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. Itโs 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 youโre scrambling to make yourself look decent, trying to scrounge together a side dish worth sharing, and letting the dog out all at the same timeโฆ 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, Iโve 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. Youโll 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 donโt break down into mush when youโre tossing the salad later. Plus, your potatoes cook faster this way (five minutes!). We can thank the experts at Americaโs 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? Youโll findย 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. Itโs 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 ยผ-inch thick rounds
- 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
- ยผ cup olive oil
- โ cup lightly packed fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped, plus about 2 tablespoons more for garnish
- โ 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 ยผ cup cooking water, then drain. Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
- In a small food processor or blender, combine the olive oil, โ cup parsley, โ 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 donโt 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 youโve poured in too much dressing, but donโt 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 youโre 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 Americaโs Test Kitchenโs 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 nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
First off your recipe looks so yummy and i cant wait to try it could you possibly recommend a replacement for the mustard since my household doesnt care for the taste of any mustard(ive tried just about all of them haha) thank you so much
When a person has a dairy and egg (or any) allergy it is easy to feel deprived at parties. Then along comes a recipe like this one, and I was hosting the party. It helped me make awesome food that everyone loved and my restrictions never came up in conversation because I could eat everything on the table. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe.
Hi there I made this recipe and while i love the concept of a pesto like sauce for a potato salad, I regret to say it was too salty to eat. 1 tbsp of salt for this recipe , imho, is way to much. I ended up adding an avocado and only using half the sauce on the potatoes .. Will def use the recipe (less salt) and thank you for the concept :)
Did you put the salt in with the potatoes before boiling them? Otherwise if you did use it when making the sauce instead, that might be the problem.
Thank you for a great recipe! I subbed yellow potatoes and it worked well. Yum!
I tried this and enjoyed it. Had to leave out mustard cause my wife is allergic. Missing the bite of the mustard, so added fresh radish from my garden, tops and all, and it was perfect!
I love this recipe have made it several times for my vegan friends!
I just made the Herbed Red Potato Salad and it is excellent! I made a few minor changes: I cut the potatoes into chunks and I couldnโt bring myself to use the starchy potato water, so I just used plain water. I added some salt and maybe a few more green onions than called for. Thanks for sharing!
Fantastic! The perfect early summer potato saladโthe dressing is so tasty. I plan to use it on lightly steam veggies. I will definitely make this recipe again. Thank you!
Herbed red potato salad was delish!!
Delicious! My Hubbie loved it and he is a potato salad snob. Definitely goes in the make again file.
Great recipe! It appeared on the Huffington Post yesterday, so thought Iโd give it a whirl today. My husband and I are impressed with the results! We are not mayo people and are happy to have this flavorful option. I think our dinner guests tonight will be quite happy, as well (if there is any left for them!). The bonus tip of cutting the potatoes up before boiling was a great tip with perfect results! Thank you so much.
In addition to SO many of your recipes, I LOVE YOUR DOG!!!
Me, too! :D Thanks, Dianna.
Absolutely wonderful recipe- so fresh and light compared to traditional potato salad and was a hit during my fatherโs birthday! Liked it so much weโre making it again tonight!
I canโt wait to have this potato salad. I look forward to more of your recipes.
Darlene
Is this recipe gluten-free ?
Thanks :)
Yes, it is!
Is this supposed to be served warm or cold? It looks amazing, do you let the potatoes cool then mix everything? Making this for a BBQ this weekend
Iโm wondering the same thing. Is it best luke warm (like how it sounds in the recipe) or chilled in the fridge for a couple hours before eating?
Do you know what the calorie count is? I am looking for a potato salad without mayonnaise to serve with. lobster Salad.
This looks great. Do you know what the calorie count is?
We had a bunch of people over last night for a BBQ. Meat eaters to vegans. Everyone loved this potato salad. This recipe is a keeper!
I made this last night โ absolutely delicious! Iโm eating some for lunch today, and in my opinion, itโs even better on day two! Such bold and refreshing flavors.
I used lemon thyme instead of parsley, 1 tbsp of lemon juice and red/purple/yellow small potatoes from Wegmans. Thanks for the great recipe, will defiantly be making again!
This was excellent, fresh from the pot and again today, cold from the fridge as a snack. No comments about it since last July though. Are you still blogging?
As always you never fail! I cooked your potato salad for a weekend potluck, and it was delicious and a hit. I do not think I have made a single recipe of yours that let me down. Thank you for all you do!
Iโve never liked potato salad . . . until now! This was wonderful and so easy to make. I subbed golden potatoes and added about 1/2 tsp of dried dill and mixed it in at the end. This added a nice twist to it! So love your recipes!
Just made it. Crinkle cut potatoes. Otherwise followed recipe completely. End resultโฆ.. Yummy!
Thanks, Harvey! Those crinkly potatoes sound fun.
Can you interchange lemon for lime juice?
Lime juice would work fine. It will definitely change the flavor from a classic French potato salad to something a little more tropical, and Iโm not sure how good that would taste.
Hi Kate. Do you think this potato salad, if made and mixed today, will be good for Saturday evening supper?
Hi Paige, I think it would be fine, but not as tasty as it would be fresh.
Made this on several occasions for meat eaters and everyone loved it! Itโs super simple and fast. This is my new go-to potluck recipe.
My fiance has an egg allergy (among a few fun other ones..) so itโs hard finding recipes that easily deliver on flavor without jumping through ingredient substitution hoops to get there. Iโm really excited to try this out โ itโs the perfect salad to bring over to a gathering tonight and Iโll report back with results!
Thank you, Ewa! Hope it turned out great!
