This healthy vegan potato salad was made without mayo, yet it’s creamy, satisfying, delicious, and comforting! It can be enjoyed during the grilling season in summer, or as a traditional side dish on Christmas Eve. The recipe is plant-based (dairy-free, egg-free), oil-free, protein-rich, light, guilt-free, and very easy to make!
Healthy vegan potato salad without mayo
I am a huge fan of potato salad, especially when it’s super creamy! However, I know how unhealthy a classic potato salad is because it normally contains mayonnaise and tons of oil. To me, potato salad should be a light dish and not a meal that makes you feel full and heavy.
That’s why I created this recipe for a vegan potato salad without mayo, which is actually guilt-free!
Perfect in Summer and Winter
The grilling season will start soon, and what do I love most about it? Potato salad, of course! I love all kinds of salads, whether it is pasta salad, bean salad, cucumber salad, or tomato salad. But since I grew up in Germany, as a child of Czech parents, it’s no wonder that I love a good German potato salad most!
Europeans, especially Germans, eat A LOT of potatoes! And we love potato salad! In our family, it was a tradition to eat a creamy potato salad on Christmas Eve! Because of these beautiful memories, I had to create my own vegan recipe for a creamy potato salad!
Even though I don’t live in Germany anymore, I still enjoy it with my boyfriend and my pet chicken Erna (she also loves potatoes, haha!).
How to make a vegan potato salad without mayo
- This recipe is seriously very easy to make and has only 5 simple steps! First, you need to chop the potatoes and veggies. Cook the potatoes in water until fork tender (which takes just 10 minutes). You don’t want them mushy, so don’t cook them too long.
- Meanwhile, you can prepare the oil-free dressing, which is also super easy. All you need to do is blend all dressing ingredients in a blender until completely smooth. What I love most about the dressing is that it’s made with healthy ingredients. I used cannellini beans (which add healthy plant-based protein), dairy-free milk, hemp seeds, and a few condiments.
- Finally, you can assemble the potato salad in a large bowl. And that’s it!
Eat it either right away or the next day. It actually tastes best a day later, but it’s also delicious on the same day. Check the easy instruction pictures below:
This salad never gets boring
Your friends will be very happy if you bring a homemade potato salad to a vegan potluck! It’s simply the best salad which you can enjoy together with friends and family. And it never gets boring because you can choose your favorite veggies.
Instead of peppers, you could use chopped tomatoes or celery, for example. I love that it’s so versatile and easy to make!
Which potatoes to use for the best potato salad?
I prefer using “all-purpose” potatoes such as Yukon Gold. Red or white potatoes also work well because they are waxy. If you love a mushy potato salad, go ahead and use starchy potatoes such as Russet. However, I love it when the potato salad has some texture and isn’t mushy.
Want to learn more about the different potato types? Check out this helpful chart!
How to store?
The potato salad tastes best when it’s cold, in my opinion, but you can also eat it right away when the potatoes are still warm! Leftovers can be stored covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You will love this dish because it’s:
- Vegan
- Protein-rich
- Gluten-free
- Guilt-free
- Oil-free (no mayo)
- Low-fat
- Satisfying
- Comforting
- Creamy
- Hearty
- Easy to make with simple ingredients
- Perfect as a summer salad
- Much healthier than other potato salads
Tips for this recipe
- Use your favorite veggies (e.g. celery, tomatoes…).
- You can cook the potatoes whole (unpeeled, not chopped) a day in advance.
- Double the batch and store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Prepare it a day ahead (it tastes best after 24 hours).
- Bring it to a vegan barbecue (BBQ) or surprise your co-workers.
Should you recreate this healthy German potato salad, please leave a comment below, and don’t forget to tag me in your Instagram or Facebook post with @elavegan and #elavegan because I love to see your remakes! If you love salads, definitely also check out the following recipes:
- Vegan Lunch Bowl With Hasselback Potatoes
- Vegan Buddha Bowl
- Lebanese Fattoush Salad Recipe
- Brown Rice Salad Recipe
- Keto Coleslaw Recipe
- Mexican Avocado Salad (vegan)
Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
Potato Salad:
- 2 pounds (900 g) waxy potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 green pepper chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper chopped
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3/4 cup chopped dill pickles
- Optional: olives, silver-skin onions
Dressing:
- 1 (15 oz) can white beans rinsed and drained (see notes)
- 2/3 cup (160 ml) plant-based milk
- 1/4 cup (40 g) hulled hemp seeds or 1/3 cup of soaked cashews (see notes)
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2-1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp lime juice or lemon juice
- 1 tbsp white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp sea salt + more to taste
- black pepper to taste
- fresh dill to taste
Instructions
- You can watch the video in the post for visual instructions.
- Peel and chop potatoes. You can leave the peel on for more texture if you prefer. Add potatoes to a medium/large saucepan and cover with water and some salt. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender (but not mushy!), then drain and set aside.
