Simple Mayo Free Potato Salad
Sometimes you are looking for a mayo-free potato salad, either because you or someone in your family doesn’t like mayonnaise, or because you are serving it at a picnic, or another outdoor gathering, and you are not eager to leave a salad made with mayo in the hot sun. Either way, this one fits the bill.
This no-mayo potato salad is very simple, and won’t steal the limelight from whatever else is on the menu. I can fall hard for a potato salad with twists and turns (Capers! Heat! Other vegetables! Cheese! Eggs!) but I never tire of a simple potato salad (with or without mayo). It’s really nursery food, a little mindless, requiring no real commitment on the part of the eater. That may not sound all that inspiring, but I really do think that it’s awfully nice to have an item on the table that isn’t yelling “look at me!” at most meals.
Sometimes you just want a great potato salad without the mayo—this one has classic flavors and comes together in 20 minutes.
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No Mayo Potato Salad Add-Ins
Having said THAT….You can add other minced fresh herbs to the salad (instead of or in addition to the parsley), such as thyme, oregano, chervil, marjoram, or sage. Use some minced red onion in addition to — or instead of — the copious amounts of scallions for an additional pop of color. Thinly sliced celery also makes a nice addition, adding a bit of crunch.
Mayo-Free Potato Salad Tips
Tossing the potatoes with the vinaigrette-ish dressing while they are still warm helps them absorb the flavors of the dressing, which really boosts the depth of the salad. Don’t forget to salt your cooking water, too—you want those potatoes to be seasoned with salt all the way through, and that can only happen if the water they are cooking in is salted.
What the Kids Can Do
Kids can use an age appropriate knife to slice the scallions, and chop the parsley. They can also help measure and mix up the dressing. Also if you want to cook the potatoes in halves rather than small pieces, once the potatoes have cooled, the kids can cut them up with a knife, now that they are soft.
Leave out the white wine if you are concerned about the very small amount of alcohol for the kids. I’ve always been preoccupied with other things to worry about.
What to Serve with Mayonnaise-Free Potato Salad:
- Barbecued Chicken
- Simple Vegetarian Pasta Salad
- Fried Green Tomatoes with Green Goddess Dressing
- Spicy Cole Slaw or if you want a mayo-free slaw try the more unusual Carrot, Cabbage and Kohlrabi Slaw with Miso Dressing
- A Peach Cocktail and a Mocktail for Mixed Company
- Ice Cream Sandwiches
Other Potato Salad Recipes:
- Creamy Corn and Potato Salad with Bacon and Lemon Buttermilk Dressing
- Egg and Potato Salad with Bacon
- Classic Potato Salad with Celery and Fresh Thyme (also mayo-free!)
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Mayonnaise-Free Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon potatoes or baby potatoes
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
- ¼ cup dry white wine optional
- ½ cup minced onion
- 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- ½ cup sliced scallion white and green parts
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions
- Peel or scrub the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch chunks, or halve or quarter baby potatoes so that the pieces are about 1-inch. Place them in a saucepan with salted water to cover by 2 inches. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to about medium, and simmer the potatoes gently until they are tender and can be pierced with a sharp knife, about 15 minutes. Drain and let cool slightly.
- Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine the olive oil, white wine (if using), Dijon mustard, onions, and salt and pepper.
- Add the warm potatoes and gently toss until the potatoes are well coated with the dressing. Let cool slightly, then gently mix in the scallions and parsley. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition values are provided as an estimate. It is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a qualified healthcare professional.
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Great recipe! I made as per instructions. Served at bbq picnic, no need to worry about mayo going bad. There was too much oil sitting in the bottom of the bowl for me, but it was easy to drain the extra out. Very tasty, looked great, will definitely make again.
Whenever I make potato salad, I always pre-marinate my cooked potatoes with a vinegarette before finishing and give onion, celery and bell pepper a quick saute in garlic oil. It helps meld the flavours and takes away some of the bite.
Can you make this day before and refrigerate?wondering how it will taste
it should be fine, just bring it to room temperature before serving. Having said that, I find all potato salads to be at their best if you make them they day you serve them, and they never get refrigerated; that’s optimal but not always practical!
Does this work if served cold?
I prefer to bring it to room temp before serving, but that’s a personal choice!
This is very similar to a simple Turkish potato salad that I love. Warm cooked potatoes with fresh dill and scallions, drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil, seasoned with salt, then mixed. The fresh dill absolutely shines with the lemon. You are so right about the potatoes being warm – they soak up so much of the flavor that way. I’m excited to try it this way with the parsley and wine/mustard dressing!
It looks like you used baby red potatoes, not Yukon? Just curious which you would recommend. Can’t wait to try this!!!
absolutely you can! Just cut them into the size chunks you like!
It was very good and healthy!
Love that did not needed Mayo.
Thank you.
Love this and so does my family
I also cut back on oil, added red wine vinegar, dill weed, and tarragon.
I did a tweak on this also cutback on the olive oil 1/4 cup, 2 tbsp of dijon mustard and champagne vinegar.
tweak away! everything is really to taste.
would hard boiled eggs work in this salad?
in addition to the potatoes? absolutely.
It was good! I want it more tangy however. I think I will cut olive oil back to 1/4 cup. I will use 2 T Dijon mustard and maybe some vinegar instead of white wine.
sound like good tweaks!!
I made this mayonnaise free potato salad tonight, and it was marvelous, easy, I recommend it!!
awesome!!