Sweet Potato Noodle Salad with Chipotle Miso Sauce

Created by Laura Wright
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This sweet potato noodle salad with creamy chipotle miso sauce is a quick, vegan, super healthy, and naturally grain-free dish. Tossed with edamame for protein and toasted almonds for crunch, this is a delicious and unique salad that comes together in 30 minutes.

An overhead shot of orange sweet potato noodles topped with herbs, green edamames, sliced almonds, and sprouts.
An overhead shot of ingredients for a chipotle miso sauce
A 3/4 angle shot of a sweet potato being peeled and the peels/peeler are nearby.
Image shows a sprialized piece of sweet potato dangling from overhead.

When we were on vacation recently, Mark and I ate at this one modern hippie-dip café a couple times. They had fresh juice, tons of thoughtful, all-vegetarian/vegan options, a detectable Lionel Richie decor theme, and it didn’t smell like wheatgrass in the slightest. You actually felt kinda cool being in there. I love that this experience is becoming more common with health-conscious restaurants (as health-conscious restaurants themselves become more common yay!).

Anyway, the one night that we went there for dinner, I started with a creamy chickpea soup that was garnished with confit lemon and smoky paprika. It had a hot hummus vibe, but in a way that I really enjoyed. Mark had a mixed green salad with all kinds of spiralized vegetables, roasted beets and a chipotle miso dressing. I kept dipping my fork into that salad. The dressing was bomb.

Since we’ve been back, I’ve been using my spiralizer in earnest. Something about these previews of Spring-like weather, and the general craving for something lighter. It’s also just so much fun to turn a vegetable into a heap of noodles. I’ve played around with julienned raw sweet potatoes in a slaw/salad before, but never as the main component of a dish. It’s so delicious! The “noodles” are a little sweet and lightly crisp while still retaining that springy/stretchy noodle-like quality.

I crave sweet potatoes with chipotles in adobo regularly, so I knew that this combination could be a match made in heaven. I went a bit creamy with the chipotle miso dressing, starting with a base of raw cashew butter. Once you sprinkle in some wisps of fresh basil, golden toasted almond slivers, sprouts, and shelled edamame, you’ve got a bowl of very colourful and happy food. I think that might be a theme around here ;). I also have a wide variety of sweet potato recipes on the site if you’d like more inspiration.

Image shows a dollop of tahini and miso in a bowl of liquid in dark, shadow-y lighting.
A 3/4 angle shot of ingredients for a salad on a kitchen counter with a window in the background. The lighting is moody and dark.
An 3/4 angle shot of orange sweet potato noodles topped with herbs, green edamames, sliced almonds, and sprouts.

Sweet Potato Noodle Salad with Chipotle Miso Sauce

This sweet potato noodle salad with creamy chipotle miso sauce is a quick, vegan, super healthy, and naturally grain-free dish. Tossed with edamame for protein and toasted almonds for crunch, this is a delicious and unique salad that comes together in 30 minutes.
No ratings yet
sweet potato noodles w/ creamy chipotle miso sauce - The First Mess
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 3 minutes
Total Time: 28 minutes
Servings 4

Ingredients

Chipotle Miso Sauce

  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon raw cashew butter
  • 1 teaspoon light/mellow miso
  • 1 teaspoon maple syrup
  • 1 canned chipotle preserved in adobo, minced + 1 teaspoon of the adobo
  • 1 small clove garlic, finely grated with a rasp/microplane
  • sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

Salad Ingredients

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes, roughly 1 ⅓ lbs/600 grams, peeled
  • 1 cup frozen shelled edamame
  • 1 healthy sprig fresh basil, finely sliced (approximately ¼ cup sliced basil)
  • handful of sprouts that you like, I used broccoli sprouts
  • ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted

Equipment

  • Spiralizer or Julienne Peeler

Notes

  • If you don’t have a spiralizer, you could follow this handy tutorial from Food52 for julienning the sweet potatoes instead.
  • I haven’t tried it, but if you’re allergic to nuts, I imagine tahini or sunflower seed butter would substitute nicely for the cashew. From there, you could garnish with the corresponding seed in place of the slivered almonds.
  • Update: there have been a lot of question/comments about eating the sweet potato noodles raw. I always invite people to do their own research and decide what is best for them. I won’t ever say that something is inherently good or bad for anyone’s body/lifestyle because it’s not my place to do so. Having said ALL of that, if you still want to make this recipe (but are nervous about consuming the sweet potatoes raw), you could lightly steam or sauté the noodles before you toss the salad together. The texture will just be slightly different, but still delicious!

