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 am going to make this recipe next week. What would you pair with this for dinner? Anything?
Hi Linda, here are some suggestions:
Portobello Steaks
Vegan Quiche
Vegan Sausages
Vegan Meatloaf
Wow honestly I didn’t realise that the beans would work so well for it! Thankyou for a great recipe, definitely going to be using this more often, it was delicious!
Yay! I am glad you liked it, Chloe. 🙂
We love this salad and it’s gone into our regular rotation! My 7 yr old doesn’t like peppers or raw onion so we just do pickle, celery, and olives, but once he started asking when I was going to make it again I knew it had to become one of our regulars. I love that it whips up so quick and easy and we love how the crunchy and tart offset the creamy, mushy starch. Thank you so much!
Well, not mushy since you SPECIFICALLY said not to let the potato get mushy, lol, but you know—potatoey. : )
I am so glad you like it, Teri. Thanks for your great feedback. 🙂
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. 🙂