Absolutely amazing recipe. So tasty. I made it and the whole family loved it! Thanks so much for sharing
Forgot to rate it. Evryone needs to know how good it is
Iโve always loved my mums potato salad but never really tried making a vegan version before as I thought it would never taste as good. How wrong I was, this was so delicious, hubby and I almost demolished the whole batch. It reminded me of my mums recipe. Canโt wait to bring this to summer bbqs. Thank you! xx
Hi my name is Cheryl from the West IndiesโฆI tried the herbed potato salad and OMMG it was fabulous..i sibstituted green onion with onion bulb and used a couple pimento/seasoning pepper(local) and used honey mustard instead(had no dijon!).
This will forever be my go to salad..loving it!!!!!!!
OH MY THIS IS DELICIOUS!!!!! I made with with gold potatoes, and tiny diced purple onion. Fantastic! Very salty tasting so far, but I know how potatoes absorb the saltโฆI donโt mindโฆcanโt keep my fingers out of them, they are that flavorful
!
Delicious! This will definitely be a new stample for me. Thanks for the recipe :)
MB
This is the 3rd try at this recipe and I thought it was missing something. In the dressing, I added a 1/4 tsp each of onion powder, garlic powder and salt and it it gave more flavor I felt was missing. Another time I subbed the lemon juice with red wine vinegar for a different flavor. There are a lot of variations Iโm wanting to try like adding feta or blue cheese before serving.
Let me know how they work out!
So gooood. Bringing to my pot luck and finally showing people that vegans can make good food, and everything can be veganized. Who needs mayo? E
YES I fully endorse this strategy! I hope itโs a crowd-pleaser, Ester!
Iโm sorry, but I made this and it was horrible. The raw garlic taste over powered everything. It was inedible.
Iโm sorry it wasnโt to your taste, Belinda. Maybe roasting the garlic beforehand would bring down the intensity of the flavor?
Hi again, I was just thinking about your experience and wonderedโis there any chance you used two heads of garlic instead of two cloves? Two cloves of garlic for two pounds of potatoes is not a lot. Two heads of garlic would be majorly overwhelming.
So great! Thank you! Made this for a potluck. Followed the recipe exactly and greatly enjoyed every bite. Will definitely share:)
Thanks for this wonderful reciepe. Have to admit I felt the dressing was way too sharp, maybe I overdid the lemon. I added a cup of macadamias and the result was sensational.
You are my LIFE saver. My daughter eats Vegan style and the only way she will come to our family event this weekend is if there is something she can eat there. I am so excited to make this for her โ and get this โ I have NEVER made a potato salad in my life โ but now I will for her!!! I will let you know how it turns out!!!
Made this on a whim, it was soooo good! I usedan some dill bc I was out of parsley and added hard boiled eggso but was amazed how creamy the dressing was. I will be making this regularly!
Yum! Sounds delicious, especially those eggs. Iโm sure our non-vegan readers will thank you for that tip. :)
Hello โ this looks so yummy! Do you think I could make it ahead of time (say the day before?) or is it better made on the dayโฆ?
I think you could absolutely make it the day before. In fact, I think the flavors would deepen if you let the potatoes marinate overnight like that.
Made it today โ awesome! thanks for the recipe!!
Love, love, love this potato salad! This recipe is definitely a keeper. The flavors are spot-on. Didnโt change a thing. My husband, who has always been a mayo potato salad kind of guy, says he will be making this for his companyโs next potluck cookout.
Perfect! Thanks, Susan!
Oh my goodness Kate! Made this tonight and it is delish!! Iโm sure you LOVE to hear about adaptations to your recipes, so I will tell you what I added: fresh rosemary & thyme. I am sure it would have been great without it, but of course Simon and Garfunkel got hold of me ! :) You already had the parsley, so there you go, perfect potato salad and song!! Thanks for the great recipe without mayo. Love it. Tell Cookie Lisa says, โHey girl!โ
Forgot to say I added Sage too!
Sounds extra herby and delicious, Lisa! Cookie says hi. :)
Great Potato Salad. I didnโt have Scallions, used Shallots. Worked fine. Delicious with the Lemon Juice. Very refreshing salad. So glad I found your recipe.
Iโm glad you found it, too, Michael! Thanks.
I made this recipe for my daughterโs house warming party because one of her guests is allergic to eggs, therefore I couldnโt make the classic potato salad. Well it was a hit to say the least. I never knew potato salad could be this good sans mayo. I doubled the dressing recipe so I used the left over for other salads, spring mix and other tossed green salad. I spiffed up the last bit with ranch dressing to extend it for use in my low carb mock potato salad (cauliflower) and it was nothing short of amazing! Will definitely make this again using other vegetables in place of potatoes. Kohlrabi potato salad might be in our near future lunch this weekend.
Oh I forgot to thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Excellent idea doubling the dressing! Iโm so glad this was such a hit, Mageline.
Outstanding! (I used cilantro.) Healthy and delicious, thank you very much!
Youโre welcome, Rae. :)
I brought it to a party and people loved it!! It is so goodโฆKids liked it too!
Great! This is definitely a potluck favorite.
I loved this and I am not easy to please! I adjusted a bit. I steamed the red potatoes in chunks, so I didnโt use the T of salt. I also didnโt add the potato water to the dressing mix. I added 1/2 diced yellow bell pepper and also about 3/4 of a diced, seeded, cucumber (in addition to the celery) to the salad. I added sea salt and pepper after it was tossed.
What a GREAT, VEGAN potato salad!!!
Your version sounds delicious, Jonelle! Iโm glad you could adjust it to fit your picky tastes. ;) Haha! Thanks so much for commenting.
This was soooo delicious! I took it to a BBQ and it was a huge hit. I added some chopped red bell pepper for color, too. Delicious!
Awesome! I love this as a party dish. It always goes so quickly!