Instructions

  • Make the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine the lemon juice, cashew butter, and miso. Mash the cashew butter and miso into the lemon juice using the back of a spoon or small spatula. Once you have a cloudy and unified liquid, add the maple syrup, chipotle, adobo, garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Whisk the mixture vigorously until you have a smooth sauce. Check it for seasoning and set aside.
  • Set your spiralizer up with the blade that makes spaghetti-like strands. Sometimes this is called a “shredding blade.” Run the sweet potatoes through the spiralizer. Transfer the sweet potato “noodles” to a large bowl.
  • Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil. Place the frozen edamame in the pot and boil for 3 minutes. Drain the edamame and rinse. Set aside.
  • Toss the sweet potato noodles with half of the chipotle miso sauce, half the edamame, half the basil, half the sprouts, some salt, and pepper. Toss to combine. Then, drizzle the remaining sauce on top. Garnish the noodles with the remaining edamame, basil, sprouts, and slivered almonds. Serve immediately.
An overhead shot of orange sweet potato noodles topped with herbs, green edamames, sliced almonds, and sprouts.
16/03/2016 (Last Updated 25/10/2022)
Posted in: autumn, cashews, earthy, gluten free, grain-free, main course, quick, refined sugar-free, salad, salty, sauce, side dish, smoky, spicy, spring, summer, sweet, sweet potatoes, umami, vegan, winter

51 comments

Recipe Rating




  • Bella Marin

    This salad is so fresh and delicious! A huge hit with the whole family!
    thanks for sharing

  • Amy Johnson

    This was really yummy. However, with the raw sweet potatoes, it did taste starchy. Is there a way to keep the salad raw, but remove the starchiness? I was thinking of possibly soaking the potatoes? Otherwise great salad!

    • Laura

      If you still want the salad to be raw, I think soaking beforehand is the only option. I haven’t tried it personally so can’t guarantee whether it will work or not. I’d try soaking the “noodled” sweet potatoes for an hour and taste one to see where they’re at. Once you have them at a point that satisfies you, you can drain, rinse, dry and proceed.
      -L

  • Isaac Thomas

    This looks absolutely amazing!
    Having family over this weekend for lunch and will definitely be giving this a go, I feel it has the potential to be a crowd pleaser.

    Isaac Thomas,

    Peace & Love

  • caroline

    Unfortunately, my spiralizer couldn’t handle sweet potatoes. Started to julienne them, but RSI flared up. Cubed and roasted them, did everything else per recipe, and it was very tasty!

    • Laura

      I actually broke my spiralizer on a sweet potato a little while ago. Glad that your roasted remix worked out though!
      -L

  • May

    I fed this to my family for dinner, but I baked the sweet potato noodles for diplomacy. It did not go over well because the kids couldn’t handle the heat and the husband, as it turns out, doesn’t seem to like miso. But I LOVED IT! Sooooo delicious!

  • Jen

    Do not eat raw potatoes, people. They contain indigestible starches which reach the small intestine where bacteria feeds off them causing gas, stomach pain, etc. They also make their own toxins to fend off insects, which can be dangerous for human consumption.Only if you know you have very fresh potatoes and they are not bruised or damaged, only then can you “juice” them, but still you should not eat them whole.
    Do your own research before making this recipe.

    • May

      That’s not true of sweet potatoes.

  • Carolyn

    I’m finally making this tomorrow and I’m super excited to slurp those sweet sweet potatoes! Any suggestions on what to do with the rest of the can of chipotles in adobo? Thanks girl!!!

  • Alyssa

    I think i need to make this tonight, looks way too yummy!

  • Matilda

    Can’t wait to try that dressing, sounds like crack!

    I’m a bit worried by the raw sweet potato though. I don’t think it would be a huge issue to eat every now and then, but an FAO study shows that raw sweet potato contains a trypsin inhibitor (denatured by heating to 90º C for several minutes). Trypsin inhibitors make food, particularly protein, difficult to digest and affect the nutritional uptake of food. Might be a good idea to substitute carrots if this is a regular dish in one’s repertoire.

    http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0207e/t0207e08.htm

  • Sam

    Miso? Wasn’t that something Japanese? And raw potato? Never heard of eating raw potato, but may be it’s worth trying it :)

  • Amanda

    This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

  • Monica

    Amazing dish!! I love sweet potatoes so much and this recipe calls for uncooked sweet potato…interesting …I need to visit my mom she has that kitchen tool.

  • Samm

    Excuse the newbie here, but I guess I was surprised the sweet potato was raw! In my world, sweet potatoes are boiled within an inch of their life! So raw you say?! I guess I’ll have to be bold!

  • Jessie Snyder | Faring Well

    I am so right there with you, veggies in noodle form = the best. I’m ashamed how little I’ve used my spiralizer and you have definitely motivated me to pull that baby out. Loved following your HI trip on Instagram, so craving the ocean and excited to be back on a coast in a few weeks. This is stunning, too, lady! And your anthro post, crazy silly gorgeous. You have some table setting skills friend! Hope you’re having a stellar week, eating all of that rainbow – xo

  • Nicole @ thejameskitchen

    Love the flavours in this salad – and a good reason to get my spiralizer out again.
    Nicole

  • Sandra Lea

    This is my kind of food. Can’t wait to try it.

