This delicious and easy potato salad recipe is mayonnaise free and has lots of fresh herbs. Thanks to an ultra-flavorful vinaigrette, this herby potato salad is naturally gluten free, egg free, and vegan. Jump to the Herb Potato Salad Recipe
Making Herb Potato Salad
We’ve shared a few variations of potato salad already. I adore this easy creamy potato salad (it’s a classic) and when we are in the mood for something a little different, we both love this green bean and potato salad with feta. We love potato salad so much, that we’ve even shared these fingerling potatoes with the most delicious potato salad inspired dipping sauce. Given all of this, we haven’t had the chance to share the one potato salad recipe that we make the most often. That changes today!
More Recipes: We also love this Red Potato Salad as well as our original Creamy Potato Salad!
This mayo-free potato salad is quick to make, calls on a short list of ingredients, is a little bit healthier, and tastes amazing! This potato salad will shine at your next barbecue or picnic and works just as well served at fancier occasions.
Some people might call this a French potato salad or maybe Mediterranean potato salad? I just call it delicious ? Let me walk you through how we make it as well as our tips for storing it and making in advance.
Herby potato salad ingredients
Our classic creamy potato salad isn’t difficult to make, but I’m going to go out there and say that this herbed potato salad is even easier! The ingredient list is not long. Here’s what we add:
Potatoes — I love using small baby or new potatoes for this salad. Red bliss potatoes or fingerlings are also excellent options. The smaller the better, this way they cook quickly and you don’t need to spend extra time chopping.
Salty water — The number one trick for the best potato salad is to salt your cooking water. I add at least 1 tablespoon to the water, which means that as the potatoes cook, they become nicely seasoned and flavorful (just like when you boil pasta).
Fresh lemon and red wine vinegar — I love the combination of fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar for the potato salad dressing (champagne vinegar is nice, too). If you don’t have both in the kitchen, don’t worry, you can use just one.
Dijon mustard — We use Dijon mustard a lot when making salad dressings. It’s tangy and helps to make vinaigrettes creamy and emulsified.
Olive oil — Mayonnaise is a popular ingredient to classic American potato salad, but for this recipe, we leave it out and instead whisk in olive oil to the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and mustard to make a creamy (dairy-free) vinaigrette.
Lots of fresh herbs and scallions — This is my favorite part of the recipe. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. When it comes to fresh salads, I honestly don’t think you can add too many herbs! I usually end up adding parsley, dill, and mint, but basil, chives or tarragon would also be wonderful.
How to make herb potato salad, step by step
As I’ve already mentioned, you don’t need a lot of time to make this simple potato salad. Let me walk you through our method for making our herby potato salad:
Cook the potatoes. We’ve found that for the best texture for boiled potatoes it’s best to add the potatoes whole to cold salted water and then place over a burner. Adding 1 tablespoon of salt to the water helps season the potatoes as they cook. Since we add cook the potatoes whole, we buy the smallest potatoes we can find in the store.
Drain the potatoes and let them sit for a few minutes. When you can easily pierce the potatoes with a fork, drain them. Then set them aside off of the heat so that they can cool off.
Cut the boiled potatoes for the salad. In our photos, you can see that we cut the potatoes into quarters or small bite-sized pieces. You can also slice the potatoes, it’s up to you.
Make the potato salad dressing. Simply whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, pepper, and olive oil together until emulsified and creamy.
Add the dressing to the warm potatoes. At this point, enough time has passed so that the potatoes are no longer piping hot, but they will still be warm. This is a good thing. The warm potatoes will soak up the dressing much better than cold potatoes would.
Stir in herbs and scallions. As a final step, we carefully toss the potatoes with lots of fresh herbs and scallions (a little extra lemon zest is a nice idea, too).
Serve the potato salad warm or set aside and let the potatoes soak up even more of the dressing and serve at room temperature or cold. It’s delicious!
Can I make potato salad in advance?
Potato salad is perfect for making in advance. In fact, I think it tastes better over time. The the potatoes soak up the flavors in the dressing over time. Feel free to make this up to 3 days in advance. Just keep it covered and stored in the refrigerator.
One thing to think about if making this herbed potato salad in advance: as they sit in the dressing, the herbs will loose a little color and freshness. For the best potato salad made ahead of time, toss the potatoes with the dressing and store covered in the fridge. Then, when you are ready to serve it, toss in the herbs, scallions, and lemon zest.
How long does potato salad last?
Potato salad should not sit out at room temperature for longer than 2 hours. If refrigerated, the salad will last 3 to 4 days.
More easy salad recipes
- Herby Cauliflower Salad with Chickpeas — Thanks to a light lemony dressing and lots of fresh herbs, this simple cauliflower salad tastes surprisingly delicious and lasts in the fridge for days.
- Quick and Easy Pasta Salad — Fresh and easy pasta salad packed with crisp vegetables, fresh mozzarella, and tossed with a simple homemade dressing.
- Creamy Tzatziki Cucumber Salad — Creamy cucumber salad recipe with a tzatziki-inspired dressing made with Greek yogurt, vinegar, fresh lemon, garlic, and dill.
- Seriously Good Homemade Coleslaw — My favorite homemade coleslaw recipe with the most delicious creamy dressing.
- Mayo-Free Cilantro Lime Coleslaw — How to make the best mayonnaise-free coleslaw salad with a lime dressing, cilantro and a little spice from minced chili peppers.
Easy Herb Potato Salad
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our mayonnaise free potato salad is packed with flavor thanks to a simple olive oil vinaigrette, lots of fresh herbs, and lemon. We prefer to use small baby potatoes (sometimes labeled New Potatoes), fingerling potatoes, or Red Bliss potatoes for this salad.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 pounds small yellow or red potatoes
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3 medium scallions (green onions), thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Directions
1Add the potatoes to a large stockpot and cover with water by 2 inches. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, and then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain then set aside to cool.
2When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite sized chunks or slice into thin rounds. Add to a large salad bowl.
3Whisk the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil together until creamy and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour all but 1/4 cup of the dressing over the potatoes and toss. Set the potatoes aside for five minutes to absorb the dressing (it will look like a lot at first, but the potatoes will soak it up).
4Add the scallions and fresh herbs. Toss gently, but thoroughly. If the potato salad seems dry, add a splash of the remaining dressing. Serve warm or cover and refrigerate, and then serve the salad cold.
Loved it! I didn’t have baby potatoes so just used the Yukon Gold potatoes I had on hand and cut them accordingly. Very fresh and summery, light and lovely plated on a bed of fresh spring mix. Elegant summer side dish. Thank you for the recipe.
Looking forward to trying your delicious looking recipes. I will make your creamy potato salad this weekend for my Easter dinner. Can’t wait to make it!
Hi! This salad looks amazing. I was wondering if it would be ok to use dried herbs?
I Kris, You can use dried herbs. As a rule of thumb, we use about 3 times the amount of fresh herbs than dried. So when converting to dried, cut the amount called for in the recipe by a third.
Have you tried this recipe with cauliflower instead of potatoes ? Thanks
Hi Betsy, We have not, although it is a great idea!
perfect! I saw this a few days ago and was craving little yellow potatoes and herbs. Finally made it, so fresh and satisfying ( served it with chicken. Thanks guys!
You guys have done a good job. No one can beat it. Thank you.