I guarantee you’ll love our healthy potato salad recipe.
You won’t even notice that the mayo and cream are missing making it a delicious vegan potato salad.
Our healthy potato salad recipe is dairy-free (vegan option) & still tastes creamy & delicious. Can be made ahead and served warm or cold.
This dairy free potato salad recipe is a paranoid pregnant ladies dream.
When I was pregnant the first time I remember the whole food thing being a bit hard as you can expect for a big eater like me.
My doctor was very relaxed about the whole thing and used to tell me I can eat whatever I want but I was one of those paranoid pregnant ladies.
At least the first time around – the second I was much more relaxed about the whole thing – the third – food restrictions? What food restrictions?.
To me I’d just rather steer clear of foods I’ve heard bad things about just in case.
One of those is mayo as it’s pretty much raw egg which was on my no-no list.
That meant no good old potato salad – until I came across this healthy potato salad recipe
Why make this recipe?
- It tastes amazing – seriously, so very tasty. Somehow it tastes creamy without actually having any cream in it.
- Dairy-free – if dairy is something you’re avoiding for whatever reason, then this recipe is for you.
- Easy to make – it’s really simple to throw together.
- Can be made in advance – making it great for parties. Plus, cooked and cooled potato actually can help with gut health.
- It can be served warm or cold – either way it’s just as delicious
You might also like to try Vegan Sweet Potato bake by The Natural Foodie.
Ingredients
Here's what you'll need to make this delicious potato salad with creamy dressing (that doesn't actually have cream).
- White potatoes - see below for varieties
- Flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped (or other fresh herbs - fresh dill would be delicious)
- Chives, roughly chopped (or green onions if you can't find chives)
- Finely grated lemon zest
- Sea salt flakes & freshly ground pepper
- Wholegrain mustard
- Dijon mustard (not to be confused with American yellow mustard)
- Honey (or maple syrup for vegan)
- Lemon juice
- Extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and completely cover them with cold water (from the tap). Pop the lid on and bring the pot to a boil then cook for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender.
- Drain then (no one likes a watery potato salad) and set aside for 15 minutes to cool.
- To make the creamy dressing, whisk all the dressing ingredients together and then season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the cooled potatoes in half and place potatoes in a large mixing bowl then pour over the creamy dressing and add the chopped fresh herbs and lemon zest.
- Season with salt and pepper and toss well so all the potatoes are coated.
- Serve herbed potato salad in a large serving bowl and watch it disappear.
FAQs
Yes healthy potato salad can be made a day or two ahead of time and served cold or warmed up for serving.
Just make sure that the salad has come to room temperature before you refrigerate it. If you put something warm into the fridge, it will raise the temperature of all the food surrounding it which is not great for food safety!
You could also just boil the potatoes a day ahead of time and throw it all together when you’re ready to serve.
You can but if you’re using small potatoes, I keep them whole and cut them after they’ve boiled.
To make vegan potato salad, swap out the honey for maple syrup or a similar vegan sweetener.
There are so many potato varieties out there now. Should you use starchy potatoes, waxy potatoes, russet potatoes or new potatoes for vegan classic potato salad? Do I even know what half of those are?
Because you’re going to be boiling the potatoes to make potato salad, you want a variety that will hold its shape when it’s boiled and then cut (nothing worse than a mushy potato salad!).
Look for waxy types of potatoes like red, or yukon gold potatoes or ask your green grocer for a recommendation.
At some places, they make a note next to the potatoes that make the best potato salad - our farmers market has a little table with 'cooking style' and potato and gives each variety a star rating.
I am adding it to my salad repertoire as it meets the requirements – not too much lettuce!
Variations
This healthy version of traditional potato salad is an absolutely delicious, perfect side dish as is but if you want to jazz it up for your next bbq a bit some options are:
- Add crunchy celery and chopped walnuts
- Add extra protein with some chopped hard-boiled eggs (obviously no longer vegan)
- Add some garlic powder to the dressing for extra flavour
Can you use dried parsley instead of fresh?
Yes you can but you might have to add a little extra as dried tends not to be as full of flavour as fresh parsley.
I think for a healthy potato salad, fresh parsley looks a lot prettier.
So what about you?
Do you love potato salad?
What's your favourite BBQ side dish?
