This colorful, easy Sweet Potato Salad comes with a zippy mustard vinaigrette and plenty of smoky, crispy bacon. Unconventional as it may seem, this is one of my favorite potato salads recipes ever!
Potato salad with a sweet and smoky twist!
This isn’t your grandma’s old-fashioned potato salad recipe.
In fact, I’m betting you’ve never had a potato salad quite like it.
That’s because this healthy potato salad recipe is made with sweet potatoes rather than everyday russets or Yukon gold potatoes. (Save those for this Grilled Potatoes recipe.)
Plain-old potato salad often lets me down (with the rare exception of this Healthy Potato Salad).
This sweet potato salad, however, makes my taste buds sing.
Complete with a shower of crispy bacon, green onions, and celery for added crunch, everything gets tossed in a lively jalapeño-mustard vinaigrette create the best sweet potato salad recipe ever.
It’s a total crowd-pleaser.
5 Star Review
“This is absolutely AMAZING. I have made it several times and have given the recipe to at least 4 other people. I can’t say enough about how great this is!”
— Pamela —
Ingredients + Substitutions
You’ll find the full list of ingredients in the recipe card below, but here are some notes to keep in mind.
- Sweet Potatoes. Making potato salad with sweet potato is absolutely delicious! Their natural sweetness pairs well with mustardy potato salad dressing.
- Bacon. Try one of these easy bacon cooking methods for this recipe: Air Fryer Bacon and Oven Baked Bacon.
- Celery. For summer freshness and crunch. (Like in this Italian Tuna Salad.)
- Green Onions. Adds a subtle but essential bite.
- Mustard. To make this sweet potato salad the best recipe ever, opt for whole-grain mustard, not the bright yellow kind. If you enjoy German potato salad, you’ll adore the flavors in this dressing too.
- Jalapeño. Gives the simple mustard vinaigrette a little punch. If you prefer a more mild-tasting potato salad, you can reduce the amount of jalapeño or omit it completely.
- Garlic. For some extra zip.
- Rice Vinegar. Adds just enough extra acidity to the vinaigrette to balance out all the flavors and marry everything together.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prep the Ingredients (photo 1). Boil and cube the potatoes. Cook the bacon.
Mix (photo 2). Combine the celery, green onions, and bacon in a large bowl.
Make the Dressing (photo 3). Whisk together the mustard dressing ingredients.
Finish (photo 4). Stir everything together. ENJOY!
What to Serve With Sweet Potato Salad
- Grilled Mains. Like Grilled Chicken Breast, Grilled Pork Chops, or Grilled Salmon.
- Sandwiches. This salad is the perfect side for something like a Pulled Chicken Sandwich!
- Other Potluck Salads. Cover all your salad bases with BLT Pasta Salad, Pea Salad, and Fruit Salad.
Sweet Potato Salad
Video
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Ingredients
For the Sweet Potato Salad:
- 4 slices thick-cut bacon cooked*
- 3 large sweet potatoes peeled and cut into chunks (I do a rough 3/4 inch, but you can do any size you like)
- 1 cup celery hearts thinly sliced
- 1 cup green onions thinly sliced
For the Mustard Dressing:
- 1 jalapeño seeded and minced
- 2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large bot of salted water to a boil, then add the sweet potatoes. Simmer just until fork tender, about 10 to 15 minutes depending upon the size of your potato chunks. Drain, gently and quickly rinse with cold water, then set aside.
- If necessary, cook the bacon according to one of my easy methods listed below. Once cool, crumble it into a large bowl. Add the celery and green onions.
- Prepare the mustard dressing: In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the jalapeño (or fresno chile), mustard, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Add the sweet potatoes to the bowl with the bacon, drizzle with the dressing, then toss gently to combine. Taste and season with additional salt/pepper as desired. Serve warm, chilled, or at room temperature.
Notes
- TO STORE: Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- TO REHEAT: No reheating is necessary. Enjoy this sweet potato salad cold or at room temperature. However, I have warmed up leftovers as a side at dinner and they were delish. If you want to try this sweet potato salad warm, reheat it in a microwave for several minutes until heated through.
- *INGREDIENT NOTE: Try one of these easy bacon cooking methods: Air Fryer Bacon and Oven Baked Bacon.
- Recipe shared with permission from Pure Delicious.
Made this with 3 LG sweet potatoes, but I had a high ratio of celery and onion to the potatoes. Add 2 leftover boiled white potatoes. Had enough dressing, and of course I added more bacon! Everyone loved it.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I made this today and it was a HUGE hit…HUGE! This has to be one of the best potato salads one had, no lie! I also made your Lemon layer cake with the Lemon Cream Cheese icing, so delicios! Thank you for the great recipes !
Ashley, YAY!!! I am so, so happy to hear this. Thanks for trying the recipe and sharing your review!
Here’s the deal. I made this using butternut squash instead. It is orange, hard, and what I had on hand. Otherwise followed directions with less oil, more squash. I baked the squash chunks 15 mins. or so.My life is now forever changed for the better. Thank you Erin. I now must return to the bowl and ‘sample’ just to make sure.
Jim Duffey
Jim, this is so so good to hear, and I bet the recipe was delicious with butternut squash too. Thanks so much for sharing your comment and enjoy every bite!
This will be my new go to picnic/get together side! I’ve made it twice this week, and I’m in love! Way better than any mayo based potato salad I’ve tried. Thanks!
