Old Fashioned Vegan Potato Salad 🌱 Potatoes, crisp celery, colorful red onion, sweet gherkin pickles and a few spoonfuls of homemade vegan egg salad combined with a delicious dressing. Experience the best potato salad you've ever tasted!
Who knew a humble potato salad could be a superstar? Loaded with flavor, color and texture - crispy, soft and chewy - this popular potato salad will be a hit every time you serve it. Old fashioned style with timeless appeal. If you're looking for that perfect casual dish to wow a crowd, look no further.
Potato salad is one of those ubiquitous dishes we expect to see at spring and summer parties, potlucks and casual outdoor events. At our house, this vegan potato salad recipe is right at the top of our holy trinity of traditional salads, followed by my mom's marvelous vegan macaroni salad and my fabulous 4-bean fiesta salad.
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This delightfully delish recipe has evolved to a higher level over time. Handed down by several generations of women in my family - this folks, is your county fair blue ribbon award-winning, old fashioned potato salad - made even better, with all vegan ingredients.
By swapping out egg-based mayonnaise and hard boiled eggs with plant-based ingredients we have transformed the original recipe to 100% vegan. In the process - the flavor, texture and over-all scrumptiousness is better than ever!
Why we love this recipe
- it's ridiculously delish
- 100% vegan
- easy to make ahead and serve later
- we've made it a million times - it's that good
- ideal for potlucks & outdoor parties
- did I mention it's the best vegan potato salad ever!
🥕The Easy Vegan Egg Salad is optional, but I highly recommend making a batch (or two) and add some to this potato salad. It's amazing. Plus, having another salad to serve is an extra bonus! You can find my recipe for easy vegan egg salad here. Be sure to watch the video below.
🥕 See the recipe card below for quantities & complete details
Ingredients
Salad ingredients
- Potatoes - we like Yukon Golds, but you can substitute with red (new) potatoes or russets
- Celery - fresh and crispy
- Red onion - we love the color & sweetness, but you can substitute with another type of sweet or mild onion
- Pickles - sweet gherkins are a key ingredient. Yes you can use other sweet pickles or even dill if you prefer, but you owe it to yourself to experience this with gherkins.
- Vegan eggless egg salad - Another game-changing ingredient that makes this potato salad recipe so magical. It's optional, but I think it's totally worth making, plus, you'll have a second salad to add to your table! See the recipe
Dressing Ingredients
- Vegan mayo - use your favorite brand
- Pickle juice - sweet gherkin juice
- Paprika - I prefer sweet paprika (not smoked)
- Salt
- Black pepper - I like freshly ground
Instructions
- Prepare a batch of vegan eggless egg salad. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Peel and dice potatoes into approximately 1-2" cubes.
- Place potatoes in a large stovetop pot. Cover with water and a lid.
- Bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Lower to simmering boil and cook for 10-15 minutes until potatoes are just tender. Don't over-cook or they'll get mushy.
- Remove from stove. Transfer potatoes to a large strainer or colander and drain thoroughly.
- While the potatoes are cooking is a good time to dice the celery, onion and pickles. Set aside.
- Whisk together salad dressing ingredients.
- Once potatoes are fully drained, transfer them to a large mixing bowl.
- Add celery, onion, pickles. Gently combine with a large spoon.
- Add one cup of vegan eggless egg salad. Gently combine.
- Pour dressing over salad. Carefully toss with salad to fully combine. Be careful not to mash potatoes too much in the process.
- Sprinkle with a pinch of paprika.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Equipment
- 5 qt or larger stove top pot with lid
- Large strainer or colander
- Veggie peeler
- Cutting board
- Large mixing bowl
- Kitchen knife
- Large spoon
- Measuring cup
- Measuring spoon
🥕Serving Suggestions
We love enjoying a heaping serving of old fashioned vegan potato salad paired with a tofu egg salad sandwich. Old school style updated with a vegan twist!
FAQ's
Both sweet gherkins and sweet pickles are cucumbers that have been pickled, typically in a brine of salt and water or vinegar plus spices. A sweet gherkin pickle is a baby cucumber, in fact the name is derived from the Dutch word "gurken", meaning small pickled cucumber. Gherkins are very crispy and pack a lot of flavor. Sweet pickles are made from a variety of different cucumbers, large and small. They're often used to make relishes and are sliced - commonly known as bread and butter pickles. Learn more here.