- Add cannellini beans, plant-based milk, hemp seeds (or soaked cashews), garlic cloves, mustard, lime juice, vinegar, and 1/2 tsp sea salt to a blender. Blend on high speed and scrape down the sides if needed until the dressing is completely smooth and creamy. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled potatoes, chopped peppers, onion, and dill pickles. Pour over the dressing and stir to combine.
- Taste and add more salt/pepper/vinegar if needed. I added 1/2 sea salt in addition.
- Garnish with fresh herbs of choice and serve at room temperature or cold. Enjoy! It tastes actually best after 24 hours! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- You can use any white beans, e.g. Cannellini beans, Navy beans, or Great Northern beans. Use canned beans or cook them from dry.
- If you don't have hemp seeds, you can use either soaked cashews (soak in hot water for about 30 minutes or until soft) OR you could use 2 heaped tbsp of cashew butter or almond butter.
- Recipe serves 4. Nutrition facts are for one serving.
Nutrition information is an estimate and has been calculated automatically
If you are using Pinterest, feel free to pin the following photo:
I Made this tonight. It will be one of my regular dishes. I never had considered beans as a dressing. I left out the garlic and onion salt and it was still Amazing! Thank you for the recipe. It’s a keeper.
You are very welcome, Valerie! I am so glad you like it. 🙂
Do you think this could be made by a substitute of cauliflower for the potatoes?
If you want to make a cauliflower salad, then yes. 🙂
This is a great potato salad by any standards. It even improved greatly the second day. I am not sure if its fair for me to do a review since I didn’t follow the recipe exactly having eliminated the pickles (I used celery instead) and having used white kidney beans instead of one of the 3 you recommend.. I used the 3 cloves of garlic and could not even taste garlic in the finished salad. I absolutely LOVE the idea of this being fat-free. I don’t like a dry potato salad and this recipe was nice and creamy. and I had zero guilt eating all that creaminess.. We served it with homemade baked beans. Really good. Thanks so much for this recipe. We will be making it our go to recipe.
Hi Joan, I am so glad you liked it. 🙂
I’ve bought all the ingredients and can’t wait to make this! I’m curious to know if there’s a way to turn this dressing into a ranch dressing for green salads?
Hi Christine, I never tried that, but I think it should work fine. Please report back if you try it. 🙂
Delicious! Can’t wait to try it tomorrow after it’s chilled. I used yellow mustard and skipped the pickles and juice because that’s the style I grew up with. Thanks for a wonderfully guilt-free potato salad! Can’t wait to make pasta salad next. Thanks!
You are very welcome, Christine. So glad you liked it. 🙂
Oooh. Sounds good. I have ranch seasonings all herbs. Can’t wait to try and see if it makes healthy ranch that tastes awesome.
Can this dressing be used for the coleslaw as well?
Yes, sure, that’s totally fine. 🙂
Great Sauce… I used it on some Zucchini fritters with your quinoa pilaf recipe and steamed broccoli. Yum!
That sounds great, Nathan! I am glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
This was fantastic oil free potato salad! One question: it was very, VERY garlicky & I only used 2 cloves because one of them was big. What else might I be able to use to add flavor but with less garlic? I was up half the night tasting garlic, but I don’t want to sacrifice the high level of flavor the sauce provides!
This is the healthiest potato salad I’ve ever made & that alone makes it a keeper, but it’s also delicious, and that makes it remarkable!
Hi Dharma, I am glad you liked it. You could use just one clove and add a little dry garlic powder and/or onion powder to taste. 🙂
My daughter and husband are allergic to garlic. I left it out. It was still delicious. I will be making it again and again and…….
Fantastic! So glad to hear it still tasted delicious. 🙂
Absolutely BEST potatoe salad I ever made!!!!!!
I am so glad you liked it! Thanks for your feedback. 🙂
Hi Ela, is it okay if I use chickpeas instead of white beans? Don’t have any white beans right now. Thanks!
Hello, yes, that should be fine. The texture probably won’t be as smooth, but it should still taste delicious. 🙂
I grew up loving potato salad. I’ve always had it with mayo, but I’m dying to try this recipe.
I’ll let you know my response later. Grateful to find a healthy recipe by Ela herself.
I’m gluten and dairy sensitive, so it’s really hard to find stuff that are both.
Thank you for all that you do!
Vicki H
My pleasure, Vicki! I hope you will love it. 🙂
Hello!!!
I have NEVER commented on a recipe before… but I just had to after making this today!!! IT IS AMAZING!!! Just wow! Simple and DELICIOUS!
Thank you for all your hard work in creating recipes for us …… I have made a few of your others too..Keep up the good work!
Brenda
Aww, thank you so much for your kind comment, Brenda! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe and also tried out some of my other recipes. 🙂
I make this with Sweet Potatoes and my husband and I Love it!! Delicious! Thank You
I was going to ask if this would be good with sweet potatoes and this answers my qualification! Thank you!
Perfect! I hope you will enjoy it. 🙂
Hello, My husband recently went “oil free” so I was looking around for an oil free dressing for potatoes and found your recipe…it’s genius! The canned beans I used were Great Northern and I substituted flax meal for the hemp seeds since I had it on hand. I used green onions, celery, and capers along with red potatoes.
