This 'ultimate' vegan potato salad has all the trimmings - gherkins, capers, wholegrain mustard and cress. Straightforward to make but a knockout vegan salad for your BBQ or picnic.
BBQ and picnic season has arrived at last, and with my husband (who is a teacher) having broken up for the summer this week, we've certainly got the holiday happies around here at the moment.
For me, one of the must-have dishes in any BBQ spread is a really good, creamy potato salad, (usually alongside a crisp green salad with sharp vinaigrette, then lots of marinated veggies on the BBQ and maybe some good quality vegan sausages in soft rolls).
This ultimate vegan potato salad is a winner - creamy but with salty capers and sharp gherkins, wholegrain mustard and lots of fresh herbs all coating some waxy new potatoes.
The idea for tossing the potatoes in a simple vinaigrette whilst still hot, and then adding the remaining ingredients once cold comes from Felicity Cloake's article for the Guardian, on the 'Perfect Potato Salad', and it does indeed create the most flavoursome vegan potato salad I've tried.
Jump to:
The vegan mayonnaises I've tried have been quite varied in their flavour and texture - I had to try a few before I found one I really liked, and everyone has their own particular favourites.
A recipe like this is great for showing non-vegans how delicious a creamy vegan mayonnaise can be - a creamy vehicle for the strong flavours it is paired with: mustard, capers, gherkins, vinaigrette and fresh herbs.
What's in your 'ultimate' potato salad? If you're not a fan of capers or gherkins, what would you use instead?
📝 What you need
- Waxy potatoes (Charlotte or Jersey Royals are ideal)
- Spring onions
- Parsley
- Mint
- Cress
- Vegan mayonnaise (my favourite is Hellmans)
- Olive oil
- White wine vinegar
- Wholegrain mustard
- Capers
- Gherkins
🔪 Recipe Variations
There are all sorts of tweaks you can make to this recipe to make it your own. How about:
- Make it curried Stir a little curry paste through the mayonnaise for a spiced twist.
- Make it spicy Add some chopped jalapeños from a jar in place of the gherkins.
- Make it bacon-y Fry up your favourite vegan bacon pieces (I like the Vivera bits or This Isn't Bacon) and stir through the finished salad.
- Make it tomato-ey Add some finely sliced sun-dried tomato pieces to the salad or stir sun-dried tomato paste through the mayonnaise, (or both!).
Let me know in the comments below how you customised yours!
👩🏽🍳 What else can I make for a vegan BBQ?
If you're firing up the BBQ this weekend here are a few more recipes you might like to take a look at:
Loved this recipe? ⭐️ Leave a star rating below! 📸 Snap a photo of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram, tagging me @thevegspace or #thevegspace 📩 And get all my latest recipes in a weekly e-mail by subscribing to my newsletter.
🍽 If you liked that...
.... you might also enjoy these vegan recipes from The Veg Space:
📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 kg waxy potatoes Charlotte or Jersey Royals are ideal
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
- 120 g vegan mayonnaise
- 1 ½ tablespoon wholegrain mustard
- 3 spring onions
- 1 tablespoon capers
- 2 gherkins
- handful fresh parsley
- handful fresh mint
- handful cress to finish
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes (whole, leaving skin on) for 15 minutes until a sharp knife slides into the centre easily. Drain.
- Make a vinaigrette by whisking together the olive oil and vinegar, and seasoning well with salt and black pepper. Cut the potatoes (whilst still warm) lengthways into halves or quarters depending on their size, then toss them through the vinaigrette in a large bowl and set aside to cool.
- When the potatoes are completely cool, stir through the mayonnaise and mustard, finely chop the spring onions, capers and gherkins and add all to the bowl and mix.
- Finally, chop the parsley and mint and stir through the salad, then top with the cress.
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION
Nutrition
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Beth says
Oh wow! The flavors are so delicious and very tasty! I can’t wait to make this recipe again! My family loves it!
Biana says
Sounds so good! I like that you are adding fresh herbs for that unmistakable summer flavor.
maryanne says
I can't believe how flavorful this potato salad is - I usually find them to be a bit bland, but this was bursting with fresh flavor! So delicious!
Julia says
Wow! This was a total hit at our party last night! So easy but delicious and tossing vinaigrette with hot potatoes does make a great difference, never thought about it!!
Julia says
This looks so good! Love that addition of fresh herbs!
Isaac Thomas says
This recipe looks absolutely amazing! I think it would be a great side to a southern style meal perhaps with some cauliflower buffalo wings! Definitely looking forward to giving this a go.
Isaac Thomas,
Peace & Love
Isaac Thomas says
This recipe looks absolutely amazing! I think it would be a great side to a southern style meal perhaps with some cauliflower buffalo wings! Definitely looking forward to giving this a go.
Isaac Thomas,
Peace & Love
thevegspace says
Thanks Isaac - sounds fabulous!
Caroline says
Where do you get vegan mayonnaise?
Lavie70 says
Just finished it and it tastes like heaven not too tangy nor creamy very well balanced!!! Chapeau!
Eb Gargano says
This sounds delicious...I like potato salads, but not the kind dripping in mayo - this one looks just perfect. I actually really like potato salad with no mayonnaise at all - just a simple vinaigrette and maybe a few capers and some marinated red onions - yum! Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare 🙂 Eb x