Living in the south and being the wife of a minister I encounter more than my fair share of potato salad. At every potluck, every picnic, every get together and southern style buffet you can bet there will be more than one dish of creamy white potato salad. Each with its own “secret family recipe”.
Unfortunately, even before I went on the autoimmune protocol diet, potatoes and I didn’t get along. I would occasionally eat a French fry or a chip only to become bloated and uncomfortable a little while later. It was only after reading Sarah Balantyne’s book The Paleo Approach that I learned that white potatoes are actually nightshades.
As I have explained in past posts, nightshades contain highly inflammatory substances that can damage the gut lining and increase inflammation, which is very detrimental for those of us trying to restore our gut health and manage autoimmune diseases.
Earlier this month, however, I decided to try to make a savory and enjoyable “potato” salad with sweet potatoes to take to a fourth of July party. I experimented a bit, but it didn’t take long to find this enjoyable combination. Leaving a little bit of firmness in the sweet potatoes gives them a more starchy texture like white potatoes and the bacon, onion, celery and garlic give a good savory taste. The tanginess of the dressing is more similar to German potato salad, which is what I grew up on, than it is to southern style potato salad but it is still delicious. This was a crowd pleaser and it is perfect for any of the summer picnics or celebrations you still have left! Enjoy!
- 3 Sweet Potatoes
- 6 Slices of Bacon
- 1/2 White Onion
- 2 Stalks of Celery
- 2 TBS Olive Oil
- 1 TBS Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 TBS Maple Syrup
- 1/2 Tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 Tsp of Salt
- 1/4 Tsp of Ground Ginger
- Peel your sweet potatoes and cube them. In a large pot, cover the sweet potatoes with water and cook on medium heat until they are just soft enough to be punctured with a fork.
- Don’t over cook them.
- In a medium pan cook your bacon until crispy and set aside to cool.
- In a food processor combine our onion, celery and garlic and blend until well chopped.
- Combine the sweet potatoes, celery, onion, and garlic.
- Crumble your bacon on top.
- In a smal bowl combine your olive oil, vinegar, maple syrup and spices and stir well.
- Pour the dressing over the salad, toss to coat and chill before serving.
17 Comments
My daughter loves sweet potatoes. I have never even considered putting them in a salad before. Thanks for the good idea!
What a great idea! I’m going to make this for sure!
Looks really good!
Thanks 🙂
Oh yummy – bacon makes everything great! My girls would love this!
I was already hooked when I read the recipe title! This sounds amazing. Sweet potatoes are my favorite and I am always looking for new recipes to use them in. I pinned this, and it’s definitely getting made soon. Yum.
Thanks Amanda 🙂
I am all about sweet potatoes right now! i am adding this to my list !
I didn’t know that about white potatoes! No problem here, though. Sweet potatoes are so much better anyways. 🙂
This sounds absolutely delicious! Pinning this for later for sure! Thanks! <3
Love the idea of adding ginger to this!
Love this spin on potato salad! Not a bacon eater myself, but I think I’ll try this out sans meat! 🙂
Sweet potatoes vary in size so much. Could you let us know about how many cups of diced sweet potato it should be? Thanks! Beautiful recipe!
2.5-3 cups would probably work just fine.
Making this on Memorial Day for the first time– can’t wait to try it.
Thank you, so much!
You left out the garlic in the ingredient list. I could figure it out myself, but others might want to know how much you use. Can’t wait to make this recipe.
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