Good ol’ potato salad, it has been far too long!
For someone who really likes potato salad, it seems like FOREVER since I last had any. At least 4 years! Add another 1-2 years if we’re talking about the last time I had good potato salad. (You know, the homemade stuff!)
Speaking of good vs. bad potato salad, what is up with grocery store potato salads? I mean besides being loaded with preservatives and crazy sounding ingredients, why are they always so awful? They always remind me of cold mayonnaise-y mashed potatoes. Most of the salad is awful and mushy and there's hardly any actual potato pieces. No texture, no crunch, just bleh.
I want potato salad that’s bursting with flavour, loaded with different textures, actual pieces of potato, and lots of colourful veggies. Lastly, I don’t ever want it to be confused with cold mashed potatoes. Yuck!
The first step to good potato salad is selecting some good potatoes of course! These pretty Creamer potatoes from The Little Potato Company are absolutely perfect! This is the Terrific Trio, a combination of red, blue, and yellow Creamer potato varietals. Aren’t they lovely for spring? I swear, they were just begging to be turned into my new favourite potato salad! The tender, nutrient-rich skins don’t need to be peeled which adds fibre, texture, and pops of colour to this potato salad.
I’ve loaded this recipe with crunchy chopped veggies to really get enhance the rainbow theme. I had "Roy G. Biv" racing through my brain while I was at the grocery store and every colour is accounted for:
Red: Red bell pepper and red Creamer potatoes
Orange: Carrot
Yellow: Yellow Creamer potatoes
Green: Dill, green onion, green bell pepper, and pickles
Blue: Blue Creamer potatoes
Violet: Purple onion
See, all the colours of the rainbow! (Just in case you thought I really just meant colourful potato salad. 😀 )
This recipe takes very little effort to throw together. Creamer potatoes cook quickly and I used my food processor to slice/grate my veggies. The active cooking time is pretty short but try to account for the time needed for the flavours to marry and intensify. I’d suggest making it a day ahead of time for optimal flavour. This recipe is easy to tweak to your own taste preferences. I like to add extra dill and pickles for a kick.
This post is sponsored by The Little Potato Company. We love them for their commitment to simple, healthy whole foods like their delicious Creamer potatoes. Thanks for supporting the brands that support I Love Vegan! Learn more about why we love Little Potatoes SO much at www.littlepotatoes.com
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Vegan Rainbow Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Cuisine: Vegan
Description
A colourful vegan potato salad that's loaded with crisp veggies, textures, and flavours.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lb bag Terrific Trio Little Potatoes, quartered
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 tbsp vegan mayo
- 3 tbsp pickle juice
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp paprika
- black pepper to taste
- ¼ cup carrot, grated
- ¼ cup celery, thinly sliced
- 3 tbsp dill, finely chopped
- 1-2 tablespoon garlic dill pickles, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp red onion, chopped (and soaked in ice water for 10 minutes)
- 2 tbsp green onion, finely chopped
- 2 tbsp green bell pepper, finely chopped
- ¼ cup red bell pepper, finely chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, cover the quartered Creamer potatoes with cold water, add 1 teaspoon of salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn down to a simmer and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Do not overcook.
- In a small bowl, combine the vegan mayo, pickle juice, paprika, ¼ teaspoon salt, and black pepper. Add the dressing to the potatoes while they're still warm. Mix with a fork, mashing slightly to thicken the dressing.
- Cool the potatoes and dressing in your fridge or freezer until they are room temperature or cooler.
- Gently mix in all the remaining ingredients: carrot, celery, dill, pickles, red onion, green onion, red and green bell pepper. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
- Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The flavours will marry and intensify if you refrigerate overnight before serving. Garnish with paprika and dill.
Melissa Lefley
Can’t believe how good this is 👍
★★★★★
Cecil
This is absolutely the best potato salad. However, did anyone have trouble with the tri-color potatoes(particularly the purple) making the look of this salad so unappealing? I practically had to shut my eyes to eat but boy is it delicious. Will try red or plain potatoes next time.
★★★★★
Ginny McNamara
Hi, Brittany!
