With summer right around the corner, I knew I was going to have to come up with a decent Vegan Potato Salad Recipe....you know.... to go with those awesome Beer Brats and Baked Beans of mine.
Well I think I got it - and the secret, as they say, is in the sauce.
- There's NO tofu
- There's NO cashews
- There's NO oil
- And there's obviously NO mayo either
- It's basically fat-free!
So what did I use to make it so creamy?
White Beans
I know...weird right?
I basically used my white bean mayo recipe from my Vegan Turkey Salad recipe and it turned out WONDERFUL!
Smooth and creamy Vegan Potato Salad, PERFECT for those summer picnics.
Vegan Potato Salad
You're going to need 6 whole Red Potatoes (about 2 lbs) and give them a good scrub. You can try Russets or Golds - but they tend to get soft and mushy while reds hold their shape.
- If you have an INSTANT POT, you can add the steam trivet that came with your IP to the bottom of the pot (or this really cool steaming basket), and then add your potatoes along with 1½ cups of water.
Set it to MANUAL and cook for 4 minutes, then let it natually release the pressure by itself (another 10-20 min)
- For the stovetop version, boil the potatoes in just enough water to cover them, for about 5-10 minutes or so. Just until they are al dente.
- Now drain off the water and immediately set the potatoes aside in the refrigerator to cool while we make the rest of the salad.
The Veggies I Used
When I think of vegan potato salad, I automatically think celery, onion, and pickle relish. But the nice thing about this recipe is it's so customizable. Use whatever veggies YOU like.
In a large bowl chop 2-3 ribs of celery, ¼ of a Red Onion (or more), and about ¼ of a Red Bell Pepper. Now add 2-4 heaping tablespoons of chopped Dill Pickle and stir to mix.
(I like Dill Relish- but you can use Sweet Picklels too if that's what you prefer)
Set this aside and let's move on to the dressing....
White Bean Mayo
Drain and rinse the a 15oz can of cannelini beans, then add them to your blender, followed by all the remaining dressing ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.
Any white bean should work (navy, great northern) but I like the cannelini as they don't seem to impart any bean taste, plus they are super creamy.
Note: In my original recipe I used tahini, but this time, to keep the calories down, I used white miso and it came out perfect. Feel free to use the tahini if you want though. I also replaced the brown sugar with maple syrup.
Back to the salad....
Chop your cooled potatoes and add them to the salad bowl of veggies, and gently stir to mix everything together. Then, using a rubber spatula, carefully fold about 1 cup of the dressing (or more) into the salad and stir until everything is blended.
Note: The recipe will make about 2 cups of dressing so you can use the remaining dressing on whatever you wish - or for super creamy potato salad you can use the whole batch.
Chill for 30 minutes or so, adjust any seasonings if needed, and garnish with a dusting of paprika.
Mmm summertime vegan potato salad fat. PERFECT.
Storing Your Vegan Potato Salad
Store your vegan potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge where it should keep for 3-5 days. I do NOT recommend you freeze it because you lose a lot of the texture after it thaws.
Hope you enjoy my vegan potato salad and be sure and keep those comments coming!
This recipe was originally published May 14, 2017 and was updated to provide clearer photos and ingredient options.
Vegan Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 15 min
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stove or Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A smooth and creamy fat-free Vegan Potato Salad without using any mayo, tofu, or nuts. The secret is in the sauce!
Ingredients
- 6 red potatoes (about 2 pounds)
- 2 ribs celery
- ¼ red onion
- ¼ red bell pepper
- 2-4 Tbs pickle relish
White Bean Mayo
- 15oz can cannellini beans
- 3 Tbs lemon juice
- 1 Tbs red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbs white miso (can sub tahini)
- 1 Tbs dijon mustard
- 1 Tbs dill pickle juice
- 1 Tbs maple syrup
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- ½ tsp celery seed
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
- Wash and scrub the potatoes
- INSTANT POT: Add your steamer trivet to your IP, the potatoes, and 1 ½ cups of water. Set to MANUAL and cook for 4 minutes. Let it naturally vent when finished.
- STOVETOP: Add the potatoes to a large pan and cover with water. Boil until just fork tender - 5-10 minutes.
- Remove potatoes, drain, and set aside in the refrigerator to cool while preparing salad and dressing.
- Finely chop onion, red bell pepper, pickles, and celery and add to a large bowl. Mix thoroughly.
- For the dressing, drain and rinse the beans and add them to your blender along with all the remaining dressing ingredients. Blend on high until smooth. Add 1 Tbs water at a time to thin if needed.
- Chop the cooled potatoes and carefully mix them with the salad ingredients,
- Fold in at least 1 cup of the dressing (or as much as you like). Mix carefully.
- Chill for at least 30 minutes and serve.
- Garnish with a dusting of paprika if desired.
Keywords: vegan potato salad, fat-free, oil-free, plant-based
Tara
What does the miso do for the potato salad? Is it something I can omit?
Chuck Underwood
Adds a little more flavor and twang
luigi
Thank you for a great potato salad recipe. I make it weekly.
★★★★★
Darcey
Just made this today - first time making ANY kind of potato salad from scratch, let alone WFPB and oil-free. Seriously so impressed! Also my first time making any kind of sauce/dressing with cannellini beans. Great texture and flavor! I was the only plant-based person eating this but everyone else said they really liked it too! I didn’t have celery seed so I added dill weed instead and it was great
★★★★★
Barb
Made this to take to a potluck and it was a big hit! A few tweaks:
- I know russet or red are better for potato salad, but I had Yukon gold on hand so that's what I used. Just have to watch to stop them at al dente.
- I followed the potato-cooking instructions from The Food Lab cookbook. It's based on exhaustive testing and they found that warm potatoes absorb more flavor than cold (fun experiment with food coloring involved). As they instruct, I cooked the potatoes with 1 T. each sugar, salt, and apple cider vinegar per 2 lbs., then sprinkled another tablespoon of vinegar over them as they cooled a bit in a pan.
- We didn't have pickles on hand so I added another 1 T. of apple cider vinegar and 1/2 t. dill weed, then sprinkled a bit more dill weed on top along with the paprika (which my mom always put on potato salad so of course that's how it has to be made).
- Taste/adjust meant adding a bit more salt, pepper, and vinegar for our tastebuds.
A hit! I was glad I made a double batch so I could keep some at home for us to eat the next day.
★★★★★
Suzanne
I made this the other day and it was so good, I ate the whole batch in a couple of days, I only used 4 large red potatoes. There was extra “mayo” left over, so today I used it as a dip for my pretzels, also very good. I am new to eating as much vegan as I can and found your website, so thank you for the recipes. My next recipe will be the tofu BLT, it sounds great!
★★★★★
Milu
I've loved every recipe of yours that I've tried. I'm sure I'll love this one too!
★★★★★
Annie
This is such a great potato salad recipe. I have made it numerous times for picnics and I never tell anyone it is vegan. I get rave reviews all the time.
★★★★★