This easy vegan potato salad is the stuff of side dish dreams! Tender potatoes are coated in a creamy dressing with the perfect blend of herbs and seasonings. What really makes this potato salad sing is the addition of chopped dill pickle, fresh dill, tangy apple cider vinegar, and the crisp bites of celery and red onion. Serve this and it will get gobbled up in no time!
Now I know some people love mayonnaise on their potato salad, and others are strickly the no mayo type. While I'm a fan of vegan mayonnaise in this recipe, I also include two options for mayo free versions, including an oil-free version. Creamy easy vegan potato salad for everyone!
Not only is this vegan potato salad completely scrumptious, but you can make it ahead of time, and stored in the fridge for up to 3 - 4 days. This makes it super convenient for meal prep.
I also love that this salad is made from ingredients you most likely have on hand in your pantry!
To make easy vegan potato salad:
Add the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and continue to cook for 5 - 10 minutes until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain and let cool. Rinsing with cool water will help the potatoes cool faster.
*A note on potato peels, I like to leave the potato peels on for convenience, texture, and colour, but if you prefer you are welcome to peel the potatoes first.
In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, pickles, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, dill, salt, and pepper. Add the cooled potatoes along with the celery and red onion and gently toss to coat in the dressing. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish before serving.
*For a lower fat or oil-free version, sub the mayonnaise for 1 cup plain plant-based yogurt or 1 cup of my vegan sour cream recipe from Fuss-Free Vegan (page 207).
Serve the vegan potato salad fresh or cover and store in the fridge for 3 - 4 days. This salad is the perfect hearty side dish to any meal! I love it paired with my seitan steaks, cauliflower steaks, seitan tenders, almond and rosemary crusted tofu, seitan sausages, or crispy lemon tofu.
Common Questions:
Can Vegan Potato Salad be frozen?
Yes you can. To freeze, store in the freezer in an air-tight container. Although take special care in thawing as it can end up with a different consistency and become mushy. Be sure to thaw the potato salad over time in your refrigerator and not to thaw at room temperature or in the microwave.
How long can Vegan Potato Salad last in the fridge?
If stored in a sealed container in your fridge, it can last 3-4 days.
What meals should I serve Vegan Potato Salad with?
Try any of my backyard BBQ favourites such as my Seitan Burgers, Sausages, Seitan Chicken Tenders, or game day foods like my Crispy Buffalo Cauliflower Wings or my Seitan Bites (wings).
Bon appetegan!
Sam Turnbull.
Easy Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes (any kind, I used Yukon gold), cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 cup vegan mayonnaise, (see notes for subs)
- 2 dill pickles, chopped (about ½ cup)
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, finely chopped (or 1 teaspoon dried dill)
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- ½ of a red onion,, thinly sliced (about ½ cup)
- smoked or sweet paprika, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Add the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and continue to cook for 5 - 10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender. Drain and let cool. Rinsing with cool water will help the potatoes cool faster.
- In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, pickles, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, dill, salt, and pepper. Add the cooled potatoes along with the celery and red onion and gently toss to coat in the dressing. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish before serving. Serve the vegan potato salad fresh or cover and store in the fridge for 3 - 4 days.
Don says
Absolutely THE BEST potato salad ever!!! We made it for a party of 6 people (4 of which were not vegan and THEY loved it, asking for the recipe). Thank you!
Sam Turnbull says
Amazing! Thrilled you loved it Don!
Fenice says
I’m surprised I haven’t commented on this recipe as I’ve been making it since I came across the recipe last summer. This is my favourite potato salad recipe and I now get requests to make it and bring it along to potlucks (although I always let people know to find the recipe on your website, Sam). My picky omnivore brother says it’s the best potato salad he’s ever had.
Sam Turnbull says
Oh that's wonderful Fenice! So happy you love it so much 🙂
Sara says
I made this for a BBQ. Everyone told me how good it was. I subbed half the salt for black salt, and it really gave it an egg-like taste.
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved it!
