Potato Salad – No Mayo Recipe

You’ve got questions? I’ve got answers! If you have a question you don’t see listed below, please drop them in the comments section. I’m happy to help when I can! 

When boiling potatoes for salad, it is imperative you follow a few easy tips and tricks to ensure a perfect potato salad every single time!

• Clean potatoes by rinsing them in cold water and gently scrubbing off dirt.
• Quarter or half potatoes so they are uniform in size.  Potatoes need to be similar in size so they cook through at the same time. You don’t want under or over-cooked potatoes. Pro-tip:  If you are nervous about potatoes breaking apart or becoming crumbly, boil the potatoes whole.
• Place potatoes in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover by 1 ½ inches.
• Bring water to a gentle boil.  Do not rapidly boil the cut potatoes or they will fall apart.
• Season the water with salt, sugar and vinegar. Seasoning the water ensures your potatoes will be flavorful inside.
• Reduce heat under water to maintain a gentle simmer.
• Cook potatoes until they are just fork tender – the tines of a fork should easily slide out of the potato when pierced. Quartered or halved red skin potatoes will take about 10-12 minutes to cook. Whole red skin potatoes will take about 15-20 minutes.

You can absolutely make this vinegar potato salad with russet potatoes! The type of potato you use in potato salad will depend on personal preference and taste.

Russet potatoes have a grainy, fluffy, open texture and are fantastic at absorbing potato salad seasoning! However, waxy potatoes – such as red skin or fingerling – have less starch and retain their shape better during boiling. If you are using russet potatoes, make sure you do NOT continuously boil the chopped potatoes or they will fall apart.

Using a vinaigrette instead of mayonnaise in potato salads results in a fresher flavored potato side dish that’s also healthier and lighter. The silky fresh herb vinaigrette enhances the overall flavor by allowing all the individual ingredients to really shine. Instead of masking them with a heavy condiment.

To make no mayo potato salad dressing: Simply whisk together extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and seasonings together in a small bowl to emulsify. Then, whisk in fresh herbs (if using) and season to taste with salt and pepper. Et Voila! Vinaigrette dressing for potato salad.

When to add dressing to potato salad depends entirely on the type of dressing you plan to use.

If you are using a vinaigrette, you need to dress the potatoes right away, while they are still warm! Warm potatoes will absorb the vinaigrette and become more flavorful.

When using a mayonnaise-based potato salad, you need to let the potatoes cool completely before tossing them with a dressing. Warm potatoes will cause the mayonnaise to break and your salad will become very oily.

Potato salad will taste bland unless the potatoes are properly seasoned. Adding acid, specifically vinegar, to potato salad will help brighten up the flavor. You should layer the vinegar and add it to both the cooking water and to the cooked potatoes while they are still warm.

Pro-tip:  Vinegar is especially needed if you are serving your potato salad cold! As a rule of thumb, cold foods need to be seasoned more generously than foods served warm.

The type of vinegar in potato salad depends on personal preference, but you should use an all-purpose vinegar such as white wine, rice wine or even apple cider vinegar. Steer clear of flavored vinegars such as balsamic.

The difference between a good and great potato salad is a balance of flavors (and textures). Adding a sweetener, such as sugar, to the cooking water helps balance out the vinegar.

If you properly cook your potatoes in a mixture of vinegar and sugar water, you should not need to add extra sugar to the potato salad dressing. However, if you prefer a sweeter potato salad, you can certainly add sugar when dressing your potatoes!

There is nothing sadder than a watery potato salad! To avoid a water-logged salad, follow these tricks:

• Cut the potatoes into chunks, halves or quarters.  Cut potatoes will cook faster and more evenly than whole potatoes. Whole potatoes have a higher chance of the outside turning to mush before the inside is finished cooking which can result in a watery potato salad. With that said, do not cut your potatoes too small or they will have a higher chance of overcooking and turning mushy!
• Drain the potatoes thoroughly.  Make sure you thoroughly drain the potatoes in a colander before adding any dressing. If your potatoes still seem watery, drain the potatoes and then return them to the pot. Place the pot on stove over LOW heat for minute to cook out any extra water clinging to the potatoes. Make sure you stir the potatoes and be careful to not overheat the potatoes or they will turn mushy.
• Add vinaigrette dressing to warm potatoes.  Do not allow the potatoes to cool completely before adding the olive oil based dressing. Warm potatoes will soak up the dressing better than cool potatoes. Cool potatoes will repel the dressing and result in a ‘watery’ salad.

Seasoning the cooking water is key to a great potato salad. Since potatoes will absorb some of the seasoning while cooking, it is imperative your cooking water is generously seasoned with salt, vinegar and sugar (more on that below). A flavorful potato salad has potatoes that are seasoned from the inside out, and that all starts with the cooking water!

Potato salad can be seasoned with as much or as little flavor as you like. You can either let the potatoes shine with just a few seasoning additions, or jam pack your salad with tons of flavor and texture.

• Fresh herbs – basil, chives, cilantro, mint, parsley, rosemary, tarragon, thyme
• Dried herbs (see above)
• Garlic – fresh cloves or powder
• Onion powder
• Celery – seed or salt
• Cheeses – parmesan, cheddar, fontina, goat, gouda, manchego, pecorino
• Chili Peppers
• Paprika
• Pepper – ground black and white
• Italian Seasoning
• Everything but the bagel seasoning
• Old bay seasoning
• Mustard – plain yellow, stone ground, spicy or Dijon
• Horseradish
• Lemon juice
• Dill pickle juice
• Hot sauce or Sriracha

Any of the below are a delicious addition to this mayonnaise free salad with potatoes!

• Avocado
• Pickled Onions
• Crumbled Bacon
• Diced ham
• Capers
• Radishes
• Chopped Fruit – pear, pineapple, apple
• Cheese – parmesan, goat cheese
• Hard boiled eggs
• Refrigerator Dill Pickles or Relish
• Diced bell pepper
• Fresh Herbs: Anything from parsley, dill, basil, scallions, chives, and cilantro (coriander), to mint, oregano, thyme, rosemary, and tarragon work well. Try mixing and matching herbs (fresh or dry) to create a potato side salad that is perfect for you and your taste buds! If you’re looking to expand your knowledge around herbs, check out this fresh herbs guide and fresh herbs storage guide.

• Parsley + Dill + Cilantro
• Basil + Oregano + Rosemary
• Tarragon + Parsley + Chives
• Mint + Scallions

The exact amount of potato salad needed to serve a crowd will depend on various factors such as how many other sides you are serving and your guest’s appetites.

As a general guideline, you can assume each person will eat ½ cup or 4 ounces of potato salad.

• 4 people – 2 cups or 1 pound
• 8 people – 4 cups or 2 pounds
• 10 people – 5 cups or 2 ½ pounds
• 12 people – 6 cups or 3 pounds