Herbed Potato Salad (no mayo!)
This healthy potato salad recipe is full of fresh flavor. It's mayo-free and so easy to make. It'll be a big hit at your next party! Vegan and egg free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 5, 2024
I never truly loved a potato salad, until I made this one. This potato salad recipe is a riff on classic French potato salads, which contain no mayo and lots of herbs. I opted for lemon juice instead of vinegar for a super fresh-tasting salad.
Unlike standard potato salads that are drenched in mayonnaise, this red potato salad is lightly creamy yet miraculously mayo-free. This potato salad recipe is special diet friendly, too. It’s vegan, egg-free, dairy-free and gluten-free for all to enjoy.
Can I go ahead and call it the perfect potluck potato salad?
This potato salad is for my fellow last-minute people. When you’re scrambling to make yourself look decent, trying to scrounge together a side dish worth sharing, and letting the dog out all at the same time… Potato salad to the rescue!
This recipe is surprisingly simple and quick to make. I hope this potato salad becomes your go-to potluck recipe, as well as a standard side dish at your dinner table. It goes great with burgers, sandwiches, and much more.
Potato Salad Tips
After some trial and error, I’ve discovered some key tips to making great potato salad.
- To make the best mayo-free potato salad, reserve some potato cooking water before draining the potatoes. Then, blend the herbs and olive oil with the starchy reserved water. You’ll end up with a creamy emulsification that infuses the potatoes with fresh flavor.
- Another trick is to slice your potatoes before boiling, rather than afterward. That way, the potatoes don’t break down into mush when you’re tossing the salad later. Plus, your potatoes cook faster this way (five minutes!). We can thank the experts at America’s Test Kitchen for this technique.
Please let me know how you like this potato salad in the comments! I love to hear from you.
Looking for more fresh side dishes? You’ll find more side dish recipes here. Here are a few that would go well with this potato salad:
Watch How to Make Potato Salad
Herbed Potato Salad
This healthy potato salad recipe is full of fresh flavor. It’s mayo-free, easy to make, and sure to be a hit at your potluck! This salad is vegan, egg free and gluten free. Recipe yields 6 side servings.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds small red potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into ¼-inch thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ⅓ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, plus about 2 tablespoons more for garnish
- ⅓ cup roughly chopped green onions, plus about 2 tablespoons thinly sliced for garnish
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine sliced potatoes and salt. Cover with water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook until potatoes are easily pierced by a paring knife and pulled out with little resistance, about 5 to 6 minutes.
- Reserve ¼ cup cooking water, then drain. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small food processor or blender, combine the olive oil, ⅓ cup parsley, ⅓ cup green onions, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, garlic and freshly ground black pepper. Process until the herbs and garlic have been chopped into little pieces. Then, while running the food processor, pour in the reserved cooking water and process just until blended. (If you don’t have a food processor or blender, just finely chop the parsley and onions and whisk the dressing together until the oil is fully incorporated.)
- Drizzle the potatoes with the herbed olive oil mixture and gently mix to combine. (It will look like you’ve poured in too much dressing, but don’t worry, the potatoes will soak it up!) Let the potatoes rest for ten minutes, gently tossing every few minutes.
- Add the celery to the bowl, along with a couple tablespoons each of additional chopped parsley and green onions. Toss again. Season generously to taste with salt and pepper.
- Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to serve. This salad is best served within a few hours, but will keep in the refrigerator for about three days.
Notes
Recipe roughly adapted from America’s Test Kitchen’s The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook and The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl and Spoon.
Suggested equipment: I love my 11-cup Cuisinart food processor (affiliate link).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
This is such a lovely summer reccipe! I love potato salad but always feel guilty for the amount of mayo I have to put on it to cover the potatoes. Thank you SO much for sharing this recipe!
Thanks, Rebecca! Hope you love this one.
Pinned. And I’m going to make it tomorrow! Your vegetarian site is my go-to for vegan meals :) Thanks!!!!
Thank you, Trish! I hope it turned out great!
Beautiful potato salad!!! Looks light and fresh and totally delicious!! I’ll do the same with the reserved water when I mash potatoes. Great idea using it for potato salad!