So I made this Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon this evening. It turned out beautiful and delicious! I decided to add some pomegranate arils for more color, health and yumminess. So glad I did. I wish I could include a photo to show you how lovely it is, but I’m posting it on twitter (@MaryShowalter). Thank you so much for the recipe!
Mary, I am so happy to hear this! The pomegranate sounds like a lovely addition too. Thanks so much for trying the recipe and leaving this lovely review!
I made this today for memorial weekend. I left the bacon on the side as we have some vegan family members. Delicious!
HOORAY Madeline! I am so happy to hear you all enjoyed it. It’s one of our favorites too!
Oh my gosh, lost my old sweet potato salad recipe (also with jalapeño) and stumbled across this one. So glad I did because it beats the oldie hands down! Thought I wouldn’t like the whole grain mustard, but it’s perfect. What a great blend of flavors and healthy to boot : )
So happy you enjoyed it Gina!! Thanks for sharing this lovely review, and I’m so happy you found the recipe too!
Ridiculously delicious!
Whooo hoooo! Thanks Paul!
This was fantastic! My daughter took all the leftovers back to school with her! And EVERYONE has asked for me to make it again! (Even those who aren’t that crazy about sweet potatoes.) Only changes I made were to leave out celery, use red pepper flakes instead of jalapeno, and apple cider vinegar instead of rice vinegar. And those changes had to do with what I had on hand. I will be making this all summer!! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
Melissa, I’m so glad this recipe is a hit! Thanks for taking the time to share this wonderful review.
This is absolutely AMAZING. My son actually found this recipe first and made it and then shared with me. I have made it several times since and have given the recipe to at least 4 other people. I can’t say enough about how great this is!!!
I’m SO happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Pamela! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Made a mistake. Stopped boiling sweet potatoes, quickly drained them placed in hot oven to finish cooking and hoped they crisp-up. They did crisp up a little. Add dressing. Served room temp. Everyone loved it. BUT THE NEXT DAY, EVEN BETTER TASTING. This sweet potato salad with bacon was very, very tasty. Gave friends recipe. Will make for lady’s get together. If I owned a healthy restaurant, would place Sweet Potato Salad on menu. Would definitely be a hit!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe, Kathy! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Do I have to salt the water? (Low salt diet)
Hi! Salting the water does help the potatoes cook and promotes a wonderful creamy texture, but you could skip it if needed. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
My 10 year old and I just made this together. The kid loves potato salad and loves mustard but isn’t a sweet potato fan. He loved this recipe! He measured all of the dressing ingredients even helped peel the potatoes, put the bacon on the pan and cut the celery.
I’m so happy that it was a hit, Jacqueline! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Wow……loved this recipe, and definitely will use it again.
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Laurie! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
This is one of my favs!! I’m a big sweet potato fan and just add in avocados to this sometimes as an extra BUT seriously this is so delicious ?
I’m so happy that you’ve enjoyed it, Steph! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Love at first bite!
I’m so happy that you enjoyed it, Kim! Thank you for sharing this kind review!
Hi Erin, I’m trying this for the first time today. The recipe calls for 3 large sweet potatoes, once they’re cubed, how do they measure? How many cups? I’m cutting this recipe in half. Thank you! Lorri
Hi Lorri, I’ve not measured the amount of sweet potatoes in cups, so it would be hard to say. This really is a forgiving recipe so if you are halving, I would use two medium sweet potatoes. Hope you enjoy it!
I found the dressing too bitter for my taste so added about 1Tbs sugar. Very tasty.
Hi Brian! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
My Sister in law brought this to Easter dinner and it was soooo good! We don’t have any dietary restrictions but it’s still delicious! Thankfully she sent me the link to the recipe!
Hi Frances! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This potato salad was delicious. My father-in-law is diabetic, so can’t have regular potatoes. I like to make items that don’t make him feel like he is missing out! I made this as a side for out BBQ, and the entire family loved it! Thank you!
Hi Jennifer! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
We, as a family, are trying to eat healthier. This was REALLY good. I must admit the first bite was a bit discombobulating, as we don’t do a lot of vinegar. But by the second bite, we were sold. I did use the air fryer to cook my cubed, peeled sweet potatoes, and I added a large cubed parsnip. That little lemon bite from the parsnip was an added treat. My daughter suggested next time, and there WILL BE a next time, we throw in some chopped walnuts and a little cubed apple or dried cranberries. Thank you for this. All my friends love it.
Hi Susan! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
I made it but left out the jalapeño because I wanted to make it tasty for all and my husband is very spice sensitive. I liked, it’s different, it’s low FodMap for those who have food sensitivity or IBS. I’ve already shared with a few friends.
Hi Sheryl! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
This is unbelievable easy and delicious. The dressing is heavenly. This is a favorite, for sure. Thank you
So glad thanks Elizabeth!
This was my first time making a potato salad without mayo, and I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would. The vinaigrette is really flavorful and not too heavy. I added a bit more bacon than the recipe called for (no regrets). It’s definitely worth making again. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it, Nancy! Thank you!
I wasn’t sure about sweet potatoes in a salad like this, but it actually worked. It’s a little different from what I’m used to, but not in a bad way. The bacon adds a nice touch. I think I’d season it a bit more next time. Still, it’s definitely worth trying.
Thanks so much, Becca!
This was such a refreshing change from traditional mayo-heavy potato salads. The flavors actually work really well together, especially once it’s chilled a bit. The bacon really carries the flavor, and the dressing ties everything together nicely. I’ll probably add more celery next time for extra crunch.
So glad you enjoyed it, Valeria! Thank you!