
My love affair with sweet potato continues. I have made quite a few variations of roasted sweet potato and chickpea salad but this one must be one of the favourites. Not only does it have the classic combo of sweet potato and chickpeas (as the name suggests) but what makes it really special is the dressing.
It’s just a simple tahini based dressing but it really compliments the other flavours of this salad. Just another example where simple things are the best! I wanted to make this dressing more red in colour so I added tomato puree to it and it made it taste amazing. As always when making dressings, the key is to keep tasting it and adjusting the ingredients as you go to get the perfect taste for you. Therefore, the amounts of different ingredients needed are only directional in this recipe and you can (and you should!) adjust them based on what you like.
Another trick here is to use leaves of beetroot as a salad. I love the taste and what’s more is that apparently beet greens are also really good for you so don’t through them away when using beetroot in your cooking. So many people waist this part of beetroot but you really shouldn’t. However, if you don’t have beet green, you can also replace it with other dark greens such as kale or spinach.
This insanely simple recipe also makes an insanely delicious meal so I hope you enjoy it. I’m also planning to make just the roasted sweet potatoes and the dressing for a healthy snack the coming weekend.. it’s just the best combo ever!

- 2 Sweet potatoes
- 1x400g can chickpeas
- 1-2tsp each: ground cumin, ground coriander, garlic granules, ground ginger, smoked paprika and salt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Beetroot leaves for salad (alternatively, use kale or spinach)
- 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
- 1 avocado
- For the tahini dressing:
- 2-3 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp garlic powder/granules
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Pre-heat oven to 175°C
- Rinse and cut the sweet potatoes into slices (you can leave the skin on)
- Drain and rinse the chickpeas
- Add both the sliced sweet potatoes and chickpeas in to a mixing bowl and add all the spices and 1tbsp olive oil. Toss around properly to make sure everything gets coated with the spice mixture
- Spread the sweet potatoes slices and chickpeas on to a baking tray lined with a baking sheet. Bake for 20-30 minutes flipping the sweet potatoes around after about 20 minutes to ensure even bake
- Rinse the beetroot leaves properly and then chop into desired pieces
- Roast the pumpkin seeds on a dry pan for a couple of minutes (be careful not to burn them)
- Cut the avocado into pieces
- To make the dressing, mix all the ingredients and add water to get a smooth dressing like consistency. Adjust the amount of ingredients to taste
- Serve the sweet potatoes and chickpeas on a beetroot salad base and top with avocado, pumpkin seeds and the dressing. Enjoy!