Laura says
Oh my gosh! Sooo delicious! I think the sauce could be used on salmon as well! Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Kathleine Gavin says
Made this today. AMAZING! Delicious. Easy! Thanks for all that you do! Huge fan of your work and have been following you for years. I
Sam Turnbull says
So happy you loved it Kathleine 🙂
Bren says
Excellent Recipe, I loved it more than regular nonvegan potato salad. So great to have found the perfect recipe now that I am vegan. Thank you so much for sharing!! No need to change a thing, it's perfect!! We all enjoyed this in our family. Even the carnivores!!
Jane Oard says
I just discovered your site this past week. This potato salad is awesome. It is often hard to find things to cook for my family as my husband is on a regular meat eating diet, my daughter only eats eggs and fish and I am vegan. We all loved this potato salad and my husband said it is the best he has ever had. Can't wait to make more of your recipes! Pea soup and ultimate vegan breakfast sandwich were both to die for as well! Thank you!
Kim D from Canada says
I am a vegetarian ( for over 30 years) making the move to vegan and I made this today, specifically to entice my meat loving partner in a bid for better health for us both. I did not add celery or onion as it aggravates his Crohn's. He loved it as is and ate a full bowl before I could even add the smoked paprika. I call that an impressive (vegan) potato salad! I did add some thinly sliced roasted red pepper for colour.
Thanks for this great and simple recipe, can't wait to try more.
Stacey says
Hi, this looks wonderful. I’m going to make it for Christmas lunch. I’m wondering if they are fresh or bottled pickles that you use. Thanks
Sam Turnbull says
I use bottled pickles. Enjoy!
Maria says
Could I cut this recipe down to a 1lb of potatoes? what would be my dressing measurements? Thank you !
Sam Turnbull says
Hi Maria, yes you can. 1lb of potatoes is 1/3 of the recipe, so everything would need to be divided by 1/3. Enjoy!
Babs Hecht says
I had stopped making things like a potato salad because I always made them in bulk in the past and I couldn't justify making it for just one person but now I just cut most recipes into 1/3 or 1/4 and I'm back to enjoying these foods that I used to make family sizes of.
This recipe is delicious and was easy to downsize. I enjoyed this with some BBQ oven baked tofu and it was the perfect combination. Love your recipes, they never disappoint.
Lia says
How much black salt would you put in for a recipe? Would you split it to half sea salt have black salt? My dad really likes the eggy taste.
in2insight says
So simple and yet so good! Everyone loved this at a brunch I took this to, vegans and non vegans alike.
The only changes I made were to elemente the onion (can’t eat those anymore…) and replace with a diced red peper and I did add a bit of chopped up marinated tofu.
Thank you for sharing this!
Val says
I love your salad as it is, but if anyone misses the hard boiled egg, I recommend putting some uncooked tofu, chopped quite small. It give it the texture of egg whites! And adding a bit of turmeric or curry powder to the sauce gives the illusion of the yolks' yellowness.
Rosalie Reeves says
I think I'll try the tofu and tumeric when I make it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Kamielle says
Just made this tonight for a barbeque I'm attending tomorrow. It feels impossible to have to wait until tomorrow to have a big helping! I loved your suggestion to use black salt to give it that eggy flavour, I don't think I would have thought of that. I love the combination of the traditional taste of potato salad that I used to love with the mayo and black salt PLUS this fun, tangy addition of DILL PICKLE, whaaaat?! I'm excited to share it with my friends! I have so much fun sharing delicious food that makes people go "I can't believe this is vegan!"
Denise says
I make this once a week. We all love it, both vegans and non vegans alike!
The smoked paprika gives it an especially great flavor!
restaurantthatdeliversnearme.website says
Thanks for the recipe.
Rochelle says
Really good! Definitely hit the spot. I would make more potatoes or less dressing next time, since I found it really dressing heavy.
Nanette says
Made this today....didn't measure most of the ingredients (I am an eyeballer), and it still came out great! I did up the salt to a tsp and the pepper to a tsp and omitted the dried dill....just used a pickle spear. It was soooooo good. Eating some now!
Sam Turnbull says
Glad you enjoyed!
jess says
it definitely needed more salt & pepper and some turmeric, but otherwise nice good easy recipe 🙂