This recipe is taken directly from Weber’s recipe library: the Creamy Grilled Sweet Potato Salad on weber.com. It swaps the usual boiled potatoes for slices cooked on a perforated grill pan, then dresses them in a yogurt and mayonnaise mixture and chills the bowl. We have not tested it ourselves, and the steps below are a paraphrase of Weber’s published method.
Because this is a salad that gets served cold, it is also a good excuse to look at what the FDA says about keeping cold food safe outdoors. That guidance is covered after the recipe.
Ingredients
Weber lists this as serving 6 to 8, with 20 minutes of prep, 20 to 25 minutes on the grill, and 2 hours of chilling.
- 3 sweet potatoes or jewel yams, about 1 pound each, peeled
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives
Diet note: this is not vegan, because it contains Greek yogurt (dairy) and mayonnaise, which is normally made with egg. No meat or fish appears in Weber’s ingredient list, but we are not labelling it vegetarian because we have not checked the labels of the yogurt, mayonnaise or mustard you might buy.
Method
- Prepare the grill for direct cooking over medium-low heat, 300-350°F (about 150-175°C, our conversion). Put a perforated grill pan on the grill to preheat for about 10 minutes.
- Cut each sweet potato in half lengthwise, then slice the halves into 3/4-inch pieces. Whisk the oil, salt and pepper together and toss the slices in it until coated.
- Spread the slices in a single layer on the hot pan. Grill over direct medium-low heat with the lid closed for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once or twice, until they are tender when pierced with the tip of a knife.
- Take the potatoes off the grill and let them cool to room temperature.
- Whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, vinegar and mustard together in a large bowl. Fold in the cooled potatoes and the chives.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, and serve chilled.
Why the Cooling Step Matters
Weber has you cool the potatoes to room temperature before they meet the dressing, and then chill the finished salad for at least 2 hours. Both steps are worth keeping. The chilling happens in the refrigerator, before the salad ever leaves home, which sets you up to follow the outdoor guidance below.
Keeping the Salad Cold Outdoors: What the FDA Says
The FDA’s page Handling Food Safely While Eating Outdoors gives a few points that apply directly to a chilled salad like this one:
- Cold food stays at 40°F or below. The page says cold food should be stored at 40°F (about 4°C, our conversion) or below, and recommends packing cold food in a cooler with ice or frozen gel packs.
- Time limit on the table. The FDA says picnic food should not remain in the “Danger Zone”, between 40°F and 140°F (about 4°C to 60°C, our conversion), for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if outdoor temperatures are above 90°F (about 32°C, our conversion). If food has been out longer than that, the page’s advice is to discard it.
- Serving on ice. The page notes that foods such as chicken salad and desserts in individual serving dishes can be placed directly on ice, or a shallow container can be set in a deep pan filled with ice.
- Separate coolers. It suggests one cooler for drinks and another for perishable food, so the food cooler is opened less often.
- Hands. Wash with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after handling food.
The FDA’s ice-serving example is chicken salad, not a sweet potato salad, so treat that as an illustration of the method. The time limits themselves are stated for picnic food in general. This salad contains yogurt and mayonnaise, and our reading is that it belongs in the same cold-food category, but that is our inference and not something Weber or the FDA says about this specific recipe.
A Non-Creamy Alternative
If you would rather skip the dressing, Weber also publishes Grill-Roasted New Potatoes, a plain olive-oil-and-rosemary version served warm.
Keep reading
- Meathead’s Old-Fashioned Potato Salad, Kept Cold Outdoors
- America’s Test Kitchen Grilled Panzanella Salad
- Meathead’s Creamy Southern Coleslaw, Kept Cold Safely
- Weber’s Grilled New Potatoes, Plus the Parboil Tip