HealthyHappyLife.com

  • recipes
  • cookbooks
  • about
  • subscribe
  • mom life
  • travel
  • blogging
  • videos
  • free gift!
  • shop
menu icon
go to homepage
  • recipes
  • cookbooks
  • about
  • subscribe
  • mom life
  • travel
  • blogging
  • videos
  • free gift!
  • shop
search icon
Homepage link
  • recipes
  • cookbooks
  • about
  • subscribe
  • mom life
  • travel
  • blogging
  • videos
  • free gift!
  • shop
×
  • My Pandemic Baby Is Graduating Preschool
  • 5 Comfy-Cute, One Piece Swimsuits - Long Torso Edit
  • Spring Fling: Best Garden & Outdoor Finds for Your Home & Kids
  • Plant-Based Protein Sources: The Ultimate Guide // Back to Basics Series
  • Overthinking Won't Save You — But This Might
  • Creative Mom Working From Home: Glitter, Chaos, & On-Brand Post-its
  • The Ultimate Copenhagen with Kids Guide: Where to Stay, Eat & Play
  • Back to Basics: The Ultimate Guide to Vegan Egg Replacers
  • kathy patalsky hbd 44 joy
    I Bought Myself a Cameo for My Birthday - And No, I Haven't Watched it Yet
  • Easy English Muffin Pizzas for Kids (Vegan & Kid-Approved!)
  • 44. birthday post.
  • 7 Foods for Lung Health During Wildfire Pollution
Home » Recipes » Sides

Easy Vegan Potato Salad

by Kathy Patalsky · updated: Oct 19, 2023 · published: Jul 3, 2020 · About 6 minutes to read this article. 2 Comments

crunchy vegan potato salad

This Easy Vegan Potato Salad is everything you crave in a classic potato salad. Creamy, crunchy, with enough texture to accent the mashed and chunky boiled potatoes.

This potato salad is loaded with tangy, vibrant flavor. It's one of those side dishes that you will seriously consider just making your main course because you cannot stop eating it.

serving of vegan potato salad

Veggie-Loaded Potato Salad

Another perk of this easy vegan potato salad is that besides potatoes, this dish is loaded with veggies! So you can feel good about the giant portion you are devouring.

flavorful potato salad with celery and onion

I have added:

  • finely chopped spinach
  • celery
  • red onion
  • fresh pickle

...And you could easily tweak this recipe to add your own veggies. The base sauce is that delicious!

Potato Salad Sauce

I guess you can call it sauce, yes? Dressing? Marinade? Whatever you call it, it's the wet mixture of stuff that coats and marinates all those potatoes and veggies. It usually combines mayo and mustard, spices and more. Well, this vegan version is about all that with my own spin of ingredients...

  • vegan mayo
  • dijon mustard
  • apple cider vinegar
  • maple syrup
  • garlic and onion dried spices
  • salt and pepper
  • smoky paprika

..I mostly chose this selection of ingredients because I feel like they are pretty standard to have on hand. The onion and garlic powders add an extra kick of flavor, but are actually optional. But basically, if you have vegan mayo and mustard, you are on your way to easy vegan potato salad bliss.

best easy vegan potato salad in a teal bowl

The Potatoes

I like house russet potatoes. They are large and easy to handle and have great flavor and starchy texture. They hold up well!

Important potato salad tip: Do not over-boil your potatoes. You want them tender but not falling apart mushy. You should have to use a bit of muscle power when you half-mash them.

And yes, I do a half-mash. Meaning that once the potatoes are added, I mash about half of them and leave the other nice and chunky. If you want them all chunky or all mashed, go for it.

More Potatoes?

I added the minimal amount of potatoes necessary for this Easy Vegan Potato Salad, because to be totally honest, I thought I had two large russets and in fact, I only had two smallish potatoes. I made it work and it was still crazy delicious. But the starchiness and texture from potato could definitely come in at a greater ratio.

To make my two smaller potatoes work, I slightly adjusted the recipe accordingly. I actually used a bit more celery than needed as well, so my recipe evened itself out in the end. A bit more veggies, less potato. But for next time, I am going to find two large potatoes or three small.

Basically anywhere from 3 ½ to 4 ½ cups of diced potato will work with this recipe, aka the amount of flavorful sauce built in.

Because it's really all about the ratio between the sauce and the veggies. You just want the sauce to be bold enough to marinate and coat all the veggies -- what veggie and potato mixture you add can be up to you!

Vegan Mayo

I am loyal to FYH Vegenaise because I've been eating it for about fifteen years now and love it so much. I seriously use it on so many things. And the funny thing is, I never liked mayo before I went vegan. Ha.

But there are so many vegan mayo brands on the market these days too! You can definitely substitute with whatever you have in your fridge. The main constraint is that it has a rich and creamy texture. Nothing watery or 'light.' This is the only fat you are adding to this recipe, so you want the richness to be there.

 easy vegan potato salad in bowl

Get Creative...

Yup, you could totally swap out some celery or onion - or even potato and sub in veggies like steamed or boiled broccoli, cauliflower or even sweet potato!

How Much Chill Time for Potato Salad?

