My vegan recipe for Creamy Dill Potato Salad is infused with bold flavors of garlic, spicy Dijon mustard, cider vinegar, black pepper, spices, crunchy veggies and heaps of fresh chopped dill. In my opinion, there is no better use for dill than in a creamy potato recipe. And despite their bad reputation - white flesh potatoes are actually quite healthy for you! Find out why and try my recipe..
Veganized Potato Salad. I was never a huge "white potato" fan - sweet potatoes were always my preference - but I do crave a crunchy creamy potato salad during the spring and summer seasons. Call it my "vegan picnic fare" craving syndrome - although I usually enjoy my "vegan picnics" at home rather than on a grassy knoll. Ah city life..
Healthy Potatoes. Potatoes may be mostly water and starch - but they are indeed complex carbohydrates filled with fiber and potatoes (skin-on) are infused with nutrients. Iron, potassium, copper plus vitamins C, B6 and A - just to name a few.
..so I guess sweet potatoes aren't the only "good potato" to serve your family. White potatoes usually get a bad reputation based on the fact that most people eat them peeled and fried. Most of the nutrients are in those potato skins!
Potato salad is incredibly easy. And potatoes, especially when bought in bulk, are wonderfully inexpensive - for the generous serving size you get.
Make Ahead Salad. Since you can make it in advance - potato salad is an easy grab and serve side dish. You can serve potato salad warm or chilled. The flavors intensify and the creaminess firms up when the salad is chilled - as opposed to a warm salad where the sauce will melt into more of a potato dressing. See recipe below for details.
I tossed this salad warm - then chilled in fridge. The salad shown is not fully chilled yet..
There are plenty of optional add-in ingredients you can fold into your finished salad. I noted a few in the recipe below. Here is a nice list of optional ingredients..
* celery salt
* paprika
* cayenne
* scallions
* onions
* carrots
* corn kernels
* beans
* celery
* fresh herbs - dill, parsley, cilantro, basil, chives
* vegan sour cream
* tempeh bacon bits
* mustard powder
* various mustards
* bell pepper
* nutritional yeast
* diced apples
* dried fruit
.. and more ..
I was so excited about potato salad that I did a second recipe: Cilantro Red Potato Salad - in a wrap too! Get the recipe here. And check out these yummy pics (try dill one day and cilantro the next!)..
In a wrap! (shown at tope as well)
Potato Salad: Make it a meal, picnic style!..
Perfect Pairings: vegan picnic sandwiches - Chickenless Salad Sandwich, Ten Summer Sandwiches List, Almond "Tuna" Pitas, Sunshine Sandwich, easy Hummus Spiral Wraps, Smoky Tempeh Wrap, Sunny Spicy Slaw Wrap or Quesadillas.
Creamy Dill Potato Salad
vegan, makes 8 cups
1 lb mini potatoes, halved/quartered
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2-3 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoon vegan mayo, Vegenaise
2 tablespoon spicy/Dijon mustard
¾ cup sweet onion OR scallions, chopped
1 ½ cups fresh dill, chopped (stems and fronds)
¼ teaspoon cayenne
fresh black pepper and sea salt to taste
garnish: fresh pepper, dill sprigs, a drizzle of good olive oil
Optional Fold-in's:
for extra crunch: 1 cup celery diced AND/OR 1 cup carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
cheezy flavor: ⅓ cup nutritional yeast
extra creamy: ⅓ cup vegan sour cream
extra rich: fold in 2 tablespoon olive oil
sweet/savory: 2 teaspoon agave syrup
Directions:
1. Prep all your ingredients. Scrub your potatoes well. Halve and quarter them. Smaller potato bits will cook faster.
2. Bring salted water to a boil and drop your potatoes. Cook until tender - do not over cook or you will end up with more of a "mashed" potato salad. I like to rinse my cooked potatoes in ice water to halt cooking.
3. There are two options now. You can chill your cooked potatoes first - then fold your ingredients directly into the potatoes and serve or chill. This prevents the vegan mayo and other creamy ingredients from 'melting' into the hot potatoes. The other option is to simply toss all the ingredients into the warm potatoes - and then chill until ready to serve. Doing this will allow the flavors to marinade nicely - but it may also wilt the "thickness" of your creamy potato salad sauce. The last option is to fold all the ingredients into the potatoes and serve warm. This is also delicious!
4. Chill your salad until ready to be served - or serve warm. Garnish with fresh dill sprigs and a drizzle of good olive oil and fresh black pepper over top.
