This No Mayo Potato Salad is a great summer side and much lighter than a classic potato salad. It's made with lots of fresh herbs, lemon, capers, and feta. You can serve it as a side with anything, and it's great for potlucks, picnics, or barbeques! It's easy to make, simple, and delicious!
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This No Mayo Potato Salad
Light and fresh - This potato salad is perfect for spring and summer when you don't want the heaviness of mayo, but still want a comforting, flavorful potato side. It has lots of fresh herbs, green onions, capers, lemon zest and juice, and feta.
Simple and easy - The recipe has 13 ingredients (including salt and pepper), but they're all very simple and easy to find in any grocery store. It takes less than 30 minutes from start to finish, and it's just a matter of boiling your potatoes, chopping herbs, and whisking the vinaigrette!
Versatile and keeps well - You can serve the salad as a side with practically anything! It's delicious with fish, chicken, BBQ, or served along with other Mediterranean-inspired salads and sides. Because it has no mayo, it's also easier to bring to potlucks, picnics, or family BBQs!
Ingredients
- Potatoes - I find the best potatoes for a salad are small red potatoes, young potatoes, Yukon gold, or fingerling potatoes. They're waxier, so they're creamier, hold their shape better than Russet potatoes, and they are less starchy. Peeling them is optional, but I often do. I kept the skin on for my Greek Potato Salad because the potatoes are roasted.
- Scallions - Scallions, also called green onions, work the best here. They're milder than yellow or red onions and don't overpower the other flavors. If you don't have it, you could also use shallots in a pinch.
- Dill, parsley, and chives - You'll need fresh herbs for the best flavor; they're a huge part of this salad. I recommend all three, but if you're missing one of them, you can skip it. Alternatively, you can also add a little bit of fresh mint or swap the fresh dill for a little bit of fresh oregano.
- Feta - I recommend sheep or goat feta. It adds saltiness, creaminess, and another layer of flavor to the salad.
- Capers - Capers have a salty, umami flavor that goes perfectly here. I like the ones in brine. If you have the ones in salt, rinse them briefly before adding them.
- Vinaigrette - It's a simple mix of lemon juice, lemon zest, extra virgin olive oil, Dijon mustard, honey, grated garlic, and black pepper. It's very similar to my Lemon Dijon Vinaigrette, just a smaller batch and without salt. The potatoes are cooked in salt, and feta and capers make it salty too, so there's no need for it.
Variations and Substitutions
- Celery - If you want more flavor and extra crunch, add some thinly sliced celery. I skipped it because I found this salad to have enough flavor with the herbs and onions, but it can work well with the other flavors.
- Different onion - The only good substitute for scallions here is shallots because they're the mildest onion. Red or yellow onions might be too strong in flavor.
- Eggs - You can always keep it more classic, like a regular potato salad, by adding boiled eggs. I left them out because I wanted to keep it very light and summer-appropriate with just lots of herbs, lemon, and garlic.
- Olives - Kalamata olives would be a great addition to a salad or a delicious substitute for capers.
- Make it vegan - Use a dairy-free feta or other vegan cheese, or skip it altogether.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Peel the potatoes or wash them really well. Cut them into quarters or large bite-sized pieces.
- Add them to a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Add sea salt and bring to a boil.
- Once it starts to simmer, use a spoon to remove some of the foam that forms.
- Lower the heat to medium and boil partially covered for 10-12 minutes or until fork-tender.
- While the potatoes cook, make the dressing.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, grated garlic, and black pepper.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
- Once emulsified, whisk in capers, sliced scallions, finely chopped parsley, chives, and dill. Set aside.
- Use a fork to try if the potatoes are soft and carefully drain them.
- Add the boiled potatoes to the bowl with the dressing while they’re still hot so they soak up the flavors.
- Toss them gently with the dressing to coat.
- Sprinkle with crumbled feta and toss again.
- Serve with extra herbs, feta, or black pepper if desired, and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks!
- Cook your potatoes with plenty of salt. Cooking them without salt will yield bland, somewhat bitter potatoes. I don't add any salt to the dressing because the potatoes absorb it as they cook.
- Toss the potatoes with the dressing while they're still hot. They absorb all the flavors much better this way. Within a few minutes, the vinaigrette gets all soaked up by the potatoes, and the raw garlic cooks a little bit by the heat, which mellows its sharp flavor.
- Serve it at room temperature. When you're serving leftovers, allow the salad to come to room temperature before serving. When you serve it cold from the fridge, the flavors will be more muted.
What to Serve it With
This salad is a great side dish to practically any meal. I really like serving it with roasted salmon. Because it's much lighter than regular potato salad, it goes really well with fish. It's also delicious with chicken (roasted, grilled, sauteed, or breaded chicken cutlets), turkey, pork, beef, or steak.
Because of its Mediterranean-inspired ingredients like feta, capers, lemon, fresh herbs, and olive oil, it goes really well with other Mediterranean meals and sides like this Greek Salad, Greek Beet Salad with Yogurt, or this Mediterranean Olive Tapenade!
The salad also travels well since there's no mayonnaise to worry about, so it's great for potlucks, backyard barbecues, or picnics!
Storing
Store the potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. I don't recommend freezing them.
FAQs
Technically, yes. There's no mayo, so the salad can totally be served warm. I usually just serve it at room temperature, but you can heat it up in a non-stick pan, and there's no need to add oil because it's already in the dressing. A microwave also works, but I always prefer the stove for everything.
More Potato Sides
If you want to try other similar potato sides, check out my four favorites below! To see all the latest ones, head over to Side Dishes!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Have you tried this No Mayo Potato Salad? Please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my Newsletter for a free recipe e-book and new weekly recipes straight to your inbox. Don't forget to follow me on Pinterest and Instagram to always stay in the loop!
Print📖 Recipe
No Mayo Potato Salad
This No Mayo Potato Salad is a great summer side and much lighter than a classic potato salad. It's made with lots of fresh herbs, lemon, capers, and feta. You can serve it as a side, bring it to potlucks, picnics, or barbeques! It's gluten-free, easy to make, and so delicious!
- Total Time22 minutes
- Yield4 1x
- DietVegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 lb potatoes (baby potatoes or red potatoes)
- 2 tsp fine sea salt
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tbsp capers in brine
- 3-4 scallions, thinly sliced (white parts and some of the green parts)
- 2-3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley, stems removed
- 2-3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh dill, stems removed
- ¼ cup crumbled feta
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes or wash them really well. Cut them into quarters or large bite-sized pieces.
- Add them to a large pot and cover with cold water.
- Add sea salt and bring to a boil. Once it starts to simmer, use a spoon to remove some of the foam that forms.
- Lower the heat to medium and boil partially covered for 10-12 minutes or until fork-tendertender.
- While the potatoes cook, make the dressing.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk extra virgin olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, honey, grated garlic, and black pepper.
- Once emulsified, whisk in capers, sliced scallions, finely chopped parsley, chives, and dill. Set aside.
- Use a fork to try if the potatoes are soft and carefully drain them.
- Add the potatoes to the bowl with the dressing while they’re still hot so they soak up the flavors.
- Toss them gently with the dressing to coat.
- Sprinkle with crumbled feta and toss again.
- Serve with extra herbs, feta, or black pepper, and enjoy!
Notes
Storing: Store the potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. Do not freeze.
For leftovers, allow the salad to come back to room temperature before serving.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 12 mins
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Leave a Reply