My family & I LOVE this potato salad!! We’ve been making it for at least 3 years now! Will be making again for Memorial Day bbq!
Everything is perfect in it and I’ll be tripling the recipe this time!!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Ginny
Brittany
Oh wow! Thank you so much Ginny, that makes me so happy! 😀
Viv
This was absolutely delish! I made it for a "vegan" potluck and everyone loved it! Two days later, I'm making another batch for a BBQ with the in-laws who aren't keen on vegan food - I'll bet they will say it's the best potato salad they've had!
★★★★★
Becky
I'm excited to try this recipe. The only change I'll be making is using homemade oil free vegan mayonnaise so it'll be healthy 🙂
Tom
This is so delicious! I like mustard in my potato salad, so I did add 2 Tbsp. I'm bringing this as a side for lunches at work so I'm not tempted by chips. Really good stuff.
★★★★★
Brittany
Yum! Mustard is a great addition to this potato salad. Thanks for commenting Tom!
Carol
This is by far my favourite potato salad recipe. Our local farms have new warba potatoes right now, so I'm using them instead and because I'm a lazy cook, I use 1/3 cup of vegenaise instead of 5 TBSP. It's roughly the same
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Carol! I'm glad you like the recipe as much as I do! Good call on the 1/3 cup of veganaise, I'm going to change that in the recipe (I'm embarrassed I had 5 tbsp in the recipe, haha, that's such a hassle compared to 1/3 cup!)
James
Very delicious recipe! Used red potatoes and followed the rest of the ingredient exactly. Turned out creamy and flavourful. Dill garnish brought it to a whole other level. Good job.
Brittany
I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed this potato salad! Thank you for commenting James, I really appreciate it! 😀
James
Second time making this recipe. I had to double it of course. This time I didn't skimp
on the dill. The freshness and depth of flavour gets you going back for more. Warbal new potatoes this time and still turned out creamy. Loving it!
Brittany
I'm happy to hear it James! Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate it 😀
Nedjma
Amazing salad! Everybody loved it and most were not vegan! I will try adding peas next time for protein and maybe something to thicken it a bit. Psyllium husks? Thanks for great recipe!
Brittany
Thanks so much Nedjma! I'm glad everyone enjoyed the salad 🙂 Peas sound like a delicious addition!
Heather
I made this, it's definitely a 5-star. Best potato salad I ever tasted.
★★★★★
Brittany
Wonderful! Thanks for commenting Heather! 😀
nancy
looks yummy tks for sharing but I also wanted to know what form of protein can I add to this if I wanted to make it a complete meal? any suggestions? thanks.
Brittany
Hi Nancy! I suppose you could add tempeh bacon, cubed tofu (smoked or this recipe would work too), some canned chickpeas, or cooked red lentils. I hope that helps!
Jo
You referenced Roy G. Biv, The Little Potato Company, you love dogs, and you're Canadian... I've found my new favorite website!
I'm making this salad for an upcoming potluck at work - wish me luck!
★★★★★
Brittany
I LOVE THIS COMMENT THANK YOU!! I've found my new favourite reader! 😛 I hope you love the recipe, good luck!
vegan potato lover
"5 tsbp vegan mayo" - "tsbp" is this supposed to be TBS (table spoon) or TSP (teaspoon)?
Also, Just Mayo is a good vegan mayo, but I have to add pickle juice and a pinch of sugar, to get rid of the overbearing vinegar taste it has.
Once I fix it, it tastes good. 🙂
So, if you use Just Mayo, don't add additonal vinegar, even if the recipe calls for it.
★★★★
Brittany
Sorry! That's 5 TABLEspoons of vegan mayo. I use Vegenaise, haven't had a chance to try Just Mayo yet!
Jim
WONDERFUL! Best potato salad I've tasted. Made this as a side dish to take to a BBQ tomorrow .... it may not make it there!
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay!! I'm so happy to hear that Jim! Thanks so much 😀
Donald Lee
Great recipe. BTW, you want the flavours to marry not "merry" overnight.
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Donald, fixing that right away!
Becky
Brittany you were right when you used merry. Merry is the correct spelling for food. Marry is used for people.