Ohh, I never thought to add starchy water to mashed potatoes! Great idea.
Mmm perfect for the holiday weekend! I love a mustardy, herby potato salad. Thanks for a great recipe!
I love potato salads of all kinds! This one looks lovely Kate. Definitely digging all those green onions in there.
I’ve been testing a potato salad recipe myself this week but never thought of adding a bit of the reserved potato liquid in! I know you’re supposed to season the liquid right away and use a waxy, non-starchy potato like the red ones you chose but your tip is an interesting one! Will have to keep that in mind next time!
It worked miracles in this mayo-free salad!
This looks wonderful, I love potato salads and normally dress them with olive oil and fresh herbs but this sounds incredible, I can’t wait to try it, thank you for sharing the recipe! H x
Just made it with some modifications. Skipped the food processor and celery, added more onions, and replaced parsley with dill. It is excellent – thank you!
Thanks, Brandy! Happy to hear it!
This came out very good. I didn’t have green onions, so I used about 2 tablespoons of red onions. I added 1/2 avocado and 2 tablespoons sour cream. I think I will add small cherry tomatoes to it next time.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I just got a box of locally grown potatoes so this is perfect timing.
Perfect! Enjoy!
I made this today – it was great! I used purple potatoes, chives from my garden instead of green onion, and Pink Himalayan Sea Salt. I may have used a bit more mustard. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thank you, Cheri! Your version sounds so pretty!
This looks very good!
This is my kind of salad, I love all the herbs and mustard in the dressing!
I just used lemon juice instead of vinegar in a chimichurri sauce and it was delicious. You’re recipe is inspiring me to try replacing vinegar with lemon juice in other dishes. The salad looks perfect for a 4th of July picnic :-)
Thanks, Karen! I often play around with vinegars vs. lemon juice as the acidic component in recipes and lemon juice usually wins. So fresh!
I love that the dressing still seems rich and creamy but without the mayo. I’m not a mayo lover by any means so I love salads that have alternatives to mayo!
Right?! That starchy cooking water works miracles.
Yay for no mayo!! This sounds delicious!
looks so yummy!!! potato salad is my all time favorite :D
This salad sounds lovely but I’m wondering – when do you add the garlic?
I’m sorry about that! You add it to the food processor with the other dressing ingredients. Just corrected the recipe.
Of course this was good! I actually can’t think of a mediocre dish I’ve made from your site. They’ve all turned out wonderful. Thank you!!
Made this yesterday and it was wonderful!!!
Love this! Made it yesterday but substituted a good amount of chives for the green onions–it was a huge hit! I don’t think I’ve ever called potato salad “refreshing” before but this was the perfect antidote to heavier, mayo-y barbecue sides!
Happy to hear it! Thank you, Lindsay!
This looks amazing!! Got some parsley sitting in the fridge and I know what to do with it now :) Thinking some roasted garlic would be great on it!
Thanks, Gayatri! Hope you love it!
I made three of your salads for a dinner party on Saturday: all were a big hit. This potato salad, lemony parsley bean salad, and the pasta salad with squash and feta (I used orzo.) All delicious. Many thanks.
Thank you, Joanne! Delighted to hear it. Wish I could have been there for all those salads! :)
I made the recipe this week end it looked so good we couldnt wait and ate it while the potatoes were still warm: it was delicious!!! And as great cold the next day. The dressing is truly delicious.
Thank you, Cecilia! So glad to hear it!
This looks so creamy and delicious!
I’m not usually super big on potato salad either, but this looks so herby and fresh! A must have for summer.
Hi Kate!
Another winner from Cookie and Kate! I made this last week and it turned out great. So easy and it kept well for two days before my husband licked the bowl clean. Thanks for sharing this. I haven’t made potato salad in ages but will make again as a perfect quick side dish.
Thank you, Anna! Delighted to hear it!
Holy God! This salad is sooooo good! I added too much liquid so then I added about 1/4 avocado and it was so creamy. Loved it.
Yay, thanks Shawna! Glad you rescued yours!
This was easy to make and tasty. Thanks.
Awesome! Thanks, Deb!