  • Natalia

    OMG, i could eat it 3 time per day! Looks so delicious!

  • Emily

    Oh wow. What a beauty of a salad. Sounds like you had an amazing trip- always fun to bring back some foodie inspiration after traveling!

  • Maya | Spice + Sprout

    yum! this looks so gooood. I’ve been procrastinating/ slightly frightened of using my spirilizer haha but I am definitely inspired to use it now <3

  • danielle // rooting the sun

    laura, i’m so happy you were able to bliss out for awhile – the ocean is damn good for that. – this is such a delicious salad woman. it’s also cosmic because i bought a bag of crinkle-cut carrots from the grocer last week, and one slightly inebriated night i pulled them out and started mowing them down. well it turns out they were sweet-potatoes and i was delightfully shocked. point? they’re so great raw. xo xo

  • Allyson

    I love your description of salads being like vegetable sundaes. This salad looks beautiful in its simplicity- and that dressing combines so many great flavors..

  • Katrina

    This is so wonderfully gorgeous. I love that dressing!

  • genevieve @ gratitude & greens

    I love everything about this salad, especially the dressing! So fresh and vibrant. And lol @ the Lionel decor, I think I could move past it if there was something delicious to distract me ;)

  • Celeste | The Whole Serving

    This is such a pretty salad, almost to pretty to eat, but trust me I’ll eat every bit of it.

  • Michelle @ Hummingbird High

    duddde. i want this right now even though it’s only 8am. glad to hear hawaii was awesome! i was following along on insta feeling all sorts of jellies. xoxo

  • valentina | sweet kabocha

    Oh my goodness, this bowl rocks! I’ve never tried raw sweet potato, it’s time for me to :D

  • Ashley

    Ahhh, stunning. SO happy you got some time away! I need to get on the raw sweet potato train. Loving everything you have going on here!

  • Christine

    This is silly, but I can’t really figure out how to use my spiralizer. Is it the type of thing you just need to get the hang of? I have a paderno I think! I love the combo of sweet potato and chipotle too. And vegetable sundae? I think that’s the best term for a big layered salad I’ve come across :)

    • Laura

      Sometimes I have issues with mine (also a Paderno)! Like I’ll be turning the handle and then it just sorta stops spinning the actual vegetable. Then I have to remove and re-align the vegetable with the blade thing. If every vegetable was perfectly straight with uniform density, there’d be no problems haha.

      I do find that this is a more common issue with harder vegetables like beets and sweet potatoes though. You’re not alone in the struggle ;)

  • Andrea

    I’m going to Hawaii next week. Could you post the name of the resteraunt?

    • Laura

      It’s called The Beet Box!

  • Michelle

    Ok this might be the final push for me to get a spiralizer. Although Joe will kill me if I get another kitchen tool….

    • Laura

      You neeeeed one! Joe doesn’t realize it yet, but he needs one too ;) xo

      • Renée

        Ah! That conversation made me laugh because since I ordered mine, it’s my man who volunteers to prepare the vegies… Man and tools you know… Go for it Michelle.

  • Sarah | Well and Full

    My spiralizer has been getting plenty of use in this spring-y weather too!! Something about the warmer weather just makes me crave fresh veggies :) Also, I never would have thought to combine chipotle peppers and miso, but they’re two of my favorite flavors and they sound AMAZING together!! :D

  • Maureen Sutherland Weiser

    This is absolutely gorgeous! Question-you don’t cook the sweet potato noodles?

    Thanks!
    Maureen

    • Claudia

      I was wondering the same thing! do you eat the sweet potatoes raw? Looks awesome!

      • Laura

        Hey Maureen and Claudia!
        Yes you leave the strands of sweet potato raw. It sounds strange at first, but I promise that it’s delicious. When they’re shredded/sliced into such thin wisps as they are here, the flavour/texture is kind of like shredded carrot in a way. Hope you try it ;)
        -L

        • Maureen Sutherland Weiser

          Thanks, Laura! I can’t wait to try this beautiful salad!!

        • cara

          Do you recommend the large spiral setting?

          • Laura

            I used the “medium” setting for this! I’m not sure if my spiralizer is different than others though.
            -L

  • Rosie

    Ahh I could add miso to almost anything, I love it so much and this looks delish! Also, these photographs make my heart sing – they are so beautiful.

    • Laura

      Thank you so much, Rosie. I think I actually do add miso to almost everything. It’s a flavour savior for sure :)
      -L

  • Dena

    This looks amazing. Thank you so much.

  • Synnøve

    Wow, looks amazing! can’t wait to try out that sauce!

  • Tori

    Omg, this salad!!!!!! I adore that you used sweet potato noodles and the thought of that creamy sauce is making me drool!

    • Laura

      Thanks so much, Tori! I hope that you get a chance to try it out ;)
      -L

  • Aubrey

    Yummy and beautiful!