Recipe
Recipe
Healthy potato salad
Ingredients
- POTATOES
- 1 kg chat or baby cream delight potatoes well-scrubbed
- 3 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoon chives roughly chopped
- Finely grated zest of one ½ a lemon
- Sea salt flakes & freshly ground pepper
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon wholegrain mustard
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and completely cover them with cold (from the tap) water. Pop the lid on and bring the pot to a boil then cook for 12-15 minutes or until tender.
- Drain then and set aside for 15 minutes to cool.
Dressing
- To make the dressing, whisk all the ingredients together and then season with salt and pepper.
- Cut the potatoes in half and place them in a bowl then pour over the dressing and add the chopped herbs and lemon zest.
- Season with salt and pepper and toss well so all the potatoes are coated.
- Serve on a platter and watch it disappear.
Tony says
Thanks Claire, gave this a go at BBQ yesterday, was lovely and enjoyed by all, even my (sometimes difficult) 10yo daughter loved it.
Michelle says
This is a really lovely recipe and so much lighter and fresher than the traditional version I am used to. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
Claire says
You're welcome Michelle, glad you enjoyed. Its always handy to have a healthy option for this delicious salad.
Paula says
Sounds delicious!! How far in advance can I make it and have it still taste fresh?
Claire says
Hi Paula. I would probably only make it on the day but having said that I had leftovers the next day.
The Life of Clare says
I love potato salad, but unlike you have not stuck to the 'what a pregnant lady shouldn't eat' list, and have eaten whole egg mayo the whole time. This one does look delicious though!
Claire says
I think this one rivals the mayo one anyway Clare!
Hilary says
Sounds delicious, will definitely be giving it a go. By the way, my dad makes mayo out of sweetened condensed milk and vinegar. Probably not too good on the waist line but no raw egg.
Claire says
I've never heard of that Hilary sounds very interesting!
Sarah says
I grew up on condensed milk and vinegar (or lemon juice) 'mayo'. I had never tried the store-bought stuff and didn't like it when I did, but I really ate a bit of lettuce under my mayo as it was so yummy.
Danielle says
This is exactly my fave type of potato salad with wholegrain mustard instead of mayo, love this version too, with the addition of honey! Perfect with the ham as you say.
Claire says
It went so well with ham Danielle. Now I want Christmas ham!
Lisa the Gourmet Wog says
I've never been a fan of mayo in potato salad to be honest, I find it too rich, but this one sounds fabulous!
Claire says
I have to agree with you there. It's very heavy.
The Hungry Mum says
My family loves potato salad, especially miss8. Yours looks perfect :)
Claire says
I'm sure they'll like this one then!
celia says
Claire, that's a great salad! Sometimes mayo is too much, and this would be perfect for a light lunch! (PS. tell Will you need chooks, then you won't have to worry about the raw eggs! :))
Claire says
Oh Celia I am trying! Shall we set a goal of the end of the year?
The Café Sucre Farine says
Yummy Claire, there's something wonderful about potato salad and I love that you've come up with a healthy one. It looks wonderful!
Oh, and I had the same "feet" problem when I was pregnant. I would come home from work with my ankles hanging over my shoes, such a yucky feeling!
Claire says
Haha yes that describes it. I never knew you could get fat rolls on your feet!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
I didn't realise that you didn't like lettuce! I have a terrible lettuce habit-my crisper doesn't fit in all the lettuce that I buy. This recipe sounds great though and using the mustards is a good idea!
Claire says
My grandpa used to say that it was a waste of stomach space. I have to say I tend to agree with him :-)
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I love potato salad and I wouldn't want a picnic without it. Won't be long now, toots. You'll be wearing that baby on the outside and eating whatever doesn't make the baby grumpy. :)
Claire says
Nope not long now! It's perfect picnic food isn't it? Not too messy like regular salad.
My Kitchen Stories says
I love potatoe salad. this is actually my most favorite way of dressing it, much better than mayo.
Claire says
I wish I'd discovered it earlier!
Kristin says
Yum. You had me at potato!
Claire says
So tasty!
Carmen says
Claire, couldn't agree with you more about this potato salad. I found this recipe last year and much prefer it to one with mayo and it's now my preferred potato salad.
Claire says
It's great isn't it?