This easy paleo Moroccan Sweet Potato Salad is loaded with the spicy-sweet flavor of the Middle-East! It’s a whole30, healthy side dish with a vegan option!
I am pretty sure I was born on the wrong continent.
Actually, I am 110 percent sure.
First off, I was born in Canada aaaaaaand my soul mate lived in the States.
Wrong COUNTRY strike 1.
I just realized that Canada is on the same continent as the USA so our first sentence should have read “wrong country.” But, I am going to be real and let you in on the fact that sometimes (read: a lot) my brain doesn’t WERK. Not editing it.
Strike number 2: I am a Canadian who – gasp – HATES maple syrup on things (IN things is okay) and A-L-S-O – gasp, the sequel – hates hockey.
Buuuuut LOVESSSS Moroccan food.
Considering we’ve filled our bellies with Moroccan roasted acorn squash soup, paleo grilled Moroccan chicken bowls and a Moroccan chicken skillet, you already know about this Middle-Eastern obsession.
AND because I know you liked eating all those things RIGHT ALONG WITH ME, I can sense that you won’t mind yet another-across-the-continents (finally using the right word) recipe.
Did you know that it’s ALMOST Memorial Day? That means that GRILLING SEASON is FINALLY upon us. <– I am “that girl” who stands outside in the rain in the spring because grilled food >>>>> not grilled food.
Feeling extremely happy that sunshine + grilling will soon be a real thing and DOOM AND GLOOM rain will be out of the equation.
Also feeling very happy that potato salad is a REQUIREMENT of grilling season. Have you ever gone to a cook out where there has been ZERO potato salad? Like not even a low carb mock cauliflower potato salad?
Exactly. I think there’s a law about it in the “Cook-out Handbook of Life.” <– Not a real thing, just made it up. Don’t try to Amazon Prime it.
THIS (paleo and whole30 compliant!) potato salad, my friends in inter-webz land, is going to be the side-dish STAR of the show. Not even going to bother lying: it’s kicking last year’s sweet potato salad with avocado pesto and grilled sweet potato salad with curry almond butter vinaigrette RIGHT OUT OF THE WATER.
Which is actually what should happen to potatoes after you boil them. But, whatever.
IT’S GOOD.
The sweetness from the tender potatoes and chewy, sticky dates CRASHES into the savory spices of cumin! Cinnamon! Paprika! Allspice! And ginger! And mingles with creamy cashews in a way that coats your taste buds with velvety smooth, warm, spicy-sweet goodness. THEN, crunchy POPS of toasty pistachios, ULTRA crispy cucumber, juicy tomatoes and undertones of fresh mint and cilantro enter the scene and create the MECCA of flavor-texture OVERLEAD that your potato-salad-loving self has EVER experienced.
With eggs. Because you can’t “do” potato salad without them. <– Also in the imaginary handbook.
Unless you don’t eat eggs. Then, you can “do” this potato salad without eggs and it will still be RLY RLY yummy.
Don’t want my vegan friends to be left out of this magical-Moroccan-taste bud-sensation.
P.s I think you need to know that you’re going to be obsessed with the dates in here. I thought it might be sorta weird to mix sticky, chewy, sweet fruit with a potatoes and eggs but – SPOILER ALERT – it’s going to be your newest, most-favorite, crave-able food combo of LIFE.
That cookout you’ve got planned?
KILLING IT.
Ingredients
- 2 Lbs Sweet potatoes
- Sea salt
- 4 Large eggs (omit for vegan option)
- 1/3 Cup Pistachios
- 1 1/4 Cups Cucumber, diced
- 1 Cups Roma Tomato, Cubed
- 1/2 Cup Cilantro, roughly chopped
- 1/2 Cup Dates, thinly sliced (80g)
- 3 Tbsp Fresh mint, thinly sliced
For the dressing:
- 1 Cup Roasted cashews, soaked in water overnight *
- 7 1/2 Tbsp Water
- 2 Tbsp + 1 tsp Fresh lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp Lemon zest (about 1 very large lemon)
- 2 1/4 tsp Ground cumin
- 2 1/4 tsp Fresh ginger, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp Sea salt
- 1/4 tsp Paprika
- 1/4 tsp Ground allspice
- Pinch of pepper
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into large chunks and place them in a large pot of generously salted water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium/high so that the pot retains a steady boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 20-25 minutes. Drain and let sit until cool enough to handle.
- Place the eggs in a medium pot and cover with about an inch of water. Bring to steady boil. Then, turn off the heat (leaving the pot on the hot burner) and cover the pot. Let it stand for 10-12 minutes then immediately drain and cover with cold water. Let the eggs stand until cool enough to peel.
- Heat your oven to 375 degrees and bake the pistachios until golden brown and "nutty" smelling, about 10-12 minutes. Roughly chop and set aside.
- Drain the water from the soaking cashews and place them into a high-powered blender. Add in all the remaining "dressing" ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed. I find it's easiest to slowly increase the speed of the blender, so that the cashew get chopped up a little before you try to puree them.
- Peel the skin from the potatoes and chop into 3/4 inch cubes, placing them into a large bowl. Add in the cucumber, tomato, cilantro, dates, mint and chopped pistachios.
- Peel the eggs and roughly chop them. Add them into the bowl.
- Pour all the dressing over the salad and mix until evenly coated. Cover and let refrigerate at least 1 hour so the flavors develop.
- Season to taste with salt, if needed, and DEVOUR!
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMART POINTS: 10 POINTS+: 8. OLD POINTS: 6
YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! ????
STAY IN DA KNOW ABOUT BEHIND-THE-SCENES INFO GOING ON AT FFF BY KEEPING IN TOUCH ON TWITTER,FACEBOOK AND PINTEREST!
This post may contain affiliate links, but I would only recommend products I love. Thanks for supporting FFF!
Leave a Comment