Vegan Potato Salad

Velvety and soft-boiled Yukon Gold potatoes meet a rich, tangy, and creamy dressing made with vegan mayo and a few simple flavoring ingredients.

This vegan potato salad is so tasty it won’t make it to the table!

The secret? Always use a combination of fresh herbs like chives and dill, and drizzle the potatoes with vinegar right after boiling them to make them pop with flavor.

It’s an excellent cold summer salad, as you can make it ahead and eat it out from the fridge.

It’s a great way to eat potatoes during grill, picnics, and BBQ season, and everyone will love it. We have it with store-bought plant-based burgers, and it’s just perfect.

Ptss… This blog post will first show you a classic vegan potato salad inspired by German/North American potato salad.

However, if you want to try something different, check out our variations chapter below; we make a mean no-mayo vegan potato salad recipe and a curry-flavored one. They are all dairy-free, vegan, and delicious!

Potatoes

We use Yukon Gold potatoes. They are easy to find and have a soft, almost creamy texture once boiled.

Cook the potatoes with the peel, as they’ll absorb less water this way. Also, it’s effortless to peel them after boiling them.

Apple cider vinegar

Apple cider vinegar is an essential ingredient. We use it twice to drizzle on the boiled potatoes and once in the dressing.

Vinegar is a flavor booster, especially with potatoes, thanks to its acidity.

Substitute white wine vinegar or red wine vinegar for apple cider vinegar.

Vegan mayonnaise

Vegan mayo is the main ingredient for the dressing. You can use store-bought or homemade vegan mayo.

Make our vegan mayo recipe in 2 minutes with an immersion blender and unsweetened soy milk, sunflower or canola oil, olive oil, lemon juice, mustard, and salt.

Substitute half of the mayo for vegan sour cream.

Shallot

Shallots add the perfect tang to the salad, making it fresh and spicy.

Substitute scallions or red onions for shallots, although red onions are sharper in flavor.

Celery

Celery is a must in potato salad. We use a fresh stalk, finely cut, to add crunch and freshness.

You can also add a teaspoon of celery seeds if you have them in your pantry.

Mustard

Mustard adds a mild, pleasant, spicy, and subtly bitter taste that perfectly fits this recipe.

You can use regular yellow American mustard or Dijon mustard.

Pickled Cucumber

Pickled cucumbers or gherkins add a delicious tang and a delectable taste.

Substitute pickle relish (if you like a touch of sweetness) or any other pickled vegetables for pickled cucumbers.

Fresh herbs

We use chopped dill, chives, and flat-leaf parsley. You can also use fresh coriander.

Paprika

Paprika is for garnishing. We sprinkle a pinch of top to add an appetizing red color.

1. Boil the potatoes

Add the potatoes to a pot with 1/2 gallon of cold water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then cook for 30 minutes or until fork-tender.

Drain them, let them cool down for a few minutes, then peel them with the help of a paring knife.

Chop the boiled and peeled potatoes into bite-size pieces and add them to a large mixing bowl.

Drizzle them with 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar while still warm.

2. Potato salad dressing

To another bowl, add thinly sliced celery, finely chopped shallot, finely chopped dill, parsley, and chives, vegan mayo, mustard, apple cider vinegar, chopped pickles, salt, pepper, and optionally celery seeds.

Stir until well combined.

Pour the dressing into the bowl with the potatoes and toss gently until the potatoes are completely coated in the sauce. Taste and adjust for salt.

You can serve it immediately or store it in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the flavors to meld.

Transfer into a serving bowl and sprinkle with a pinch of paprika.

No mayo potato salad

Our no-mayonnaise potato salad is delicious and an excellent choice if you’d like to try something new.

You’ll need the following:

• 2 pounds (900 g) of Yukon Gold potatoes
• 1 cup (160 g) chickpeas
• 3 tbsp (40 g) hazelnuts
• 3 tbsp (45 g) extra virgin olive oil
• 1 handful arugula
• 1 handful of flat-leave parsley
• 1 handful dill
• ½ cup (120 g) potato cooking water
• ¼ clove garlic
• 2 tbsp (30 g) lemon juice
• 2 green onions
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• 1 pinch of black pepper

Scrub the potatoes, then cut them into 2 inches (0.5 cm) thin slices—no need to peel them.