Donny
Incorrect Becky, marry is the correct spelling.
Brittany
Thanks Donny! I appreciate your input!
Helene
It’s not really about “spelling” but usage. These are two different words: Merry means happy....marry means bringing together..... 🙂
So marry would be correct when writing about bringing together the flavors.....
Brittany
Thanks for your input Helene! I always love seeing the comments on marry v. merry in this post 🙂
Valarie
Thank you for sharing your delicious vegan recipes with us, they are so colourful which is so good for our
health, I'll be making all of these for my family and visitors.
Cheers Valarie from NSW Australia
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks for visiting Valerie!
Kaili Vernoff
about to try this one. What do you think of subbing ACV for the pickle juice? My daughter loves apple cider vinegar and I think it may increase the chances that she will eat this one.... thoughts? Thanks!
Brittany
Yep, ACV would work just fine! Perhaps start with 1/2 the amount called for, taste, and adjust from there. I wouldn't want the ACV to be overpowering! Lemon juice would work just fine too!
Olga
It is an amazing recipe! my mother loved it and i´m new in this thing called cooking.
Thanks, hugs from México.
★★★★★
Brittany
So happy to hear that Olga! Thanks for commenting!
Lynn
After making this ROYGBIV recipe I"ll never eat store-bought again. I love crunch so having it in my potato salad just sealed the deal. I didn't have enough dill but 2 tbsp didn't disappoint. My grocery only had red fingerlings so I didn't get my rainbow from the 'taters, but one could also use the tri-color carrots to make up for a missing rainbow shade! Deeee-lish!
★★★★★
Brittany
Yay! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe. Tri-colour carrots would be so perfect in this recipe, thanks for the suggestion! 😀
Teresa
My partner is asking me to make this for him this week - it looks terrific! We have a big jar of vegan mayo in the fridge that needs to be used up, so I think he's going to get his wish.
Brittany
Yay! I hope you guys love it!
jon@localkitchener
Great idea for taking potato salad to the next level! The photography is lovely, and I'm sure the salad tasted wonderful. I'll try this soon, thanks!
Brittany
Thank you Jon! I appreciate the compliment! I hope you enjoy the recipe. 😀
Melissa (Upbeet, RD)
This recipe is beautiful! Potatoes are such little nutritious nuggets that don't get enough love. Thanks for sharing this.
Brittany
Thanks Melissa! I completely agree, potatoes are fantastic!
Chrissie
This looks AMAZING! Definitely going to try this recipe for an upcoming dinner party 🙂
Brittany
Thanks Chrissie! I hope you love it! 🙂
Monique
Will for sure make this potato salad. I also add peas to mine and it's very tasty.
Brittany
Oh that sounds fantastic! I'll have to try that next time, thanks for the suggestion.
Sue
Any chance you have a great recipe for vegan mayo?
Brittany
Hi Sue! I haven't yet tried making vegan mayo myself, I use Vegenaise and it is SO good. I did check out some recipes and here are 3 I would probably try first: one, two, and three. I hope that helps!
Cheryl
The dill and pickle additions really make the flavors pop in this awesome potato salad. And the little potatoes---simply delicious. Thanks for another great recipe !
★★★★★
Brittany
Thanks Cheryl!
Kacey @ The Cookie Writer
Hey, Brittany. Stopping by as a fellow ambassador! This vegan potato salad looks amazing! While I am only a vegetarian, I totally dig this and cannot wait to try it (hopefully finding a nice vegan mayo!) Your photography is beautiful!
Brittany
Oh wonderful! I'm looking forward to checking out all of the other ambassadors too! Vegenaise is what I use for vegan mayo and I find it at Superstore in their 'natural' section. Thanks for stopping by Kacey!
kara
TY for sharing. Will be looking for blue potatoes this summer : )
Brittany
Yay! You're going to love them 😀
Cindy @ Hun... What's for Dinner?
What a fantastic potato salad. It must taste wonderful with those Creamer potatoes!
Brittany
Thanks Cindy! The Creamer potatoes really do work well in potato salad.