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
- Author:
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 6 side servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: French
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).
Vegetable enthusiast. Dog lover. I'm probably making a big mess in my Kansas City kitchen right now. 
Ilona
Made this today exactly as written, my 3yo loved helping me with it and found the bright green color of the dressing hilarious! :D No vegans here but I was looking for a light, springtime-ish side dish to go with some grilled salmon and it was fabulous! Love from the Netherlands :) :)
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great! I’m glad your kid enjoyed it. Thank you for taking time to review, Ilona!
Katharine
Wow. This is phenomenal! I used fresh chives from my garden instead of green onion and still perfection. Best potato salad.
★★★★★
Kate
Sounds just perfect! I love the home gardening addition. Thank you for your review, Katharine!
Anne
Great and easy recipe! Would be good with any number of fresh spring veg instead of or in addition to the celery (blanched asparagus, peas, etc). Perfect for hot weather, quick to make and has a refreshing taste.
★★★★★
Kate
Yes! Great for warmer weather, Anne. Thank you for sharing.
RF
I didn’t have parsley, so I used kale. I also threw in some chives from the yard. Totally worked!
★★★★
Kate
I’m happy it worked out, RF! Thank you for your review.
Marie Gauthier
Wonderful, versatile recipe. I needed to use up veggies in my fridge, so I ended up with a mix of potatoes, broccoli, sweet potato, carrots, and some asparagus. It made a huge bowl, so I adjusted the other ingredients except for the salt, which I actually cut in half. Excellent results.
★★★★★
Amy
I have an abundance of Yukon potatoes from the garden, do you think that would be an okay replacement for red potatoes?
Kate
They tend to cook differently, so you may need to adjust the time here. Let me know how it turns out. I find red work the best.
Mary L.
I just tried this recipe for the first time and it’s delicious! I used small Yukon gold potatoes and they worked well, just don’t overcook them. I also used green beans instead of celery and added fresh basil ribbons at the tables. I’m thinking next time we’ll have Greek olives and feta cheese on the side to add to taste. A new favorite recipe – thanks!
★★★★★
Kate
Great to hear, Mary! Thank you for your review.
Dorothy Pickles
I love this dish. We are improvising our next batch adding cilantro to the dressing and adding more lemon.
★★★★★
Kate
That’s great to hear, Dorothy! Thank you for you review.
Fati
I am so addicted to this dressing. I use it on my roasted potatos, as a dip for olive ciabatta or literally any sandwich I make.. the day before i run out, i make more.. It is super delicious.!!! Thank you!!!! :)
★★★★★
Kate
I like that you make this to have with other things! Thank you for sharing, Fati.
Julia
Just found my new Go-To Potato Salad recipe. Spectacular! I can’t eat onions or garlic so left those out and added some baby chard from the garden – with stems – to replace the green onions and wee bit more mustard to make up for the garlic. Thank you!
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome, Julia! I’m glad this salad is a go-to for you.
Elaine
Absolutely delish potato salad. I can see this dressing on seafood pasta!
★★★★★
Heidi
I love your recipes and have made many! This is another winner!! We had 10 people here, yesterday, for a Father’s Day BBQ. I made this potato salad and it was a HUGE hit! Even with the “die hard mayo potato salad” fans. Well done! Thank you so much!
★★★★★
Kate
I love it, Heidi! I’m happy you have been enjoying so many recipes.
Christine T
I loved this but unfortunately my fam did not. Next time I will pay more attention the size of my garlic gloves ;) and more fresh parsley vs frozen from last year’s garden. When eaten warm it reminded me of my Grandma’s German potato salad. I did find the slices hard to mix but they didn’t fall apart like you said. I had extra dressing, which made a great condiment for the grilled chicken I made to go with the potatos. Thanks! c
★★★★★
Kate
I’m sorry it wasn’t a hit! Yes, size can vary. Thank you for your feedback, Chrisitne.
Flo
Can’t wait to try this
Peggy
Great recipe!! So easy and so tasty. Will be making this all summer long!
★★★★★
shelley
great summer salad full of flavour!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you , Shelley!
Diane Baumann
I made this salad as per recipe, turned out great. It was even better when I added cooked bacon to it, everything is better with bacon, isn’t it??….great recipe will certainly make it again.
Cecelia S.
Easy enough to make (not enough dressing), but I’m sorry -where is the taste? I followed the recipe exactly, used fresh ingredients including fresh herbs ( had to buy a large bunch of parsley for 1/3 cup), I ended up putting some rice vinegar in it for some tang. If I make it again I’m going to have to tweak it more.
