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.
I have had this recipe twice and love it! It will be a new go-to for me. Does “cover with water by one inch” mean an inch of water in the pot, or a full pot of water where the water rises an inch above the potatoes? I think it’s the second one, but then the potatoes start floating and I’m not sure if it’s an inch above or not! Haha.
Hi Becca! Great question. You will want to make sure you have an inch at the top. So, cover the potatoes with water so they are completely submerged with one inch of water at the top. Does this help?
Yes, thank you!
This recipe is AMAZING!! I am so happy to have found a potato salad that I actually love (not a big mayo fan), and cannot wait to make it again!
This recipe is literally perfect. Whole family loved it. I will say I enjoyed it more the next day- and the day after- and the day after that- when the salad had been chilled and the flavors melded a bit more. It was divine!
Oh my gosh, this is THE BEST potato salad I’ve ever eaten and the calories are reasonable. I didn’t have red potatoes on hand, so used yellow fins. They aren’t as dramatic looking, but they taste fantastic. The only thing I changed was that I had a lot of homemade vegetable stock on hand, so I boiled the potatoes in the stock instead of water. Being in lockdown there are no parties to show this one off right now, so my neighbors down the street will be very happy to receive a portion.
I was searching for a non mayo potatoe salad recipe for the 4th of July when I came across your blog. The name caught my eye. I had a dog named Cookie growing up so I picked your recipe and I am so glad I did. I loved it! I am looking forward to trying many more of your recipes. I just made the lentil caulifliower tacos and I am hooked on them. Thanks for providing healthy recipes.
I’ve cooked my potatoes and made dressing – should I keep them separate till right before serving?
Hi Tracy, What did you decide to do? Sorry for my delay. I would add it per the instructions so it has time to marinate some.
I kept the potatoes and dressing separate until about 1 1/2 hours before dinner – then I brought them both back to room temperature, then mixed them together, and then let it sit for an hour – it worked great and my family who aren’t mayo or potato salad fans really loved it! Thanks for all the great recipes!
Such a unique dish. This worked out great for us. I used less salt and only 2 celery stalks as my husband does not care for celery.
I would suggest making sure the olive oil is nice and fresh. Mine has a hint of an unpleasant aftertaste, and I think maybe the olive oil is old.
This is my kids’ new favorite potato salad! We have made it once a week for over a month and have added various fresh herbs from the fairy herb garden. Sweet basil version and rosemary were especially liked.
How far ahead can you make this recipe?
Hi Michelle! This salad is best served within a few hours, but will keep in the refrigerator for about three days.
Great potatoe salad, mine turned green would be great for saint patricks day lol. But it was delish would have again
Just what I was looking for, turned out great. Pretty neat using the water from the boiled potato. Thanks for the recipe.
Tried this today and it was great, a really good alternative potato salad recipe. I used a mix of baby red and Yukon gold potatoes and a shallot instead of the green onions as they were what I had on hand. Will definitely try it again. Thanks Kate!
Delicious! I added some dried dill I had on hand and it was great! Fresh dill would make an even better addition to complement the herbs. “Bite size slices” would help with the issue of different sizes of potatoes. We had big ones and halved the slices into half-moon shapes.
Made this with our summer grill out last night. So delicious and easy. Just had some cold leftover potato salad for lunch today and it might be even better the second day after letting it marinate!!
Made this yesterday and it was great then and today! Love the use of lemon instead of vinegar and the addition of cooking water. Thanks!!
So good! I don’t like potato salad but I love this one. I upped the celery for extra crunch ◡̈
This is really good! I sprinkled it with some dill weed and a little bit of celery powder at the end for a little extra flavor. Note that I did not have any parsley so used cilantro instead (I find them interchangeable but others won’t I suspect). I do recommend adding dill weed if you like that flavor.
This is really good! I loved the sauce. I sprinkled it with some dill weed and a little bit of celery powder at the end for a little extra flavor. Note that I did not have any parsley so used cilantro instead (I find them interchangeable but others won’t I suspect). I recommend adding dill weed if you like that flavor. Also, to address others’ concerns, I prefer my potatoes in little cubes and triangles, rather than slices. Maybe the salad would keep longer if you used larger chunks rather than the thinner slices shown here? I also prefer to roast my potatoes in the oven (400 degrees for 20 min), so that was another change I made.
Thank you for sharing your experience, Linda! I appreciate your detail and review.
So good! I didn’t have parsley but I had a ton of celery leaves from my garden and used those. we really enjoyed this!
Thank you for commenting, Cherie! I appreciate your review.
This is delicious and easy to make! I was doubtful my husband would like. He did like it. Thank you Kate!
I used red wine vinegar instead of lemon juice and it was delicious!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I wanted to make this because it sounded so good, but I didn’t have the potatoes. So I used the flavor profile in this to make a soup, with some additions. it’s so good!
I can’t wait to make it into a potato salad.
I added fresh tarragon and basil to the recipe and served it warm… big hit with the family.
I loved this! So delicious. Mine turned completely green for some reason (I may have overdone it with the parsley in the dressing). I also forgot to save the potato water so I had to use plain water. Will definitely make again!
Delicious. Thank u. I swapped out fresh green onions with green onion powdered dip and it came out fine. Didnt have the real thing so i had to sub it
Hi! I love your recipes, I am going to make this one. Would adding fresh dill with the parsley be a good idea, or too much? And would red onion be as good as green onion?
