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Vegan Potato Salad is a light, refreshing and dairy-free side dish for summer with celery, creamy dill dressing and red onion for crunch.
No barbecue or picnic is complete without a side dish of creamy potato salad. But usually it's full of dairy and hard-cooked eggs. This year, make a plant-based potato salad that everyone will love.
This vegan potato salad recipe has a tangy, creamy dressing, bright crunchy vegetables and perfectly tender potatoes. It happens to be vegan, but everyone at your picnic will be coming back for seconds.
Serve this creamy potato salad alongside BBQ Tofu and grilled corn on the cob for the perfect summer meal.
Ingredients
Most of the ingredients for this simple salad go into flavoring the dressing. It has a few important herbs, spices, and vinegar that help bring the dish together with bright, salty, sweet and acidic flavors.
- Potatoes: Yukon gold potatoes are the best for potato salad in my experience. They hold their shape well, unlike more starchy varieties like russet potatoes. Red potatoes are a good second option.
- Vegan mayo: Choose your favorite! Just Mayo, Vegenaise, and Simple Truth Plant Based Mayo Spread are all good options.
- Red onion: This adds a nice pop of color and a bit of bitey flavor to the salad.
- Sweet pickle relish: This is my secret to slightly sweet, tangy potato salad without any added sugar.
- Celery: For much-needed crunch and fresh green color.
- Garlic and onion powder: These help give rich allium flavor to the potatoes, which soak it up nicely.
- Dried dill: Dill and potatoes are an excellent flavor pairing. Feel free to use fresh dill if you have it.
- Apple cider vinegar: To help loosen up the dressing and add a nice hit of acidity.
- Paprika: I like the subtle heat from paprika in the vegan potato salad. You could omit it or use more spice if you like.
- Dijon mustard. A classic with potatoes, Dijon mustard gives a nice earthy flavor to the dish. Feel free to use honey mustard, whole-grain, or a different kind of mustard if you prefer.
Substitutions & Swaps
- Oil-free vegan potato salad: Instead of the vegan mayo (which is usually made with oil), use this homemade bean mayo.
- Other herbs: If you don't like dill, you can swap it for chives, tarragon, basil, parsley, or another in-season herb.
- Mix-ins: To experiment with different flavors and textures, try adding different mix-ins to your potato salad. Dried fruit, other crispy vegetables, nuts, or other kinds of vinegar are all great ways to make this dish your own.
Storage
This vegan potato salad will stay fresh for up to four days in an airtight container in the fridge. It does not freeze well, as the potatoes will lose their firm texture.
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Recipe
Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lb yukon gold potatoes
- 1 cup vegan mayo
- ½ cup sweet relish
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ½ red onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dill
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes if desired. I like to leave the peel on for additional texture. Chop the potatoes into 1-inch cubes.
- Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. (Optional: Add 2 teaspoons of salt to the water to add flavor right into the potatoes.) Bring to a boil until potatoes are tender (about 6-8 minutes)
- Drain the potatoes. Let cool for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, whisk together the remaining ingredients (mayo, celery, red onion, relish, vinegar, dijon, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, paprika, pepper, and salt.)
- Add potatoes into a large bowl and gently stir in the mayo mixture. Add salt to taste.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