★★★
Kate
Hi Cecelia, I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy this recipe. I appreciate your feedback.
Cecelia S.
Nothing was lost. I used the leftovers to make it into a warm German potato-type salad, with a couple of additions
★★★★
SW
A great recipe! And the amount of dressing was small enough that I could make it in my tiny 2c food processor.
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed it, SW!
Chefyl
Thanks for the easy, mayo-free recipe. I think a bit of relish, if on hand, would be an appropriately flavorful addition.
★★★★
Amy S
Just bought your book for my mother-in-law’s birthday. It’s so colorful and packed full of flavor-popping, healthy recipes – just like this one. Thank you. Five stars!
★★★★★
Kate
Thank you, Amy! I’m glad you both like it.
susan hanson
I love this salad with the sliced potatoes- and the way to cook them so they don’t fall apart. This salad was a big hit at a neighborhood potluck.
★★★★★
Astaff
Could I make this recipe the day before or is it better the day of?
I think my family will love this as they don’t like mayo.
Kate
Hi! It’s best the day of but can be served leftover as well. I hope you all enjoy it!
Griff Neilson
I am a sucker for potato salad and always have been so I made this one over the weekend and it hit the spot. I loved the hint of parsley and I further loved how it did not over power the dish. Great little spin on this classic and thank you as always for keeping it clean and made from whole foods! I really do appreciate it! :)
★★★★★
Kate
You’re welcome! I’m happy you enjoyed my version.
KathyK
Made this recipe yesterday. Followed the directions exactly with the addition of fresh thyme. It was very, very good and even better the day after. Thank you!
★★★★★
Rebekah Schrot
Was wondering if chopped eggs would be good to add?
Dani
Delicious and easy! Great recipe if you’re lactose intolerant. Will use the dressing recipe for other sides too I think.
★★★★★
Dani
I have made this tons of times now, but instead of slicing the potatoes, I but them into chunkier bites and roast them in the oven. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ve also added shaved brussel sprouts. Such a great recipe!
★★★★★
Joan Entwistle
Delicious! My mother never used mayonnaise, so this is my favorite type of potato salad. The dressing is perfectly balanced with the potatoes. Made this a second time with apple cider vinegar because my lemon was moldy, which I liked even better.
★★★★★
Maggie Tirrell
This is my absolute favorite potato salad! It’s great with breakast, or any time. Love, love, love.
★★★★★
Sine
I must agree with you Kate, I have never been fond of potato salad either…but that has changed. Your potato salad is smashingly delicious! I did add fresh dill but other than that made it as written. Fresh, clean and vibrantly green…
★★★★★
Kate
I’m glad you enjoyed this one, Sine!
Tipismom
Another amazing Cookie+Kate recipe! It was easy, fresh, and delicious, and we loved the leftovers second day too. We frequently BBQ with a neighbor who “hates mayo,” so this was a huge win. Also, our potato bag was only 1.5 pounds, and it still worked out perfectly keeping everything else the same. Thanks so much for sharing!
Kate
You’re welcome!
Laura
I’ve made this potato salad before, and while good I found a bit on the drier side (perhaps since I traditionally eat mayo based potato salad!). If I wanted to make the dressing a bit creamier, do you think adding some greek yogurt would work?
Kate
Hi Laura, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m not sure adding Greek yogurt would get the same result. Ensure the ratios are correct and not overcook your potatoes for the best result.
Cat
If I needed to make this ahead of time is it best to cook the potatoes and dress the day I serve or prepare it immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve?
Kate
Hi Cat, this is best made right away. It can be refrigerated and served later. I hope it’s a hit!
Michele
This is the first time I made this and it was wonderful! I doubled the recipe and accidentally tripled the Dijon mustard and forgot to double the cooking water, but the dressing was really creamy, thick and delicious! Half of the garlic cloves were very large. I used a food processor and blended the dressing pretty well. I could probably have used a couple more potatoes since it made a lot of dressing. I used the smaller size red potatoes and sliced them a little bit thicker than 1/4 in, closer to 5/16 inch (or 8mm). They took a little longer than 5-6 min. to cook, but I kept checking them to prevent overcooking and they did not fall apart when I stirred the sauce into them. It was so fresh, delicious and flavorful and everyone loved it and wanted the recipe!
T
I have tons of lavage. Can I substitute for the celery?
Emily
My husband loves potato salad, but I have never been a fan. All, I can say is wow!!! This is the most delicious, bright, and refreshing potato salad. It’s perfect for summer.
★★★★★