Hi Kate,
Just finished making this recipe, and while it tastes good, my dressing is a lot greener than what I see in the photo. Is this a case of food styling or have I done something wrong? Just wondering…..
Hmm, I suspect that you blended up your herbs more than I did. If they were little specks or completely blended, that would make the sauce greener! I used the amounts specified in this recipe.
Made this exactly per your instructions– delicious!
Thank you, Kelly! Glad to hear it!
Kate: I made this for my family on a hot Summer day in Dallas. Thought it was excellent. Glad I found you on the internet.
MG
Thank you, Mike! Happy to hear it.
Delicious recipe! I put this over salad and it was perfect. No salad dressing needed.
That’s great to hear! Thank you, Stephanie.
I accidentally overcooked the potatoes but no worries; it was the best-tasting mashed potatoes I’ve ever had :)
Oops! Now I’m craving mashed potatoes…
Ok. I don’t know what happened but this is the greenest potato salad I’ve ever seen. Tastes good but it does not at all look appetizing
Sorry to hear that, Karen! Sounds like you may have blended the herbs more than mine. Glad it tasted good, though!
I made this tonight and LOVED it! I don’t usually like mayonnaise-y potato salads, so this was a great alternative. Definitely pinning it to make again!
Awesome! Thank you, Brittney!
This potato salad is SO GOOD! It has become one of our favorite side dishes – we make it at least twice a month. Thanks so much for the fantastic recipe!
Hooray! Thanks, Liz!
This is … insanely good. We had it as a side for Thanksgiving. I wanted something different and delicious. Mission accomplished.
Thank you, Deanna! High five for serving potato salad on Thanksgiving.
I enjoyed this as a potato salad and then the next day was cooking something in the oven and put the leftovers in the oven for about 45 minutes till it just started to turn crispy.
it was great that way too!
Well, that sounds delicious! Thank you for sharing, Janet.
This is the third time making this. Is not just for the summer. Making it today for the pats game. It is the best potato salad I ever had. I tell every one I share it with were to find it.
Thank you for a healthy dish.
Thank you, Alice! Happy to hear you’ve been enjoying the potato salad so much. Thank you for sharing the recipe with your friends!
I give it a five star my iPod kept going back instead of forward.
Thanks again
Hello:
How would I be able to estimate serving size, calories, protein, fats, carbs, sugar and fiber? I would love to include this on the food log I’m keeping. Thank you.
Hi Cheryl, myfitnesspal.com offers an easy-to-use nutrition calculator. That’s probably your best bet!
It’s cooling as I type this, but I couldnt help but steal a bite to taste and oh my is it delicious! Love all your recipes in fact your butternut squash risotto is on the menu for dinner tonight! Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you, Amanda! Hope the risotto turns out fabulously!
Can you guesstimate how many calories per serve of this? Thanks. It’s delicious by the way. I’ve made it like 20 times already.
Hi Liv! I’m sorry, I don’t offer nutrition details for my recipes since home cooking can be so variable. Feel free to run it through the nutrition calculator at myfitnesspal.com. So glad you’re loving it!
My friends @ our potluck were dying(not literally) for the recipe. Everyone seemed to like it.
DELICIOUS! I made this for dinner tonight as a side dish for some vegan bbq “ribs”. Will make again!
Vegan ribs. I don’t even want to know what that is. Or maybe I do. What is that?
Made this salad for a get together, and everyone loved it! I want to make it again, but my sister is on a no oil diet, can this be made without oil? Or can something be subbed for the oil??
I added diced hard boiled eggs (4), 1/2 chopped red pepper, cooked green beans cut in bite size pieces approx. 1/2 cup and replaced the parsley with fresh dill. Perfect potato salad for lunch.
I made this for Easter, and it was wonderful! We typically purchase mayo-heavy potato salad from the grocery store, but we all enjoyed this version. I loved how flavorful it was and that it added some color to the table. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers with lunch today!
I lllllove this! I used pickle juice from pickles I bought at the farmers market instead of lemon juice. Thank you for sharing. Real good warm!
I made this today and it was delicious and so easy. I had red potatoes on hand so I used those. I will definitely be saving this recipe to use again. Thanks!!