Hi! I would follow this recipe as written. It’s quite good! You could top with fresh herbs at then end while serving, if you prefer.
Thank you so much! I will follow the recipe as designed!
So, I haven’t read any other comments but I did want to say this dish is delicious!
My only pause was that the scale accommodates only ingredients and not the directions.
Yummy!
This was excellent and very easy to pull together. The lemon was a nice addition. My mother who is a very picky, traditional PA Dutch eater even asked for some to take home! Thank you for this delicious vegan recipe.
I’m excited to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Michael.
I just made this and it’s okay but I feel like the herb mixture is missing something. I wonder if adding a bit of brown sugar to the herb mixture would work here?
Hi Clementina, I’m sorry you didn’t love this one as is. I appreciate your feedback.
Such a yummy, healthy version of potato salad! It tastes so fresh and is flavorfully moist, Nothing is too overpowering. A perfect side dish!
That Potato Salad Looks Very Delicious and Yummy KATE.
Thanks for sharing with us.
Now throwing out my standby, potluck favorite, way too unhealthy potato salad recipe! This. Was. Perfection.
Kate, what a bloody cracking recipe this is! Just whipped it up and served it with a roast chicken. Delicious! Greetings from down under.
I’ve made this exact recipe probably 5-6 times and EVERY SINGLE TIME, it was a HUGE hit and turned out fantastic! And any leftovers are even better the 2nd and 3rd day. (I sprinkle a little Maldon salt over the top too)
I have made this numerous times and oh my….what a dish. Sometimes I add crispy smoked bacon. Amazing
I’m exicted you love it, Kirstie! Thank you for your review.
I just made this recipe and the sauce tasted amazing. I love green and fresh the ingredients are.
Made the herb potato salad really good
I love this recipe. Perfect for sharing with friends and family. I have made it with sweet potato too, that was also very successful. Thank you for the tip of slicing the pots first, works so well
Hello, I have just discovered your blog and must say, the scale feature is AMAZING and extremely helpful. Bravo!
I hope to make this for the table at christmas lunch :)
I’ve made this twice now and will definitely add this recipe to my cook book. I actually doubled the dressing quantities and made it the day before. On the day I first served it I cooked the stated weight of potatoes and used half the dressing leaving the remaining half to use a few days later when I cooked more potatoes. This made it very quick and easy to prepare on the day.
Wonderful, Sharyn!
The red rims add beauty, and this is my opportunity to use the slicer on the Breville slice and dice food processor – gee, only boil for five minutes – I’m sold. I do love mayo, but if you say it is still creamy – well maybe I’ll add just a tad mayo… :-)
Thank you for sharing, Karalee!
Made this for New Year’s Eve
Every one loved it and are asking for the recipe They all loved the fact it did not have Mayo
Thank you for sharing, Heidi!
This is fantastic! Probably my new favorite potato salad, thanks!
Love mayo free potato recipes and especially with lemon. Potato and lemon goes so well together. I have made this with various herbs but rosemary would be my favourite. Don’t go overboard on the rosemary and in my experience it doesn’t chop well in a blender. So you need to chop finely with a good sharp cleaver style knife. You want about two to three tablespoons finely chopped fresh rosemary. Don’t both with dried herbs, salads demand fresh herbs! Btw, to the person who complained of a funky smell…none of the above ingredients should give off that kind of smell so maybe the oil or dijon were past their prime.
Thank you for sharing what you enjoyed about this and sharing your thoughts, Teresa!
Made this to go with the BBQ ribs I was making for dinner and was so pleased with the results. The potato salad was awesome. Thanks for this amazing recipe!!! My wife and I very much enjoyed.
Wonderful to hear, Taylor! Thank you for your review.
Absolutely delicious.
I made this potato salad for an Australia Day gathering of 4 generations of family. The grandsons named it Shrek Potato Salad because mine turned out very green. Everyone loved it.
I decorated with tiny tomatoes around the edge in the bowl, it looked very pretty.
Thanks so much.
Julia,
Adelaide Australia.
Great idea, Julia! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
I love this recipe! I follow it without making any adjustments. The sauce is fresh and delicious. Id like to use it for other things…maybe for a dip for chicken, or over pasta? I’ve come back to this recipe a few times already. I enjoy a classic potato salad recipe, as well, but I definitely like to throw this one in the mix.
This was very ,very, good. Differently going to make again. Very easy also.
This is a delicious healthy salad! My family request it now and is my go to potato salad. I’ve added mint for freshness and roast the garlic for depth of flavour. Today adding sugar snap peas sliced for added interest.
I love a lot of recipes on this website but found the flavor of this surprisingly bland. I ended up adding extra Dijon and some fresh dill which helped.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe, Taylor.
Can’t wait to try this! I was looking for a mayonnaise free potato salad and this looks fabulous! If I double the sauce ingredients, can I put half on the side for those who want a saucier portion? Wonder how this would be on macaroni for a mayonnaise free mac version? I’m serving it with fillet mignon for my husband’s birthday.
Hi Cindy, it sounds interesting on macaroni but I’m not sure without trying it. The starch of the potatoes does do something magical here.
Made it for my husband’s birthday-especially for my vegetarian granddaughter. Fabulous! Added some fresh dill at the end but did really need it. Best leftovers ever!! This recipe is a keeper. Thank you Kate!
You’re welcome! I’m happy everyone was able to enjoy it.