I know what you're thinking - why is this even a question? Oddly enough, it's one that is asked a lot. Simple answer: Yes. Potatoes are vegan. It's what you put on potatoes that may not be vegan. For instance, we veganized a popular potato recipe substituting dairy butter and cheese with all plant-based ingredients. I think you'll love this very vegan version of Scalloped Potatoes with Cabbage.
Always keep potato salad refrigerated in a covered airtight container until ready to serve. If you are taking it to an outdoor event, it's best to keep it cold inside a cooler or tray surrounded in ice. Discard any uneaten potato salad that has been left out at room temperature. Keep unopened leftovers stored refrigerated up to 3 days. Words I live by: "When in doubt, throw it out."
If you enjoyed our old fashioned vegan potato salad recipe, be sure to check out these other delish plant-based dishes!
- Lemon Artichoke Orzo Salad
- Southwestern Quinoa Salad
- Mom's Vegan Macaroni Salad
- Vegan Jackfruit Tuna Salad
- Israeli Couscous Salad
very vegan 🌱 very good
Recipe
Old Fashioned Vegan Potato Salad
Equipment
- 5 qt or larger stove top pot with lid
- large strainer or colander
- Large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 large potatoes peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes I prefer Yukon Gold potatoes
- ½ large red onion diced
- 1 C celery diced (4-6 stalks)
- ½ C sweet gherkin pickles diced
- 1 C vegan egg salad* *see my recipe here
Dressing
- 1½ C vegan mayo
- ¼ C sweet gherkin pickle juice
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
- ½ teaspoon sweet paprika reserve a pinch or two
Instructions
- Place peeled/diced potatoes into large pot. Cover completely with water and cover pot with lid.
- Place on stove, over high heat. Bring water to a boil for at least 8-10 minutes.
- Test potatoes for tenderness with a sharp knife. When a knife easily pierces potatoes, remove from heat and drain water.
- If necessary, rinse potatoes with cold water to prevent further cooking. Set potatoes aside to cool.
- When potatoes are cool, transfer them to a large bowl.
- Gently stir in onions, celery, pickles, and egg salad.
- In a separate, medium-size bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients, adding pickle juice a little at a time - to taste. Don't let the dressing become too thin.
- Pour dressing over top and thoroughly combine.
- Transfer finished potato salad into a large serving bowl.
- Sprinkle with remaining paprika. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
These are estimated values generated from a nutritional database using unbranded products. Please do your own research with the products you're using if you have a serious health issue or are following a specific diet.
Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
Judy Pojar
This is the best vegan potato salad I have found. I use to make potato salad with my eyes closed using egg and dairy, and I could never find a vegan recipe that matched it. I thought of using tofu and black salt but had not tried it until I found your recipe. Thank you so much
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Hi Judy! I'm so glad you enjoyed the potato salad! I'll think of you when I make a batch this weekend. Thank you for your wonderful comments!💚
millie
This is soooo delicious!!! this is way better than store bought... I love the sweet pickles in it and the juice!! you must try!! This is highly recommened!! <3
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Yay Millie! I’m thrilled you experienced the potato salad. You’re right about those sweet pickles - they add so much! Thank you for sharing the love about my Grandma Elizabeth’s potato salad recipe 💚🥕
Natalie
Today we made both your egg salad and the potato salad and its the BEST we EVER had. We live in France right next to Germany (where we lived many years as well) where potato salad is huge but yours wins the prize! Highly recommended!!
Connie Edwards McGaughy
Natalie - this is the type of comment I live for! I'm smiling from ear to ear, as I'm sure my mother and great grandmother must be as well❤️ There's nothing better than knowing that one of our favorite heirloom family recipes is now one of your favorites too! Thank you for sharing!
Connie Edwards McGaughy
For those who love a good old-fashioned homemade potato salad, you're going to LOVE this recipe. All the fabulous flavor and texture of a traditional tater salad made with all vegan ingredients. It just doesn't get much better!