Roasted Sweet Potato and Za’tar Chickpeas Warm Salad (with Pesto vinaigrette),
Toasted Pepitas- pepitas are pumpkin seeds without the husks. They are great to have on hand for salads like this one or to add a delicious crunchy texture to pumpkin bread. Taking the time to toast the pepitas helps bring out a nutty, crunchy flavor. It’s worth the few minutes of time and can be made ahead of time in batches so you have them on the ready.
Hearty Greens- you’ll want to use spinach or arugula for this winter salad. Both spinach and arugula are super hearty and hold their texture and flavor with the addition of warm ingredients.
Goat Cheese- the creamy texture and buttery, tart flavors of goat cheese works really well with the rosemary vinaigrette and the chewy tartness of the dried cranberries.
Dried Cranberries- the chewy tartness of dried cranberries works really well with the richness of the goat cheese and the sweet soft texture of the sweet potatoes. If you don’t have dried cranberries you could always use dried apricots as a substitute.

Rosemary, lemons, garlic, honey, pepper grinder

What do you need for the rosemary vinaigrette:

Fresh Rosemary- fresh rosemary is the major aromatic flavor in this salad dressing. Because the fresh rosemary is softer and more tender than dry rosemary, I really encourage you to get fresh rosemary for the salad. It makes it easier to create a nice smooth texture to the dressing.
Garlic- we only need three cloves of garlic for the dressing. One of my favorite kitchen hacks is to have jarred chopped garlic in my refrigerator at all times. When I’m in a rush it cuts down on prep time.
Lemon Juice- lemon juice brings the acidic part of this salad dressing. Lemon juice is another ingredient I love to have on hand in my refrigerator. Somehow we have a tendency to rip through lemons in our house so it’s always nice to have back up bottle of lemon juice.
Olive Oil- I definitely prefer olive oil for the salad dressing but if you were in a pinch you could probably use vegetable oil or another neutral-flavored oil.
Honey- just the tiniest bit of honey helps balance out this salad dressing with a little sweetness.

How to roast sweet potatoes:

Start by preheating the oven to 400°.

Using a sharp knife, slice your sweet potato into long strips like steak fries. Placed the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and coat with olive oil, salt, pepper, and a sprinkling of fresh or dried rosemary.

Roast of the sweet potatoes for 20 to 25 minutes or until the edges of the sweet potatoes becomes lightly browned and caramelized. Halfway through the cooking process take the time to flip the sweet potatoes over.

How to toast pepitas:

Pepitas are pretty tasty In their rough form but for a boost of nutty flavor, I like to toast them for a few minutes. Heat up a frying pan on medium high heat. Add the seeds to the pan and continually stir with a wooden spoon. Do not walk away from this because it’s very easy to burn them. The process will only take 2 to 5 minutes depending on how well your pan distributes heat. Remove the pepitas from the frying pan as soon as you see them get a little color. If you’re making a large amount of these toasted seeds store them in an airtight container once they are cool.

Winter Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Toasted Pepitas

Assembling the salad:

Place the bed of spinach or arugula on the bottom of your serving bowl. Add the toasted pepitas and dried cranberries.

If you’re serving the salad warm, add the roasted sweet potatoes immediately to the salad after they come out of the oven. While the sweet potatoes are still warm, add the crumbled goat cheese. Toss the salad with the rosemary vinaigrette.

How to make the rosemary vinaigrette:

Start by removing the fresh rosemary leaves from their stem. Place all of the vinaigrette ingredients, garlic, rosemary, sea salt, lemon juice, olive oil, black pepper, and honey into a jar and use an immersion blender to fully combine and emulsify. The dressing in this recipe makes the perfect amount for one large salad or two side salads.

If you’re making the salad ahead of time to serve at a party:

For a large crowd I triple or quadruple the recipe. If you’re making this salad ahead of time for a gathering, wait for the sweet potatoes to cool before adding them to the greens. You could assemble all of the elements of the salad ahead of time as long as the sweet potatoes are cooled. Wait on dressing the salad until a half hour before serving.

What to serve with Winter Salad with Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Toasted Pepitas:

This winter salad is a huge crowd pleaser at parties. I love serving it as a side with my large batch Bolognese. It’s also delicious on its own for a hearty and healthy dinner.

If you’re looking for some additional protein, feel free to add cannellini white beans or roasted chicken.

Don’t forget to share a photo on Instagram and tag me if you make this recipe! Or leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out. Nothing makes me happier than seeing what you create in a kitchen.

More Warm Winter Salad Ideas:

Recipe