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This French potato salad tosses fluffy red potatoes in a savory herb vinaigrette, leaving you with the ultimate vegan summer side dish in less than 30 minutes!
Why You’ll Love This Herby Vegan French Potato Salad
Just like vegan summer pasta salad and plant-based chickpea tuna salad, potato salad is a quintessential summer side dish. Perfect for picnics, barbecues, potlucks, and more, I can’t help but treat myself to a generous scoop (or two) whenever I see it at a party. This light and herbaceous French potato salad is no exception!
This vegan French potato salad recipe puts a light, tangy, and herby twist on classic creamy potato salad. Boiled red potatoes are tossed with shallots and fresh parsley before they’re dressed in an aromatic and savory vinaigrette. Make it fresh or a day before the party — this salad only takes 30 minutes to toss together and gets even tastier as it sits.
While traditional potato salad is rich and creamy, this French version has more refined and delicate flavors thanks to the mayo-free vinaigrette and fresh herbs. What’s better is that you can take those flavors to the next level with as many customizations as you’d like! Add even more fresh herbs, a few fresh veggies, crunchy nuts, or any of your favorite potato salad mix-ins.
Craving more summer recipes with potatoes? You’ll also love my vegan sweet potato salad, zucchini and potato casserole, sweet potato hummus, or healthy roasted potato salad recipes. You’ll also get a kick out of these 30 easy vegan potato recipes!
The Ingredients and Substitutes
This easy vegan potato salad uses a handful of fresh and easy-to-find ingredients. Please refer to the recipe card for the full list of ingredients and their quantities.
Personally, I think that baby red potatoes are the best potatoes for French potato salad. They’re small, easy to cook, hold their shape when boiled, and have an elegant appearance. If you can’t find baby red potatoes, use baby yellow potatoes or any of the potatoes listed in the Recipe Tips instead.
What Else Could I Add to French-Style Potato Salad?
- Fresh herbs: French potato salad recipes are known for being herby, so go ahead and toss in as many fresh herbs as you like! Add a few tablespoons of freshly chopped dill, coriander, tarragon, rosemary, chives, or a mix of them all. Learn how to properly store fresh herbs here.
- Red onion: Use half of a diced red onion as a substitute for the shallot.
- More vegetables: Add diced celery, blanched and chopped asparagus, sliced green onions, blanched green beans, or sliced radishes.
- Nuts: Toss in a handful of chopped walnuts, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, or almonds for some crunch.
- Briny things: Stir in pickles, capers, or olives to give this French-style potato salad a burst of briny flavor.
- Garlic: Stir 1 or 2 minced garlic cloves into the potato salad dressing for a deeper savory flavor.
- Dijon mustard: Add 1 tablespoon of Dijon mustard to the dressing for a creamier and more emulsified consistency.
How to Make Vegan French Potato Salad
Keep scrolling to the recipe card for the complete list of ingredients and recipe instructions.
Step 1: Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover them with cold water. Sprinkle the salt over top.
Step 2: Boil the potatoes until they’re fork tender. Drain and set aside.
Step 3: Add the chopped shallot and parsley to a medium bowl.
Step 4: While the drained potatoes are still hot, add them to the bowl with the shallot and parsley. Toss to combine.
Step 5: Add the olive oil, apple cider vinegar, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Toss to coat.
Step 6: Let the assembled potato salad sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes to let the potatoes absorb the flavors. Afterward, serve warm and enjoy!
FAQs
The regular or “American” potato salad you’ll see at a barbecue or picnic typically tosses boiled potatoes and crisp veggies in a mayonnaise-based dressing. French potato salad is slightly different, as the usual creamy dressing is swapped for a light vinaigrette and lots of fresh herbs.
Yes! In fact, the flavors will become even more delicious as the salad sits. Assemble the salad and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 day before serving.
No. In fact, keeping the peels on helps the potatoes hold their shape while boiling.
Pro Recipe Tips
- Make this with almost any potato: Baby potatoes, like red or yellow baby potatoes, are easy to cook and prep since they don’t need to be peeled or finely chopped ahead of time. However, chopped Russet, fingerling, or Yukon Gold potatoes will be just as delicious here.
- Quarter the baby potatoes: Make sure the potatoes are cut into even quarters to help them cook evenly and in the same amount of time.
- Warm potatoes are key! The heat from the freshly boiled potatoes tempers the raw shallot’s natural bite, enhances the parsley’s natural flavors, and helps the oil and vinegar soak into the potatoes.
Serving Suggestions
Just like its classic creamy counterpart, French-style potato salad is a perfect summer side dish you can bring to a potluck, picnic, or barbecue! Pair it with as many vegan summer recipes as you can think of, like:
- Pasta salad, like this sun dried tomato pasta salad or this Mediterranean vegan pasta salad.
- A loaded vegan sandwich, like this tempeh sandwich, sweet potato sandwich, or crispy buffalo tofu sandwich.
- These vegan lentil burgers or white bean burgers after they come off the grill.
- Even more summer salads, like this mixed bean salad, vegan broccoli salad, and strawberry kale salad.
Storage Instructions
Transfer the leftover potato salad to an airtight container and store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. The leftovers are delicious served straight out of the fridge, at room temperature, or warmed up in the microwave.
I don’t recommend freezing French potato salad because the texture of the potatoes will be quite different after thawing and the salad may become watery.
French Potato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds small red potatoes, washed and quartered
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 shallot or ½ red onion, minced
- Handful of Italian flat-leaf parsley, chopped
- 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika or paprika
- ½ teaspoon of ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon of ground coriander
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Put the potatoes in a large pot and add cold water to cover and add the salt. Place over high heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover, and boil until the potatoes are tender, around 10-15 minutes.
- Put the shallot and parsley in a medium bowl. Drain the potatoes, and, while they’re still hot, add them to the bowl with the shallot and parsley, and give it all a toss. Add the remaining ingredients, toss well, and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes, until the potatoes have absorbed all the oil and vinegar. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Make this with almost any potato: Baby potatoes, like red or yellow baby potatoes, are easy to cook and prep since they don’t need to be peeled or finely chopped ahead of time. However, chopped Russet, fingerling, or Yukon Gold potatoes will be just as delicious here.
- Quarter the baby potatoes: Make sure the potatoes are cut into even quarters to help them cook evenly and in the same amount of time.
- Warm potatoes are key! The heat from the freshly boiled potatoes tempers the raw shallot’s natural bite, enhances the parsley’s natural flavors, and helps the oil and vinegar soak into the potatoes.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Although journeytowellnesspath.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. journeytowellnesspath.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
Soooo good! Love how easy it is to make too!