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 potato salad recipe only using fresh herbs, mustards and olive oil to bring color and flavor to your next BBQ.
It’ll wow your tastebuds, trust me!
Table of Contents
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 Recipe
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.
Easy 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.
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.
FAQs
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.
More Scrumptious Vegan Recipes
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 potato salad, please let me know in the comments how it turned out!
Fresh Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 lbs small potatoes chopped into 1/2″ cubes
- ¼ cup fresh dill stems removed + finely chopped
- ½ cup red onions diced
- 3 stalks celery diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- ½ cup black olives sliced
- 2 radishes halved and thinly sliced
- ¼ cup dill pickles diced (Claussen are my go-to)
Dressing
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tbsp pickle juice
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- black pepper to taste
- 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.
Really nice. It needs extra salt and seasoning to make it truly delicious. Loving the pickle juice in the dressing!
Here’s my sweet and spicy refrigerator pickles recipe:
2 long English cucumbers( less seeds and water content, I think). Sliced 1/4″ thick.
1/2 yellow onion, sliced then cut each slice in half
1/2-1 jalapeno cut in half, seeded and sliced
2 c. Water
1 and 3/4c. White vinegar
1/2 c. sugar
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 and1/2 TBS. Kosher salt
1 TBS. Pickling spice mix
1 tsp. Dill seed ( dill weed works just as well)
1 tsp. Red pepper flakes ( or to taste)
In a large glass mixing bowl add cucumbers, onion and jalapeno.
In a 4 cup pyrex measuring cup add the rest of the ingredients. Whisk well until sugar is dissolved. Pour over cucumbers and mix to coat. Make sure cucumbers are submerged in brine. Cover bowl with saran wrap or a lid and let rest at room temp for 2 hours. Then I put it all in a 5 pound salad bucket( ask your local deli to save you one) and cover with the lid. Now comes the hard part……. pickles need to be refrigerated for 10 days before eating. Resist the temptation. They get better with age! Hope you enjoy.
Loved this. I’m always experimenting with dressings that don’t include mayo. This did not disappoint. I am a pickle fiend. I make my own (always have a batch going in the fridge) and add them to just about everything. I will definitely make this again.
Holly, I’ve tried making cucumber pickles a few times with poor results. I love pickles too, but can’t find a good recipe. Would you mind sharing yours? (I have success with lactofermented krauts and salsas and other veggies, but not cucumbers.)
Thank you so much for that recipe, Holly! I’ve got it saved and am eager to try it once I have a glut of cukes in the garden this summer! 😀
Easy tasty recipe. I would use less onion and garlic next time.
Just made this using cauliflower instead of the potatoes. I love it!! Will be great with dinner!!
What a fantastic idea!
This salad is very good. Although for the dressing I did add an extra tsp of dill pickle juice to up the acid in it. I would use this as my potato salad in summer!
Here’s my rating…
Love this one, and I’m not a potato salad fan usually. I also missed the memo to add mustard into the dressing but I LOVED how it came out regardless. I also think my potatoes were large so I have lots of leftovers 🙂 (I’m not complaining!!)
I guess I’m more of a traditionalist when it comes to potato salad. I swapped out the dill pickles for a sweet pickle as vinegary recipes make me flush. Still a bit briney for my tastes. I did however like the added crunch of the veggies
I was very surprised at how pretty this looked. It was delicious as expected, but it absolutely had an appealing glistening look that was very appetizing before I even tasted it.
This was better than I expected.
I love different types of potato salad and this is one of them. Although I can not eat (renal failure) it I did make this and my family loved it especially my son because he hates Mayo.
This is such a great and healthy alternative to regular potato salad. The tangy dressing, turmeric and other herbs were a great addition. We have a winner in my house with this dish.
I thought this potato salad to had some nice flavors. I was surprised I liked the deal as much as I did. I thought I followed the directions correctly but mine definitely had too much red onion in it. Maybe I just got a really strong one. I wish I would have made some extra dressing because I think that would have improved it.
I enjoyed the salad but made some changes. I thought it called for too much celery so I didn’t use it all. Also, I substituted capers and caper juice for the dill pickles. Very good. Thumbs up.
You’re rawkin it!
Pickle juice for the win! Love this!
So…I followed a different recipe than the one on this blog post. When I received my Salad Challege welcome email, I printed out the recipe pdf. The PDF recipe for this salad doesnt call for dijon mustard. The blog recipe also has more exact measurements for the spices. That being said, I do like the potato salad, but it’s a little bland. I added salt and pepper,, and it was yummy.. I think the mustard would make a big difference, but even without it, it was still good.
Yes, the Dijon mustard would have given it a bit different taste and creaminess. Can’t wait to hear what you think of it next time.
The best potato salad I ever tasted !
Love this salad. I liked the radishes as it gave a little bit of a zing.