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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.
This is delicious! My picky husband Laso like it but he missed the hard boiled eggs.
This is my new favorite go to! It was light and delicious! It paired well with BBQ jackfruit.
BBQ jackfruit is a great pair for the Potato Salad recipe.
We had this as a side with chicken and asparagus. It was delicious! While not the traditional potato salad, we really enjoyed this healthier option. With the pickles in there, my kids even tried and liked it. I look forward to making this a couple times this summer.
It’s def a great summer recipe! Glad the whole family approves!
I enjoyed this recipe! It was nice to try a good potato salad without mayo. I would made this one again!
This potato salad was interesting and I really wasnโt sure I would like it. I was surprised at how well it tasted. I enjoyed the radishes in it and the dressing was great and not heavy like a Mayo based dressing.
I have made similar recipes. Nice change from the traditional mayo our mom’s used.
Again, I am pleasantly surprised that this potato salad was so good! I didnโt use the mustard since I got the notice too late bit it was good anyway.
The prep time is tiring me out! Then there is also the time to figure out how to use the leftover herbs. I hate to waste them because of the expense. I wish I knew how much to purchase for the first five days of the recipes. I made some tabouli today to use up the extra parsley. More time in the kitchen โน๏ธ
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Even without the mustard!
Great twist on potato salad love the balance of spice and creamy taste of potatoes!
I loved it and my kids loved it! I appreciated the tip about roasting the radishes so the little ones could enjoy too.
Loved this salad!
Spicy and crunchy! Love the depth of flavor turmeric added!
Crunch, spicy and an unusual twist with turmeric! Delicious!
I loved the idea of this recipe…dill and potatoes, I’m in! For my taste I think I will teak the dressing a little bit the next time I make this. I think it is a repeat recipe!!!
Sadly, an ingredient was omitted on the recipe guide (dijon mustard) and perhaps that may have made all the difference! Because it was a flop, I’m afraid. On a positive note, super easy to make and a thin dressing is always a nice change in a potato salad. The flavor was somewhat bland and what flavor was present was dominated by red onion.
Sorry about the Dijon mistake, Allison! It probably does kick the flavor up a notch. Way to go for making it though!
My boyfriend prepared this the night before and refrigerated it overnight. He said it was surprisingly simple to make, with it being the first time in recent memory he can recall making potato salad. He said it tasted good and only added a bit more sea salt to taste.
I was really surprised by this recipe. I was anticipating that I wasnโt gonna like it because Iโm not a big fan of pickles but I really like it itโs excellent I used radish sprouts on top