Add one tablespoon of coarse sea salt and the potatoes in a large pot with 1 gallon of cold water.

Bring to a boil, then cook for 7 minutes when the water starts to boil.

Save one cup of potato cooking water, drain the potatoes, and rinse them under cold water to lower their temperature.

To a blender, add 1 slice of boiled potato, green onion, dill, parsley, the juice of half lemon, garlic, salt, olive oil, potato cooking water, and black pepper, and blend for a few seconds.

To a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, the dressing, chopped hazelnuts, and chopped arugula, and toss gently. Garnish with finely sliced green onions and serve.

Potato Salad with Pesto and Green beans

This potato salad is inspired by the Genovese tradition. In Genova (Italy), the home of basil pesto, people eat potatoes with string beans and a delicious basil pesto dressing.

Follow our recipe for vegan pesto sauce, then use it as a dressing for the boiled potatoes, chickpeas, and 2 handfuls of boiled (or air-fried) green beans.

Curry Potato Salad

If you follow our cooking, you know we LOVE Indian-inspired food. So we had to try making a curry-flavored potato salad.

To make it mix:

• 3/4 cup (180 g) of unsweetened non-dairy yogurt (we use soy)
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 1 sliced green onion
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 handful of chopped cilantro
• 2 twists of black pepper
• 1 stalk of chopped celery
• 1 cup (160 g) chickpeas

Toss the dressing with 2 pounds (900 g) of sliced and fork-tender boiled potatoes, and you’ve got a creamy, delicious, and healthy potato salad with an Indian twist.

Vegan potato salad is great for picnics and potlucks and you can serve it with a combination of our other delicious salad recipes.

Or you can have it for dinner, with plant-based meat options, either store-bought or homemade:

• Vegan schnitzel
• Seitan steaks
• Vegetarian meatballs
• Falafel
• Mushroom tofu or lemon tofu.
• Plant–based patties (beyond meat, Aldi, Lidl, beyond burger)

Make ahead: vegan potato salad is an excellent recipe to make ahead as it keeps well for 3 days. After one day in the fridge, the salad will taste even better as the flavors meld. So make it half a day or one day ahead of time if you plan on bringing it to potlucks or picnics.

Refrigerator: you can store this vegan potato salad in an air-tight container or a bowl covered with a lid for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Freezer: Transfer the potato salad to a freezer-friendly container and keep it in the freezer for 3 months.

Thaw: to thaw it, remove it from the freezer and place it in the refrigerator until completely thawed (it can take about 12 to 24 hours).

You must thaw your potato salad in the refrigerator because doing it at room temperature will foster bacterial growth on the dish’s surface.

Never thaw food at room temperature; unless it takes less than 2 hours to thaw.

Once thawed, add 1 tbsp of vegan mayo and a handful of freshly chopped parsley, give it a mix, and serve.

If you love creamy and fulfilling salads, have a look at our other easy salad recipes:

• Vegan tuna salad (canned chickpeas, vegan mayo, red onion, capers, lemon, parsley, etc.)
• Tofu salad (fried tofu, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, tahini dressing, avocado, cucumber, etc.)
• Chickpea salad (chickpeas, black olives, corn, avocado, cucumber, mustard dressing, etc.)
• Couscous salad (cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pine nuts, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil, etc.)
• Quinoa salad (chickpeas, mustard dressing, bell pepper, parsley, cucumber, etc.)
• Carrot raisin salad (grated carrot, vegan mayo, raisins, lemon juice, raisins, yogurt, etc.)

Get more potato recipe ideas from these bright and wholesome potato sides:

• Roasted potatoes (garlic, rosemary, thyme, olive oil, etc.)
• Smashed potatoes (baby potatoes, olive oil, chimichurri, cashew sour cream, tomatoes, etc.)
• Potato leek soup (white onion, leek, thyme, bay leaf, nutmeg, yogurt, chives, etc.)
• Mashed potatoes (butter, milk, nutmeg, parmesan or vegan cheese, etc.)
• Potato leek frittata (chickpea flour, leek, parsley, turmeric, cumin, etc.)

For many more 30-minute meal ideas, check out our 30-minute meal category page.