Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette
Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette is smoky grilled sweet potato with crumbled bacon and fresh veggies tossed in a maple bacon dressing!
**This post was originally published in September 2014. The photos, recipe and part of the text have been updated.
Summer may be coming to a close, but my grill is still working over time. It’s so hot out, so I’ve been grilling anything and everything. I’ve almost been living off of grilled vegetables lately, and of course I’m still on my grilled sweet potato kick. 🙂
I know it hasn’t been very long since I posted my Grilled Sweet Potato Fries, but I tried to warn you in that post that there would be other varieties coming.
Grilled sweet potatoes are where it’s at for me.
This salad combines the smoky, sweet flavor of grilled sweet potatoes with the saltiness of bacon and the freshness of green onions and chopped bell pepper. It’s all tossed in a sweet and savory maple bacon dressing that contains a bit of bacon grease for even more bacon flavor.
When bacon is involved, you gotta go big or go home. 🙂
Despite the bit of bacon grease in the dressing, this salad is on the healthy side compared to those mayo laden potato salads.
I’ve included nutrition information for this salad, which includes all of the dressing. You definitely don’t need it all, so if you’d like to decrease the amount of fat and calories, use only enough dressing to coat the salad.
How to Grill Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes are very easy to grill and you can’t beat those beautiful grill marks!
Simply preheat your grill (or grill pan) to medium high heat to get it piping hot. Slice your sweet potatoes into 1/2″ thick rounds and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, to taste.
Place the sweet potato rounds on the grill and turn the heat down to medium. Cook for 5-7 minutes per side or until nice grill marks form and the top looks slightly blistered. If your potatoes aren’t cooking fast enough or don’t have prominent grill marks, turn the heat back up to medium high.
When in doubt, press down gently on the sweet potatoes or prick with the tip of a knife to check for doneness.
Customizing your Grilled Sweet Potato Salad
You can get totally creative with your additions, or keep it simple. Use any of your favorite veggies, or make it vegetarian by omitting the bacon.
If you prefer not to use bacon grease in your dressing, replace it with the same amount of olive oil. This grilled sweet potato salad recipe would also be wonderful with the balsamic vinaigrette that I used in this salad.
This Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette is a new and exciting twist on potato salad that’s perfect for a bbq, potluck or picnic!
Check out these other delicious summer sides!
Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette
Ingredients
For the Grilled Sweet Potato Salad:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 lbs. sweet potatoes peeled and cut into 1/2" thick rounds
- salt and pepper to taste
- 4 slices center cut sliced bacon crumbled (reserve the bacon grease for the dressing)
- 2 green onions thinly sliced, both white and green parts
- 1 small bell pepper seeded or chopped (I used half red and half yellow)
For the vinaigrette:
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon reserved bacon grease
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium high heat.
- In a medium bowl, toss the sweet potato rounds with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper until the potatoes are well coated. Place the potato rounds on the preheated grill and turn the heat down to medium. Grill 5-7 minutes per side or until each side is well charred and the potatoes are tender (the potatoes will appear slightly blistered when they're ready). Remove from heat and set aside.
- Place the olive oil, red wine vinegar, bacon grease, maple syrup, dijon mustard, salt and pepper in small bowl and whisk to combine.
- When the sweet potatoes have cooled slightly, cut them into chunks or slice width-wise and place in a serving bowl. Add the bacon, green onion and bell pepper and toss with the desired amount of dressing.
- Serve warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!
Notes
- The potato salad may be made a few hours in advance -- just keep the bacon separate to ensure that it retains its crispness.
- Feel free to substitute the veggies I've used with any of your favorites!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
53 Comments on “Grilled Sweet Potato Salad with Maple Bacon Vinaigrette”
Oh this looks right up my alley! Love me some sweet potatoes. And even better when grilled! Pinned!
Thank you, Liz! This was a fun an tasty way to change things up!
Marcie, I have to say this looks fantastic – my kind of side dish – I love sweet potatoes and of course can’t go wrong with bacon – pinned!!
Thank you, Deb! This really was a nice change of pace, and you can definitely never go wrong with bacon! 🙂
This salad looks beautiful, Marcie! I am starting to like sweet potatoes more and more, and this sounds perfect! I love the vinaigrette, too. What a great idea to add in some maple syrup! Pinning this!