The sauce thickened up perfectly and the flavor was amazing. I did double the lemon juice, the vinegar, and the mustard because I like a very vinegary, tart potato salad.
I am considering trying this basic sauce for baked potatoes, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts. Beans really are magical!
Awesome! I am so glad you liked the recipe, Pat! Thanks so much for your amazing feedback. 🙂
I just made this.
I subbed sunflower kurnels for the hemp as my store was out, and bulked it with some pasta (per my boyfirends request) and Ive got to say the base sauce is AMAZING.
I will be using this on everything!!!
Thankyou!
I am glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
So happy to find a potato salad AND vegan mayo that works for my family’s food allergies and intolerances. We had given up finding a vegan mayo recipe (most of those I tried didn’t set up) didn’t to use one with so much oil anyway. We live in a place where vegan mayo isn’t available. My whole family loved the potato salad and it is now in “the keeper” recipe file. THANK YOU so much!
Aww, that’s awesome! So happy you all love the recipe. Thanks for your great feedback, Denice! 🙂
Delicious. I wished I had doubled the recipe. Best vegan potato salad I have ever made or eaten. Definitely now my favourite one.
Wow, that’s good to hear! Thanks a lot for your amazing feedback, Donna! 🙂
Love potato salad so much! Perfect for bbq season ?
Absolutely, I totally agree. 🙂
I was looking for a recipe to use up my miscellaneous produce items and this recipe fit the bill. This salad is so full of flavors, texture and color !! It is a feast for the senses.
After tasting the “bean Mayo” ~ I made a second batch to put in the refrigerator for veggie wraps to bring to work for lunch. THANK YOU !!!
Sounds awesome! Thanks so much for your lovely feedback, Andrea. 🙂
Absolutely delicious. My non vegan sister could not believe how luscious it was. It’s a keeper x
Yay! Glad you and your sis loved the recipe. Thanks, Lin! 🙂
Love this recipe, came out awesome! I shared it on the weight watcher blog with a link to your site. You have so many great recipes, thank you!
That’s so kind of you! Thank you very much, Donna. I am glad you loved the recipe. 🙂
Hi Ela ??♀️
I hope all is well… This recipe looks delicious! Potato Salad is one of my favorites! Thank you for sharing your creations with us. I have a couple questions for you because I plan on making the potato salad this week coming. ?
1. Did you peel the potatoes? They look peeled in the pictures and video.
2. If we were to opt for using olives, how much should we use? Also what kind of olives did you use? It looked like a blend of olives and capers.
~ Lyss
Hi Lyss, I am good, hope you are too. 🙂
1) Yes, I peeled them. But as mentioned in the recipe, you can also leave the peel on for more texture if you like.
2) You can use as many olives as you want and pick your preferred color (I like green olives). 🙂 I used a blend which also contained silverskin onions.
Hope this helps. 🙂
Thank you so much for your response. I appreciate it. I’ll let you know how it turns out via IG. Have a wonderful day. ?
You are very welcome! 🙂
Hi Ela,
I’m back to report this recipe is delicious and I can’t believe it’s Vegan AND healthy! This was more like Guilt-Free Vegan Potato Salad for me. Thank you for sharing this deliciousness. Can’t wait to try some of your other creations. ♥️
Hi Alyssa, I am so happy you liked this recipe! Thanks a lot for your kind feedback. 🙂
I forgot to ask…do you soak the hemp seeds? They look big! Thanks!
No, I don’t soak them. 🙂
??
I was stressing about what to take to a party this weekend….And you saved me! Thank you. I can’t wait to make it a day ahead and be stressfree for the party.
So happy to hear! Enjoy! 🙂
Potato salad has always been an absolute favourite of mine since I was a kid and hasn’t been on the menu since I became vegan. Oh my goodness! This potato salad is so easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious! Thank you Ela!
So glad you loved the recipe, Bea! Thanks for your lovely feedback. 🙂
I just made this and it is DELICIOUS!!! Potato Salas is one of my favorite summer dishes and now I can have a guilt free helping of it! Thank you!!
Fantastic! Glad you liked the recipe! 🙂
Looks fantastic! I have a question: can I use Great Northern beans rather than Cannelini? I prefer to use beans I have cooked myself, and organic cannelini beans are a bit harder to find at a good price.
Yes, absolutely! That’s fine. I hope you will like the recipe, Michele. 🙂
Perfect! I can’t wait to share this at a get together! Fresh and healthy dressing. Thanks!
Very happy you loved the potato salad and the dressing! Thanks for your lovely feedback, Leah! 🙂
Loved this recipe so much! Made it last weekend for my whole family and it was a success. Very easy to make and I loved the healthy dressing which I will make again soon.
So glad you loved the recipe, Syla! Thanks for your amazing feedback. 🙂
Looks good. How long will the dressing last in the refrigerator?
I would say up to 5 days but probably tastes best within the first 3 days. Hope this helps! 🙂
I just made it and this is sooooo delicious!!! Thank you for your recepie <3
Yay! I am so glad you like the recipe! Thanks for your amazing feedback, Henrietta. 🙂