Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon is a naturally sweet/salty, creamy combination of sweet potatoes, bacon, maple, mustard, and pecans. It's a delicious side dish that I enjoy making for picnics in summer and potlucks all year-round. I often make it a day ahead, because it travels well. It's suitable for gluten-free, dairy-free, and paleo diets.
Sweet Potato Salad
I created this recipe when I was avoiding regular potatoes after completing an elimination diet. Since sweet potatoes aren't nightshades, they gave me a delicious way to enjoy a creamy potato-salad-style side dish again. Fortunately, I love sweet potatoes!
I found it a great salad to have made up ahead of time to take with us when we would go away in our trailer. It's even easy enough to make in our small trailer kitchen.
Ingredients
- Sweet potatoes: These might also be called yams in the United States, but you want the orange-fleshed, smooth-skinned ones with tapered ends rather than the dark-skinned starchy tubers native to Africa and Asia.
- Bacon: Check the label on the package to ensure that your bacon is gluten-free, if necessary.
- Mayonnaise: This recipe uses homemade mayonnaise. If you don't have any on hand, you can whip it up in a minute or use your favorite store-bought variety.
How to Make Sweet Potato Salad
Cook whole sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot and then peel and chop them, OR peel and chop first and steam on the stovetop. Fry or broil bacon, and chop it.
Whisk together either homemade or store-bought mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, maple syrup, and sea salt in a small bowl for the salad dressing.
Stir the dressing with the cooked sweet potatoes gently to coat them.
Fold in the chopped bacon and sliced green onions.
Sprinkle pecan halves over the top and serve.
Storage
Sweet Potato Salad is great for taking to picnics and potlucks. Just be sure to keep it cooled to a safe temperature (4°C or 40°F or lower).
I add the pecans just before serving, so they don't get soggy.
I have never tried freezing this salad, and would not recommend doing so.
Yes, sweet potato salad can be made ahead and stored a day or two in the refrigerator. Save the pecans to add just before serving to keep them crunchy.
Yes, this sweet potato salad is gluten-free as long as the individual ingredients are gluten-free. Check labels on bacon, mustard, and any store-bought mayonnaise.
You can make this salad without bacon. It's still sweet and creamy, but you will miss the extra flavor dimension that the bacon provides.
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Recipe
Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Pecans
Equipment
- Instant Pot optional
Ingredients
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 6 slices bacon without spices for nightshade-free
- 2 green onions chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Peel sweet potatoes and chop them into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a pot with a little water, and steam them until tender. Drain.OR, cook whole sweet potatoes in an Instant Pot on a rack with a cup of water, for 12 minutes (10 if you like them a little firm), and allow the steam to release naturally. When they're cool enough to handle, pull off the skins and chop the sweet potatoes up.
- Meanwhile, fry or broil bacon until cooked. Remove from fat and allow to cool. Chop.
- Combine the mayonnaise, maple syrup, mustard, and salt for salad dressing.
- Gently stir the dressing into cooked, drained sweet potatoes until coated. Fold in the bacon and green onions. The salad can be refrigerated for a day or two at this point.
- Sprinkle pecan pieces over the salad and serve.
Lizzy says
Yum! I have been meaning to make a sweet potato salad to replace the usual potato salad for the summer and this looks perfect! Thanks for sharing!
Cathy says
You're welcome! Sweet potatoes are the best!
Tessa says
I love the combo here! I must try this!
Cathy says
I'm sure you'll love it as much as I do!
Jo Vanderwolf says
Your dressing sounds divine! I'll have to give this a try this summer. Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe!
Cathy says
I hope you enjoy it! It's my go to for summer picnics.
Leanne | Crumb Top Baking says
This is a perfectly hearty salad for summer or fall! I didn't know all that about the different nightshade foods. Thanks for sharing Cathy!
Cathy says
Thanks for stopping by, Leanne.
Jessica says
Loving how simple this recipe is and that it's clearly FULL of flavour! I think this will be added to my barbecue sides rotation!
Cathy says
I hope you enjoy it!
Lisa says
This recipe looks so good, Cathy! Bacon, sweet potatoes, pecans, and that honey mustard dressing...I can taste it all!
Cathy says
I really do enjoy it!
Elaine says
Yum! I can taste that sweet and salty combination already! This will be perfect for the fall and winter, too. Sweet potatoes are so versatile. I love your take on a traditional potato salad!
Cathy says
Thanks, Elaine. Yes, salads are great in fall and winter, too!