Sweet potato and beet wild rice salad with tarragon vinaigrette

Published: Dec 10, 2018 · Modified: Jan 12, 2023 by Trish Bozeman · This post may contain affiliate links · 28 Comments

Gorgeous sweet potato and beet wild rice salad recipe! This healthy, vegan salad is loaded with roasted root vegetables, a nutty wild rice blend, tart cranberries, and sweet pecans.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Floating Leaf. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Rhubarbarians!

Hi, Rhubarbarians!

The holidays are here! I've been getting quite a few requests for healthy, vegetarian options for this time of year. Recipes that feel cozy and festive, but are still nutritious and exciting for the whole fam. Not just vegetarians.

This wild rice salad is PERFECT. It checks off all of those boxes. Gorgeous enough your holiday table ✅. Exciting for everyone, even meat eaters ✅. A healthy, yet filling option around the holidays ✅.

You'll love this golden beet arugula and goat cheese salad!

Floating Leaf Prairie Blend: Sprouted crimson lentils, wild rice, and quinoa

I'm so thrilled to be partnering with Floating Leaf Fine Foods on this post! I used the Prairie Blend for this root veggie salad, which has a mix of sprouted lentils, wild rice, and quinoa. I loved this blend for this salad, because it really brings wild rice up a notch. The quinoa and the lentils soak up the tarragon vinaigrette, while the wild rice keeps it nutty and al dente. PERFECT!

If you'd like, you can just toss in some Floating Leaf wild rice and go that route, but I highly recommend the blend!

I respect Floating Leaf's approach to considering dietary restrictions of their consumers. They are conscious of consumers with celiac disease, diabetes, heart disease and those who simply desire optimum health.

You can purchase Floating Leaf products here through their website!

How to make an easy tarragon vinaigrette:

The tarragon vinaigrette for this wild rice salad is super simple! It's only a few ingredients, but is loaded with flavor.

I like to put everything in a jar with a tight fitting and lid and shake until emulsified. But, you can also whisk everything together until it emulsifies. Whichever is easiest for you.

In a small jar, combine the shallot, tarragon, sherry vinegar, and oil. Seal with a lid and shake until everything marries together.

This is a dressing that I use for so many recipes! It's wonderful with grains because the grains soak up the flavor, but it's also great over a simple, green salad.

How to make a root vegetable wild rice salad:

This impressive root vegetable wild rice salad is really simple, but does take a bit of time to come together. First, you'll want to get your sweet potatoes and beets roasting. Toss them in some olive oil, season with S&P, spread on a baking sheet and pop in the oven.

While that's going, get your wild rice blend cooking. I recommend rinsing the rice until water runs clear to get the excess starch off. Then cook as instructed with some vegetable stock and water.

Make your vinaigrette, and toast the pecans (optional, but so worth it).

When everything is cooked, toss it all together with the exception of the beets. If you toss those too much, your whole salad will turn pink!

Can I prep this sweet potato and beet salad ahead of time?

Well... yes and no.

This wild rice salad is meant to be served warm as a side dish at a holiday table or a main dish wild rice veggie bowl. But, it is great eaten cold as leftovers the next day!

This really wouldn't be something impressive to serve reheated, especially once the color of the beets turn everything pink.

So, it can't be prepped ahead of time as a holiday side dish, but CAN be made ahead of time if you are planning to eat it cold and pink the next the day. Delicious, but not for guests. LOL!

How to serve a sweet potato wild rice salad

This recipe makes a LOT of salad. Enough to serve about 8 at your holiday table. So, it would be wonderful served as a side dish along with your holiday meal. Add some gorgeous, green tarragon leaves sprinkled on top to make it that much more beautiful. It's dairy free, vegan, vegetarian, and gluten free, so everyone at your table will love it! Even the meat eaters!

If you're making this a wild rice veggie bowl, you don't really need to serve it with anything! It's got everything you need for a full meal. Enjoy it for dinner and then again for lunch the next day. SUCH GOOD STUFF!

Recipe