In this herb potato salad, I toss warm potatoes with our zesty lemon Dijon vinaigrette. This salad is reminiscent of a French potato salad. Since the potatoes are warm, they absorb all the delicious flavors of the dressing. Our mayonnaise-free herb potato salad dressing is quick to make, a bit healthier, and tastes fantastic! If you prefer a more traditional creamy dressing, see our creamy potato salad.
Key Ingredients
Potatoes: I love using small waxy potatoes for this herbed potato salad. Red bliss potatoes or fingerlings are also excellent options. The smaller the potatoes, the better since they cook quickly and don’t require extra time chopping. Lemon and red wine vinegar: I love the combination of fresh lemon juice and red wine vinegar for the potato salad vinaigrette. You can use just one if you don’t have both in the kitchen. Dijon mustard: I use Dijon mustard a lot when making salad dressings. It’s tangy and helps to make vinaigrettes creamy and emulsified. Olive oil: Mayonnaise is a popular ingredient in classic American potato salad, but for this recipe, we leave the mayo out and make a simple olive oil dressing. The combination of olive oil and mustard helps to make it a creamy (dairy-free) vinaigrette. Fresh herbs and scallions: This is my favorite part of this recipe. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. When it comes to fresh salads, I honestly don’t think you can add too many herbs! I usually end up adding parsley, dill, and mint, but basil, chives, or tarragon would also be wonderful.
How to Make Mayo-Free Herb Potato Salad
This herb potato salad is quick and easy. Start by cooking your potatoes. I like adding my potatoes to cold water and placing them over a burner. I also add about 1 tablespoon of salt to the water to help season the potatoes as they cook. When I can easily pierce them with a fork, I drain them and set them aside to cool down a bit. I cut the potatoes in halves or quarters when I can handle them. My olive oil dressing is quick and simple. I whisk lemon zest, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt, pepper, and olive oil together until emulsified and creamy. Then, pour the dressing over the warm potatoes. The warm potatoes will soak up the dressing much better than cold potatoes. Finally, I carefully toss the potatoes with lots of fresh herbs and scallions. I love serving this mayo-free potato salad warm or at room temperature. It’s delicious!
What to Serve with Lemon Herb Potato Salad
This vinaigrette-style potato salad works well for summer cookouts and picnics, but I really love it as a side dish for dinner. I especially love serving this herby salad next to my garlic caper baked salmon, this incredible shrimp scampi, and our perfectly roasted chicken. It’s also excellent served next to tuna steaks, tuna salad, and chicken salad. 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 1 ½ teaspoons finely grated lemon zest 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3 medium green onions, thinly sliced 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 2Reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, then set aside to cool. 3When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into bite-sized chunks or slice them into thin rounds. Add them to a large salad bowl. 4Whisk the mustard, lemon zest, lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil until creamy and emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 5Pour all but 1/4 cup of the dressing over the potatoes and toss. Set the potatoes aside for five minutes to absorb the dressing (it will look like a lot at first, but the potatoes will soak it up). 6Add the scallions and fresh herbs. Toss gently but thoroughly. If the potato salad seems dry, add a splash of the remaining dressing. 7Serve warm or cover and refrigerate, and then serve cold.
