The last salad in my Big Ass Salad series is this beautiful and flavorful Sweet Potato Tex-Mex Salad!
This is one of my favorites in the series because it has some spice and really interesting flavors. It also has lots of crunch between the corn strips and crunchy veggies. Texture is key for a good salad!
I kept this version vegetarian and used sweet potatoes as the star of the show. If you don’t like that twist though, you can use almost any protein as a topper for this salad. Seared steak, sliced thin, or chili roasted chicken would work really well also.
Dig in to this tex-mex salad and make your next salad a big ass salad!
How to roast the sweet potatoes
To save time, I recommend roasting the corn strips at the same time you roast the sweet potatoes.
For the sweet potatoes, peel the potatoes and cube into about 1/2-inch cubes. Toss the sweet potatoes with olive oil and a good amount of chili powder with some salt and pepper. Spread those out on a baking sheet.
The sweet potatoes will need to roast for about 20 minutes.
They are done when they are very tender and browned around the edges.
Let these cool slightly before adding them to the salad so you don’t wilt the greens!
Making the crispy corn strips
Next up is the crispy corn strips! These are easy to make since you already have the oven on, but if you can’t be bothered you could add some corn chips on top and call it good.
Personally, I find these better than any corn chip.
Start by cutting the tortillas into strips and then tossing those strips with oil, chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. These will need to bake for about 20 minutes also. Stir them once or twice while they bake so they cook evenly.
These corn strips will continue to crisp up as they cool off.
Making the avocado ranch dressing
This salad is in definite need of a creamy dressing to tie everything together and this avocado ranch is perfect. I start it with a really ripe avocado, some sour cream, buttermilk, and loads of fresh herbs.
To make it really smooth I add it to a food processor, but if you don’t have one, you could mash the avocado and then whisk everything together.
I went for a pretty thick consisency but if you want it thinner, just add more buttermilk to thin it out to the consistency you want.
Other add-in ingredients for this tex-mex salad
The sweet potatoes and crispy corn strips are definitely the star of the show for this tex-mex salad, but don’t skimp on the other ingredients!
- Greens. You do need a lettuce base for this salad. I used a spring mix, but baby spinach or baby kale would work great also.
- Tomatoes. Quartered cherry tomatoes are an awesome add-in for a tex-mex salad like this.
- Sweet corn. If you can find good fresh sweet corn, by all means use it, but you can also use frozen.
- Red peppers. Good crunch and pepper flavor!
Sweet Potato Tex-Mex Salad with Avocado Ranch
Ingredients
- 5 ounces mixed greens
- 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and 1/2-inch cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon mild chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup sweet corn
- 1 red pepper, chopped
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
Quick tortilla strips:
- 8 small corn tortillas, sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Avocado Ranch :
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- ½ lemon, juice
- 2 tablespoons dried or fresh chives
- 1 teaspoon dried onion
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Corn Strips:
- Preheat oven to 400˚F.
- For sweet potatoes, peel and cube into 1/2-inch cubes. Toss with olive oil, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes until they are very tender and browned around the edges.
- For crispy strips, cut tortillas into strips and toss with oil, chili, cumin, salt, and pepper. Spread out in an even layer. Bake for 20 minutes, stirring twice while they bake to ensure even cooking.
For Avocado Ranch:
- Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. If it is too thick, add more buttermilk to thin out.
- If you don’t have a food processor, mash up the avocado really well and whisk together ingredients.
- Make the salad by adding mixed greens to a large bowl. Top with sweet potatoes, crispy corn strips, corn, tomatoes, red peppers, and drizzle on the dressing right before serving.
- Leftover salad will keep well if undressed in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
Storing this tex-mex salad for later
As with so many of these Big Ass Salads, the goal is to have lots of leftovers for lunches or quick meals later in the week.
This tex-mex salad keeps pretty well, but it’s best if you A) store it without the dressing. The dressing will cause everything to wilt pretty quickly.
B) Keep the corn strips separate in an airtight container at room temperature. That will keep them crispy. If you add them to the salad in the fridge, they will get soggy.
Do those things though and the salad will keep great for 3-4 days.
Here are a few other great sweet potato recipes to try!
- Sweet potato Cinnamon Roll
- Double Baked Sweet Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Gnocchi
- Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes from Yellow Bliss Road
