No Mayo Vegan Potato Salad
This No Mayo Vegan Potato Salad is the perfect option for those hot summer day picnics or barbecue parties, when mayo is better, and safer, left in the fridge!
Potato salad is an absolute must at any summer picnic and/or barbecue party! Except that, when it’s so crazy hot outside that everything seems to be melting on sight, then it might be best to leave that mayo in the fridge…
The good news is, you absolutely do not need mayo to make a good potato salad… In fact, once you’ve had a taste of this amazing, flavor-packed, texture-loaded, mayo-less version, you might actually reconsider ever reaching for that jar of mayo ever again. Well, when making potato salad, I mean. Cuz a life without mayo? I don’t think so.
But let’s agree to leave it out, just this one time… I swear you won’t miss it, not even one bit!
Start by cleaning your potatoes — be sure to use a starchy variety — and then cut them into bite size pieces. Next, place them in a large stockpot, along with 8 cups of cold water, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1-1/2 tablespoons of salt. Bring that to the boil and then reduce to a simmer, cover loosely and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 10 minutes.
Potatoes absorb a lot of flavor as they cook, so adding some vinegar directly to the cooking water will help in getting that tangy flavor to really penetrate the potatoes. Not only that, but it will also prevent the potatoes from overcooking and going all mushy on you… Bonus!
Potatoes continue to absorb flavor as they cool down: when hot, their “pores” are open all the way and then start to shrink as the potatoes cool, entrapping all the flavor within them. We are going to take advantage of that and continue adding layers of flavors to them before they have a chance to go cold on us.
So, once your potatoes are done cooking, drain them and transfer them into a large bowl, then drizzle them with an additional 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar. Toss well and let your potatoes sit for a few minutes while they absorb this newly added flavor.
Meanwhile, we’ll be working on the vinaigrette… To make it, combine some extra-virgin olive oil, more apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, minced garlic, salt, pepper and chili pepper flakes in a small glass measuring cup and whisk vigorously until everything gets fully combined and slightly emulsified. Pour that vinaigrette right over the warm potatoes and toss delicately until all the potatoes are well coated.
Now you’ll want to allow your potatoes to cool for 20 to 30 minutes, giving them a gentle toss from time to time, so they have a chance to absorb and trap in all the yummy flavors of that vinaigrette as they cool down.
This will give you plenty of time to prep and chop your vegetables and herbs, which you will want to then add to the potatoes after they have cooled down a bit, at least enough that they won’t start cooking those raw vegetables after you toss them in. Slightly warmer than room temperature is good.
After giving your salad a final toss, you can either serve it immediately, or let it sit at room temperature for a few more hours to give those flavors a chance to mingle some more!
The potato salad is also delicious cold, so you could totally make it ahead of time if you wanted to, and then and put it in the fridge until ready to serve…
Leftovers, if any, will keep very well in the fridge for up to a few days.
No Mayo Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
The potatoes
- 3 lb new potatoes
- 8 cups water
- 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar, divided
- 1-1/2 tbsp salt
The add-ons
- 1/2 medium red onion, sliced
- 3-4 radishes, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs, chopped
- 1/2 cup flat parsley, chopped
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
The vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
Instructions
- Clean the potatoes, cut them into bite size pieces and place them in a large stockpot, along with 8 cups of cold water, 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Bring to the boil then reduce to a simmer, cover loosely and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 10 minutes.
- Once cooked, drain the potatoes and place them in a large bowl, then add another 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar, toss well and let your potatoes sit for a few minutes while they absorb the vinegar.
- Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette: combine all the ingredients in a glass measuring cup and whisk them vigorously until well combined and slightly emulsified. Pour that vinaigrette right over the warm potatoes and toss delicately until all the potatoes are well coated.
- Allow your potatoes to cool for 20 to 30 minutes, giving them a gentle toss from time to time, so they absorb all the flavors of that vinaigrette as they cool down.
- This will give you plenty of time to prep and chop your vegetables and herbs.
- Once the potatoes have cooled enough, throw in those veggies and herbs and give the salad a final toss.
- You can serve that potato salad immediately, or let it sit at room temperature for a few more hours to give those flavors a chance to mingle.
- It's also delicious cold, so you could totally make it ahead of time and place it in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Leftovers will keep very well in the fridge for up to a few days.
Nutrition
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3 Comments on “No Mayo Vegan Potato Salad”
This is an Amazing dish all time my favourite 👍👌👏
Thanks for sharing 💖💜💖
You are very welcome, and thank YOU for your kind words!
We had these potatoes with the vinaigrette only but it was still very tasty and my family loved it. Next time I’ll try it with the ‘add ons’. The vinaigrette also went well with steamed broccoli which my teens devoured-they are usually so picky about eating broccoli.