Thank you, Gayle! I put maple syrup in almost everything. haha Thank you for the pin! 🙂
I’m loving the look of this salad and the best part is that although it has simple ingredients, they all have big bold flavors that make this salad such a joy to eat!!!!!! I know I’d be the happiest person if I came home to this beauty for dinner! <3
Thank you, Samina! Yes, there may not be that many ingredients in here, but they all pack a punch. haha
I love everything about this salad – all of my favorite Fall flavors in one place 🙂 Gorgeous!!
Thank you so much, Chelsea! 🙂
I just realized that I haven’t had a potato salad with sweet potatoes. I LIKE IT! What a great dressing too. A little something different adds a bite (pun intended) of adventure to everyday life.
I’d never had one either, Carol, and I wondered why? I like sweet potato fries so much better than regular, so I knew I would love it. I’m glad you like it! 🙂
Oh Marcie, this salad looks just beautiful. I can’t get enough of sweet potatoes and grilling them sound even better. Oh my and I can just imagine how amazing the maple syrup and bacon taste in here – so perfect for fall! Pinning 🙂
That’s a beautiful salad!! I am totally in love with the vinaigrette.. amazing flavours!! 🙂
Thank you, Arpita! You certainly can’t go wrong with these flavors! 🙂
Marcie this sounds amazing!! Sweet potatoes and bacon are a match made in heaven … and then with the maple and the dijon …. swoon!
Thanks, Ashley! I didn’t get any complaints on this one! 🙂
Gorgeous fall flavors! This looks awesome.
Thank you, Medha! 🙂
I’m always looking for new sweet potato recipes Marcie and this salad looks perfect! Love that bacon vinaigrette!
Thank you, Trish! I get tired of the same old same old, so this was a nice change! 🙂
The dressing sounds great, especially with grilled sweet potatoes Marcie. Just like you we are still using our grill. Why not, I refuse to let go 🙂
It’s SO terribly hot here, Kathy, I don’t want to stop using my grill! I definitely use it when it’s cold out too because it is hard to let go. 🙂
Gah! Love this use of sweet potatoes! And of course you have to add a touch of cayenne (I want to personally thank you for that! :-)). I’m always in the market for side dishes Marcie, and I think this is a great one ~ whether you call it a fusion or not, I call it yum-yum good! Pinned!
Thank you, Kristi, and I knew you would like that cayenne! Of course, you can always add more, too. 🙂 Thanks for the pin, and have a great night! 🙂
Sweet potatoes are a favorite around here, but I’ve never had them grilled! I can only imagine how delicious they are. Love the bacon (of course!) and that vinaigrette.
Thank you, Alyssa! This was a fun way to eat potato salad and without all that mayo. 🙂
Oh, man. I know this is probably wrong but I LOVE sweet potato salads even more than regular potato salad! Seriously, this looks AH-MAZING, Marcie! I love that you grilled ’em and that maple bacon dressing looks like pure perfection. 😀
It’s not wrong, Sarah — I’ll take sweet potato salads over regular ANY day. Thank you, and have a great weekend! 🙂
I love cayenne pepper with sweet potatoes! This salad has so many amazing flavors! Love it 🙂
Thank you, Christin! 🙂
I have never grilled sweet potatoes, but now I feel like I have to! Looks great, Marcie!
I hope you try them soon, Jamie! 🙂
I am the only one who likes sweet potato in my family but that’s okay I would want these all to myself!
The more for you the better! haha
I love this salad! So easy to make ! The new pictures look amazing!
This is beautiful, Marcie. My boys love sweet potato so I love that I could grill this up and serve it to the whole family! No one would object to that maple bacon vinaigrette!
We all love it over here — my boys love the bacon of course! Thank you Katherine!
I like the idea of throwing sweet potato slices on the grill! I actually haven’t broken out my grill yet, not sure why.. that’ll have to change soon!
Thanks Nicole and I hope you get grilling soon! 🙂
I need a grill so bad!! This is making me seriously want to buy one but we’re waiting until after we move into the house. Once I do, this is definitely happening!
You’ll be moved in with that grill in no time! 🙂
I love everything about this salad. Looks incredible!!
Thank you Balvinder!
This looks like a superb salad Marcie. I simply love sweet potatoes with vinaigrette and that addition of maple syrup to it is tempting me to make some for my lunch today!
Thank you so much Neha!
I totally agree! When I treat myself to bacon, I go big or go home! This salad looks delicious Marcie. Thanks for the tips on grilling sweet potato. Definitely need to try it some time!
I’m glad I’m not the only one! haha Thanks Leanne!
Looks so delicious!!
Thank you so much!
This salad is making my mouth water! So many yummy ingredients!
Thank you Zainab!