Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon is a naturally sweet and creamy treat that I enjoy during the summer and all year round. It seems indulgent, but really – it’s not!
More Fresh Salads
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Garden Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
- Watermelon Salad
- Festive Cranberry Salad with Chicken
- Chicken Salad with Mango
Nightshades
When I redid the Elimination Diet last year, I found that my body was reacting to potatoes. Potatoes are members of the nightshade family. Sweet potatoes are not. Nightshade vegetables also include tomatoes, peppers (sweet and hot), and eggplant. Gogi berries are related, too. These foods contain alkaloids which cause problems for some people. While nightshades are healthful for most people, according to Dr. Axe, people who struggle with food sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune disease, inflammatory bowel disease or leaky gut syndrome may find that they contribute to the condition.
Another issue with nightshades is their high-lectin content.
Everyone’s body reacts differently to the nightshades. Potatoes were the worst for me. I also reacted to raw tomatoes, but seemed to get along all right with a little cooked tomato.
Sweet Potato Salad
So, if I can’t eat potato salad, what am I to do? Create a sweet potato salad recipe, of course! Fortunately, I love sweet potatoes!
Sweet Potato Salad is great for taking to picnics and potlucks. Just be sure to keep it cooled to a safe temperature (4C or 40F or lower). I find it a great salad to have made up ahead of time to take with us when we go away in our trailer. It’s even easy enough to make in our small trailer kitchen.
This recipe uses homemade mayonnaise. If you don’t have any on hand, you can whip it up in a minute. The recipe for that is here.
Prepare your sweet potatoes and bacon first. Then it’s easy to toss the salad together. The 37-second video below the recipe shows you how:
Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon and Pecans
Ingredients
- 2 large sweet potatoes peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 6 slices bacon without spices for nightshade-free
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
Instructions
- Peel sweet potatoes and chop them into bite-size pieces. Put them in a pot with a little water, and steam them until tender. Drain.
- 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.
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!
Thanks, Elaine. Yes, salads are great in fall and winter, too!
This recipe looks so good, Cathy! Bacon, sweet potatoes, pecans, and that honey mustard dressing…I can taste it all!
I really do enjoy it!
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!
I hope you enjoy it!
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!
Thanks for stopping by, Leanne.
Your dressing sounds divine! I’ll have to give this a try this summer. Thank you for sharing such a lovely recipe!
I hope you enjoy it! It’s my go to for summer picnics.
I love the combo here! I must try this!
I’m sure you’ll love it as much as I do!
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!
You’re welcome! Sweet potatoes are the best!