Roasted Sweet Potato Farro Salad with Sesame Dressing

Tender roasted sweet potatoes and hearty farro add plenty of bulk to this fall salad that gets dressed with a savory sesame dressing.

Somehow we’ve gone through nearly the entirety of fall without me sharing a new fall salad recipe! Unacceptable at best, absolutely sacrilegious at worst.

Whatever the case, we’re making up for it today big time in the salad department because wow, does this one ever pack a punch. We’ve got all the fall essentials like sweet potatoes, pepitas, and apples, plus some fun additions like farro and a drink-worthy sesame dressing.

There’s not a lot of salads that I would happily eat every weekday for lunch but this one made the cut. I love how filling it is on top of having so many different textures.

Plus you can double-duty it as an excellent fall side dish or meal prep it for lunches. Either way you slice it, this one is a winner.

This Salad features…

• Soft roasted sweet potato cubes and crisp apples
• Tender kale leaves and steamed farro
• A salty, savory sesame dressing

Making the Sweet Potato Salad

(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)

Ingredients You Will Need

• Sesame seeds
• Mayonnaise
• Soy sauce
• Rice wine vinegar
• Brown sugar
• Sesame oil
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Sweet potatoes
• Kale leaves
• Farro
• Apples
• Pepitas

How to Cook Farro

You will need about 2 cups cooked farro for this salad. I typically use pearled farro because this cooks up fairly quickly.

To make 2 cups cooked farro, bring 3 cups salted water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Add 1 cup pearled farro, cover pot, reduce heat to low, and allow to simmer 15-20 minutes until farro is tender. Drain farro and allow to cool before adding to salad.

Tips for Perfect Sweet Potato Salad

1. Cut sweet potatoes in uniform cubes – aim for uniform 1/2-inch cubes so the sweet potatoes roast evenly.
2. Massage kale – this helps tenderize and break down the fresh kale. Drizzle a little bit of the dressing over kale and use your fingers to massage kale until it becomes tender.
3. Toast and process sesame seeds for dressing – toast the sesame seeds over medium heat until golden brown and then pulse in food processor or a spice grinder until a fine dust forms.
4. Dress salad just before serving – for best results, wait to dress the salad until just before serving so all the ingredients stay crisp and fresh. Keep reading for make-ahead instructions.

Recipe Variations

Try these ideas for a different twist on this salad.

• Use squash – replace the sweet potatoes with diced butternut, delicata, or acorn squash.
• Try another green – try mixed spring greens, romaine, or spinach in place of the kale.
• Use another seed or nut – swap out the pepitas for sunflower seeds, toasted walnuts, or pecans.
• Swap out grains – replace the farro with couscous or quinoa.

Make Ahead Instructions

Follow these instructions for time-saving make ahead tips.

• Roast sweet potatoes – roast the sweet potatoes and store in refrigerator up to 6 days.
• Cook farro – boil the farro, allow to cool, and store in refrigerator up to 6 days.
• Make dressing – make the dressing and store in refrigerator up to 1 week.
• Assemble salad – when ready to serve salad, assemble all salad ingredients and dress with sesame dressing. You can serve the salad cold or while the sweet potato cubes are warm.

It’s the textures that really shine in this salad! Between the crunchy apple and pepitas, the soft roasted sweet potato, and all that creamy sesame dressing it hits all the right notes.

Fall salad at it’s absolute finest.

Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

Try these other fall salads next!

• Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad
• Sweet Potato Salad with Bacon Dressing
• Roasted Butternut Squash Couscous Salad