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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.
Not too bad for a potato salad. However, I prefer a creamer salad made with yogurt and no oil.
I haven’t had potato salad in quite a while – it was pleasant memory made new again ๐
Delicious!! This will be our new potato salad recipe! Great flavor and texture without mayo.
My hubby had 2 helpings. We ate it as a side dish.
I used roasted cauliflower, instead potato. Also, left out onion and radishes. Everything else I followed the instructions. Was really good.
Cauliflower is a great sub for the potatoes! Nicely done!
Wow, enjoyed the textures in the potato salad today! Nice to really have something to bite into. I wouldnโt have thought to put this combination of ingredients together but it tasted great! Looking forward to leftovers tomorrow, yum.
Tasted really yummy and was filling! Enjoyed it a lot.
Good side dish. The recipe left out the Dijon mustard which I think it needed. Tweak the seasoning to suit your tastes. I thought it could use a little more acidity so added a splash of vinegar. I also like my potato salad warm and this recipe adapted well.
Nice blend of flavors. It is different from a creamy potato salad, and a nice alternative.
This is my favorite salad,I ate the whole bowl and wanted more.
I really enjoyed without all the mayonnaise.
Great recipe and looking forward to each one everyday.
Nice change from a traditional potato salad.
There were some issues with the salad and it didnโt taste so great but I want to believe itโs because some of my ingredients from the store were not as good. I feel it could be a 5star if given the right love and another hopeful try. For now. Iโll leave it as is and appreciate the effort put in to make it.
I liked this recipe for potato salad. It was different from any I have ever eaten, but the flavors and textures were great. I liked the creaminess of the potatoes, the crunch of the celery and radishes, and the saltiness of the pickles and olives. I didnโt realize I needed Dijon mustard in the dressing, so next time I will add that, and I am sure that will make it even better. In addition to the paprika, I added some crushed red pepper flakes to kick the heat up a notch.
Crushed red pepper flakes are a great idea to add a little extra kick! Sorry about the Dijon mustard mishap! If you make it again, def add that part in for some extra flavor.
Swapped cauliflower in for the potato and I used some powdered mustard. I had never added dill to potato salad and it was really good. Thanks for this.
The dressing made this salad! I let the whole dish marinate over night. Iโll try a little more fill next time, but, yum!!
We both enjoyed this and so different from what we are accustomed to.
Next time and there will be. We will add a chopped pickled and crumble a strip of bacon on top. All about moderation! #saladchallenge
Last name is Hurley and should be pickled EGG. Been long day and too tired to type!
Those will be some delicious toppings to add! Good idea!
Yum! Yum!! This is my favorite so far!! I did add some sea salt to the recipe.