Honestly, you will love this Easy Vegan Potato Salad without any chill time. The sauce and flavors are that yummy. But ideally, you can chill it for an hour before serving. A few hours or even overnight is even better because all the flavors marinate the potatoes and veggies. But give it just under and hour and you should be good.

Summer Recipe!

This is a lovely recipe for the summer season. Here are a few other summer faves of mine...

  • Watermelon Frosty
  • Flag Cake
  • Simple Pink Cole Slaw
  • Creamy Dill Potato Salad
  • Tofu Feta Watermelon Salad
  • Vegan Tofu Egg Salad Sandwich
  • Easy Stovetop Baked Beans
  • Cowgirl Baked Beans
  • All the.... Veggie Burgers
  • Strawberry banana smoothies
  • Fresh strawberry ice cream
  • Banana cream pudding
  • Cookie ice cream sandwiches
  • Blueberry cheesecake ice cream

Easy Vegan Potato Salad

This creamy, crunchy, vibrantly flavorful potato salad is a classic gone vegan.
5 from 3 votes
click the stars to rate
Print Pin
Prep: 10 minutes mins
Cook: 7 minutes mins
Chilling Time: 1 hour hr
Total: 1 hour hr 17 minutes mins
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced - see notes
  • 1 ¼ cup celery, finely chopped
  • ¾ cup red onion, finely chopped
  • 1 cup spinach, finely chopped
  • 1 large pickle, chopped

Potato Salad Sauce:

  • 2 ½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • ½ cup vegan mayo, add 1-2 tablespoon for extra creamy
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon smoky paprika
  • 2 tablespoon maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder, optional
  • 1 teaspoon garlic granules, optional
  • salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Peel and dice potatoes.
  • Fill a soup pot with water and a pinch of salt, over high heat, and bring to a boil. Add potatoes. Boil until tender but not mushy. Do not over-boil. 7-10 minutes should do it depending how small you diced your potato.
  • Drain water from potatoes and set aside. You want your potatoes to cool down a bit before mixing with the other ingredients. Sometimes I use an ice bath to help this process along! The hot potatoes melt the ice and then I just strain the water out again.
  • When the potatoes have cooled enough, start on your sauce and veggies.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the celery, onion, spinach, pickle -- paprika, optional garlic and onion spices, vinegar, mayo, mustard and maple syrup. Fold everything together to combine.
  • Add in the potatoes. Then half-mash the mixture using a fork or masher. Half-mashed means you will mash half the potatoes and leave the rest nice and chunky. You can mash ore or less as desired.
  • Fold everything together one more time and pour potato salad into a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge.
  • Chill for at least one hour before serving. This recipe can be made one day ahead of time.

Equipment

  • soup pot
  • mixing bowl
recipe author: Kathy Patalsky

Notes

Potatoes: The potato amount comes out to about 3 ½ cups boiled potatoes. But you can range anywhere from 3-4 cups or even more if you want your potato salad really starchy.
You may also adjust the veggie amounts as desired.

nutrition estimate | per serving

Calories: 191kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 502mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 453IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 1mg
Side Dish
American
celery, potato salad, potatoes, summer, vegetable
Did you make this?Snap a pic + tag me! @KathyPatalsky
potato salad pin

More Sides

  • Vegan Maple Bacon Asparagus
  • pita bread
    Homemade Pita Bread
  • beans on toast
    Fast + Easy Stovetop Baked Beans!
  • Vegan Southern Soul Bowl
    Vegan Southern Soul Bowl

About Kathy Patalsky

Hey there! I'm Kathy, lover of kitty cats, weekend baking, 90's movies, travel, beach fog and foamy lattes. Since 2007, I have been sharing my vegan recipes and photos. My goal is to make your cooking life a little easier, delicious - and plant-loaded - while sharing some LIFE and conversation along the way.

Hi, I'm Kathy! I'm so glad you are here! I've been sharing my vegan life and recipes here on the blog since 2007...

More about me →

my cookbooks
my books

Latest Posts

  • Letter from the Editor: Embracing the Holiday Time Glow
  • Vegan Holiday Recipe Quicklist
  • Holiday Gift Guide for 4-5-Year-Olds: Top Picks for Magic and Fun!
  • Vegan "Dad Sandwich" Revisited

Trending

  • All Posts
  • appetizer
  • Mom Life
  • recipes
  • personal
  • dessert
  • holiday
  • Smoothies
  • snacks
  • kid recipes
  • kid crafts
  • salad
  • Sandwiches
  • entree
  • 101 Things I Love. Happiness Reflection.
  • 5-Minute Skillet Chickpeas
  • Vegan Dining at Disneyland - 2023 - Complete List!
  • 7 Tips for Fluffy Cinnamon Rolls
  • avocado toast with mushrooms
    Mushroom Avocado Toast
  • peanut butter chickpeas
    Easy Peanut Butter Curry Chickpeas

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • about kathy
  • press
  • © 2024 polished dc, llc
  • Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions

Newsletter

  • sign up..
  • subscriber gift: vegan cheat sheets!

Contact

  • work with me

Goodies

  • shop
  • cookbooks
  • finding vegan
  • videos

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




Let us know what you thought of this recipe:

This worked exactly as written, thanks!
My family loved this!
Thank you for sharing this recipe

Or write in your own words:

A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required