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Potatoes are a staple at my family gatherings in one form or another. Cheesy potatoes at Thanksgiving and Christmas, baked potatoes loaded with chili for Halloween, and the ever present potato salad at all summer events. I’ve never been a fan of any kind of mayo… so I took up the challenge to make a vegan dill potato salad recipe only using fresh dill, creamy mustards and olive oil to bring color and flavor to your next BBQ.
What Makes this Potato Salad Vegan?
Traditional potato salad has eggs either in the mayonnaise or hard boiled in the salad itself. My potato salad swaps the mayo for a delicious olive oil + mustard blend dressing, and loads up on fresh veggies.
Switching from a mayonnaise base to an olive oil one also lightens up the salad a bit. I find mayonnaise-based dishes are fairly heavy, while this lovely recipe remains light and bright… plus, it’s just SO colorful without that white sauce covering everything up!
Tips for Vegan Potato Salad
What are your must-have ingredients for potato salad? Mine include dill pickles, fresh dill, and black olives… because those were always in the salads of my childhood. Yet the original salads from my childhood weren’t vegan, so I love the new take this vegan potato salad recipe has on the classic dish.
I don’t peel the red potatoes for my salad, as boiling them with the skin on helps retain more nutrients. Dijon mustard elevates the flavor in this recipe, so that is my go-to in the dressing.
Potato Salad Ingredient Swaps
- I love recipes where I can easily sub in what I have on hand, and this potato salad is just such a recipe. If radishes aren’t your thing, then swap them with diced cucumbers or corn to keep in a bit of fresh crunch.
- If you really want the feel of a traditional potato salad, then swap in a vegan mayonnaise. These tend to be more processed, yet can give you the feel of enjoying your family’s fav old recipe and that extra creaminess.
- The pop of color in the red potatoes is super fun, yet feel free to use any potato you want (Yukon golds work great too!). If you really want a fresh change up, try using a white sweet potato… and then let me know how it turns out!
- While I love using Claussen pickles for this recipe, I bet a lot of you have great local options you might prefer. I’m a true pickle lover, so tell me your fav kind and I’ll give it a try. For a less vinegary taste, try sweet pickles.
More Scrumptious Vegan Side Dishes
I’ve got so many great vegan salads and side dishes you can share at your next backyard BBQ. Just pick the flavors that you want and get choppin’:
If you make this vegan dill potato salad, please let me know in the comments how it turned out!
Vegan Dill Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 cups golden potatoes chopped into 1/2″ cubes
- 2 tbsp red onions diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tbsp black olives sliced
- 1 radish halved and thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp dill pickles diced
Dressing
- 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp pickle juice
- 1 tbsp fresh dill stems removed + finely chopped
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- โ tsp ground turmeric
- โ black pepper
- โ smoked paprika
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot with cold water. Bring to boil then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 10 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes, set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, mix all dressing ingredients together.
- Add the potatoes and remaining vegetables and herbs into the dressing and stir well.
- Garnish with radishes and paprika.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Vegan Dill Potato Salad Common Questions
Traditional potato salad has eggs in it, either in the mayonnaise or hard boiled. My potato salad swaps the mayo for a delicious olive oil based dressing, and loads up on fresh veggies.
I’ve had it both ways! The potatoes are cooked, yet I like mine to chill a bit in the fridge before serving. Honestly, letting the salad refrigerate overnight before serving will bring out the best flavor.
I love using red potatoes. They are super easy to slice up, and taste delicious. You can also use Yukon Gold potatoes for a buttery taste.
Loved the pickle flavor in this potato salad. I think it’ll be even better tomorrow!
We made this ahead of timeโฆ newsflashโฆit really tastes good after the flavors meld!
This one was one of my husbands favorite. He has always been a big potato salad fan
Fun flavors! Makes it feel a bit like summer!
Love this potato salad. Will definitely be a staple for this summerโs picnics.
So, Iโm not into cold potatoes which means potato salad is not my jam. That also means I made so many mods to this recipe that itโs probably not fair for me to review it I used all of the called-for ingredients (except pickles), but roasted everything and served it warm. Which was delicious, but definitely not what the recipe intended!
Your review is AMAZING! I love the suggestion to try it warm for those who also don’t like cold potatoes! I’m sure there are some Rawkstars out there who would LOVE to see your review of Warm Vegan Potato Salad! Thanks for this!
I am not a dill fan, nor a salty pickle fan, and I missed adding the Dijon mustard, so I did not have my hopes up for this recipe. Surprise! It tasted great! Even with the missing Dijon. Used Russets, since that’s what I had on hand. Left on the skins (nutrition, yes, but it’s just that much easier to leave them clothed!). For those who are skeptical, perhaps scale the recipe down a little then give it a whirl (Maybe 2 servings instead of 6, like we did for the 10-Day Salad Challenge in 2022.) Will be trying this again, with the mustard.
Nice to bring at parties, but I dont think I would do it to eat at home…
Nice alternative to potato salad with Mayo.
This is def a keeper! I omitted the onions because I am not a fan and would add more radish when I make it again. I used Kalamata olives.
It was really good!
Salad #3 – good but as some previous comments stated, I missed the Dijon mustard in the dressing. I will add some to the leftovers and see if it changes the flavor a bit. I thought it was a little bland. And my ratio of potatoes to other ingredients was off as well…too many potatoes. Still enjoyed the lighter version of potato salad.
I loved this potato salad. Itโs so delicious, I donโt like celery but I love it now.
Thank you Jenโบ๏ธBless you all.
So far, this is not my favorite. I have always made my Grandmothers German potato salad.
My Dad always said that I made it better than my Mom. My husband loves it.
We were not a fan of the Vegan Potato salad and will not be making it again but glad I made and tried it. You never know until you try!
Great job giving it a shot!
So delicious! I added some cayenne pepper for extra flavor and heat and replaced the dill with cilantro. The pickle juice made it so refreshing! I normally get rid of the pickle juice when the jar is empty. Since this salad is a keeper, it will allow me to incorporate all the pickle juice and avoid future wastage.
I have often seen potato salad recipes with pickles in it but have never made it with them before. Decided to give it a go for the challenge. Glad I did! Yum!
This was delicious (!); my red onion was super pungent so I cut the amount down and it was still a bit much – but you never know with red onion! I might try lightly sautรฉing it next time to take away some of the punch. Super easy recipe and just the right amount for a couple of meals. I am not a mayo fan, so this is perfect!