This vegan potato salad is the perfect side dish for a backyard barbecue or summer gathering! Made with tender potatoes and a perfectly seasoned & creamy mayo/mustard/dill pickle dressing, it's bound to be a crowd-pleaser! It's healthy, easy to make, creamy, and tastes just like traditional potato salad.
This homemade vegan potato salad is perfect for the upcoming Memorial Day weekend! It pairs perfectly with traditional bbq food, like burgers and hot dogs. Plus, this recipe is vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. Even without the 'real stuff,' it's still the best potato salad!
Ingredients
This potato salad, though vegan, resembles a classic potato salad recipe. This recipe calls for simple ingredients, which you hopefully have most of!
- Red AND Yellow (Yukon Gold) Potatoes: yes, we're using two types!! The type of potatoes you use in your potato salad is so important! For the perfect texture, always go for waxy or all-purpose potatoes, like red and yellow, and avoid starchy potatoes, like Russets/Idaho.
- Vegan Mayo: The base for our dressing! It makes this recipe super creamy and holds everything together. To keep this recipe soy-free, make sure you get a soy-free mayo.
- Dill Pickles or Dill Pickle Relish: It might seem weird, but this gives the potato salad such a nice flavor and crunch! If you don't have the relish or don't want to get it, just finely chop dill pickles!
- Dijon Mustard: to add a slight tang and enhanced flavor to the dressing.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: just a little bit! Vinegar helps the potatoes hold their shape and keeps them from drying out.
- Sweet Onion: for flavor, of course!
- Celery: it adds a nice crunch to the potato salad.
- Spices: we'll be using paprika, celery seed, and of course, salt and pepper, to season this yummy potato salad.
- Fresh Dill: to add some freshness and herbs to this dish.
Instructions
I love this recipe because it's truly so easy to make!
- Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. To a large pot, add cubed potatoes, cold water, and salt. Over high heat, bring to a boil and let cook for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are just fork tender. Drain potatoes and let cool until no longer hot to touch. You can run them under cold water to speed up the cooling time. I kept the skin on my potatoes, but feel free to remove the skin once cooled or before boiling.
- To create the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise (veganaise), pickle relish or chopped dill pickles, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, diced sweet onion, diced celery, celery seed, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add cooled potatoes to the dressing and mix gently to until coated evenly.
- Sprinkle with paprika and fresh dill for garnish before serving. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy!
Recipe Variations & Substitutions
I love this recipe as is, but feel free to check out these variations that might make this dish even better for you!
- Use either all red or all yellow potatoes: I used a mix of both, but this is just as delicious if you only want or need to use one or the other.
- Leave out the pickles/pickle relish if you're not a fan of them. If you like pickles but think it's a bit weird, trust me and try it out!
- Feel free to use yellow mustard instead of dijon mustard. It's a bit more mild in flavor!
- Make a no mayo potato salad by swapping the mayo for vegan sour cream, vegan greek yogurt, vegan buttermilk, or just a simple vinaigrette (this option won't be creamy)!
- Peel the potatoes! I love potato skins (they're packed with nutrients) and their texture, but if you're not a fan, go ahead and peel them either before or after boiling.
Expert Tips
- Make the potato salad 1 day before you plan to serve it for optimal flavor!
- Add salt to your water! This will really enhance the flavor of the potatoes themselves.
- Start the potatoes in cold water for evenly cooked potatoes. Adding the potatoes to the pot once the water is boiling and result in potatoes that are mushy on the outside but hard and uncooked on the inside.
- Wait until the potatoes are cooled before you add them to the dressing! Otherwise, the mayonnaise may melt and become really oily.
- Cut the potatoes before boiling them for two reasons. 1, you don't need to be burning yourself trying to cut them and 2, this will help them retain the shape you cut them in. If you're trying to cut them while hot, or sometimes even warm, they'll crumble under the knife.
FAQ
Waxy potatoes, such as red potatoes, or all-purpose potatoes, like white or yukon gold, are best for potato salad. These varieties have the least amount of starch and do the best at retaining their shape while boiling, unlike starchier potatoes like Idaho/Russets.
This potato salad will stay fresh in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Make sure you're storing it in airtight container and that you don't skip on adding the apple cider vinegar. Apple cider vinegar will help to ensure that the potatoes don't dry out. Keeping it in an airtight container will ensure the mayo-based dressing doesn't get dried out.
This could be for a few reasons but here's how to avoid that! Make sure you're draining the potatoes well after boiling. You could also put them back on the stove (in the pot with no water) for a few extra minutes to cook off any extra moisture. Do not overmix/overwork the potatoes - if you do, they could be become pretty mushy and release moisture. Make sure you're only adding the potatoes to the dressing once they're cooled. Adding them when they're too hot will make the potatoes 'sweat' into dressing, making it watery.
If you make this recipe, be sure to snap a pic and tag me on Instagram. If you have any questions or feedback at all, send me an e-mail or leave a comment and review below. I hope you love this dish as much as we do!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Dill Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 4 red potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
- 4 yukon gold potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup dill pickle relish or chopped dill pickles
- ½ cup sweet onion diced
- 1 ½ celery stalks diced
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon celery seed
- ¼-1/2 teaspoon paprika and more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- fresh dill for garnish
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into 1-inch cubes. To a large pot, add cubed potatoes, cold water (enough so that the potatoes are covered completely by 1 ½ inches), and salt. Over high heat, bring to a boil and let cook for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are just fork tender. Drain potatoes and let cool until no longer hot to touch.4 red potatoes
- To create the dressing, mix together the mayonnaise, pickle relish or chopped dill pickles, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, diced sweet onion, diced celery, celery seed, paprika, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.1 cup mayonnaise, ½ cup dill pickle relish, ½ cup sweet onion, 1 ½ celery stalks, 1 tablespoon dijon mustard, ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar, ½ tablespoon celery seed, ¼-1/2 teaspoon paprika, salt and pepper
- Add cooled potatoes to the dressing and mix gently to until coated evenly.
- Sprinkle with paprika and fresh dill for garnish before serving. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 5 days. Enjoy!fresh dill, ¼-1/2 teaspoon paprika
Paige
I am a sucker for a good potato salad and POP's recipe does not disappoint! I love how tangy and light the dressing is, plus there is such a great balance of textures from the potatoes and the celery. I made this over the summer for a Fourth of July barbecue, and it was a crowd favorite! My personal preference for vegan mayo is Primal Kitchen. You can't go wrong with the price or the flavor!
Pinch of Parsley
Thanks so much Paige! Glad to hear this was a crowd favorite!
Lauren
Best potato salad ever. Perfect for lunch or for big gatherings
Meg
This stuff SLAPS. I am obsessed with potato salad and never would have thought I would live a vegan version so much. An absolute staple.
Pinch of Parsley
Thank you so much Meghan! So glad you enjoyed it.