Creamy potato salad without eggs is made with Yukon gold potatoes, fresh herbs, carrots, celery and onions. This classic potato salad recipe is the perfect side dish for your next backyard cookout!
Creamy potato salad is one of my favorite warm weather side dishes. Potato salad is filling, made with mostly whole food ingredients and can be spiced up with fresh seasonal herbs.
Even though this recipe calls for several ingredients, it's still a simple recipe made with items that are easy to find at just about any grocery store.
Traditional creamy potato salad recipes include chopped, hard-boiled eggs. If you don't have eggs on hand, don't want to take the extra time to boil eggs or have an allergy, you can still make a delicious, creamy potato salad without eggs!
If you're looking for summertime side dishes, then you might also like my Marinated Vegetable Salad Recipe, Summer Tortellini Salad, Pesto Pasta Salad with Sundried Tomatoes, and my Feta & White Bean Salad!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- This is the perfect side dish for backyard barbecues, summer picnics, 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekend.
- It can be made in advance.
- This recipe is naturally gluten free and vegetarian.
Ingredients
- Yukon gold potatoes - I used Yukon gold potatoes because they have a thin skin, they are small to medium sized, they have a beautiful yellow color that comes through in the potato salad and they are "middle of the road" in starch content. Overly starchy potatoes, like russet potatoes or Idaho potatoes, can be a little trickier to work with when making potato salad. The higher the starch content, the higher the chance that the potato will get mushy when you're cooking it. Another good option would be all purpose white potatoes.
- Carrots - You'll want to peel your carrots using a vegetable peeler and shred the carrots using a box grater or a food processor.
- Celery - The celery should be finely diced for this recipe. I love that the celery adds some crunch, but you don't want huge chunks of it in the salad.
- Yellow onion & green onions - You can substitute in red onion or white onion for the yellow onion if needed. When chopping green onion, you'll want to chop off the dried out ends and then you can chop up the green and the white portions. I prefer to mostly use the green portion though.
- Fresh herbs - I use fresh parsley and fresh dill for this recipe. I really love an herbed potato salad! Fresh herbs have the ability to elevate simple recipes into something truly special.
- Mayo, sour cream & Dijon mustard
- Red wine vinegar & seasonings - Pretty much all potato salad recipes will call for an acid ingredient. I prefer red wine vinegar, but you can also use apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or regular white vinegar. I also add in celery seed, black pepper and kosher salt.
*See the recipe card below for quantities.
Equipment needed
- Large stock pot - You'll need a large pot to boil the potatoes in.
- Cutting board & chopping knife
- Large bowl - You'll need a large mixing bowl to mix all of the salad ingredients together in.
How to make
Step 1: After you've boiled your potatoes until they're fork tender (about 15 minutes), drained the cooking water and let them cool to room temperature, you'll chop the potatoes up into bite sized pieces. Mix the potatoes with the shredded carrots, diced celery, diced onion, green onion and fresh herbs.
Step 2: Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper to the large mixing bowl with the vegetables and herbs.
Step 3: Mix all of the ingredients together until they are fully incorporated. Be careful when mixing that you don't smash the potatoes. The potatoes should be kept in bite sized chunks if possible. The salad can be served immediately or cooled in the refrigerator before serving.
Serving suggestions
Potato salad without eggs is a great side dish for just about any birthday party, BBQ or summertime holiday. I would serve this side dish recipe with burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, steak or fish. It's so versatile and can go with just about any protein!
Substitutions
I don't recommend making a bunch of substitutions, but if you want to get creative and put your own spin on it, here's some ideas as to what you could do.
- Veggies - You could swap out the carrots and celery for red, yellow or green bell peppers, sweet pickles, sweet pickle relish, dill pickles or fresh green peas.
- Fresh herbs - If you are lucky enough to have a garden full of fresh herbs, then you could add in some fresh chives, thyme, oregano or tarragon.
Variations
This recipe is naturally gluten free and vegetarian. If you want to make this potato salad without eggs recipe dairy free and vegan as well, you can swap out the dairy-based mayo and sour cream for a vegan mayo and vegan sour cream.
Expert tips
- Boil potatoes by placing them in the bottom of a large stock pot. Cover the potatoes with an inch or two of cool water. Add about a teaspoon of salt and then bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a rapid simmer.
- Keep a close eye on the potatoes while they're boiling. The key to potato salad is to not have potatoes that are too soft. You want the potatoes to easily pierce with a fork, BUT not fall right apart when pierced with the fork. You aren't making potatoes for mashing. Ideally you want cooked potatoes with a creamy texture that do not fall apart.
- To save yourself some time chopping, you can use a food processor to shred the carrots and dice the celery and yellow onion.
Storage
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the salad cold until you are ready to serve it.
Frequently asked questions
Potatoes absorb water while they're cooking. Leave them to cool and drain in a strainer before mixing them into your salad.
You most likely overcooked your potatoes.
📖 Recipe
Easy Potato Salad without Eggs
Creamy potato salad without eggs is made with Yukon gold potatoes, fresh herbs, carrots, celery and onions. This classic potato salad recipe is the perfect side dish for your next backyard cookout!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top cooking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup diced celery
- ¼ cup diced onion
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh dill
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ⅛ cup chopped fresh green onion
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in the bottom of large stock pot. Cover with an inch or two of cold water. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a rapid simmer. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes can easily pierce with a fork. Do not overcook the potatoes. You don't want mushy potatoes!
- While the potatoes are cooking, shred and chop your carrots, celery, onion, green onion and fresh herbs.
- When the potatoes are done cooking, drain the cooking water and let the potatoes cool to room temperature. Once cool enough to handle, chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. You do not need to peel the potatoes.
- Add the chopped potatoes, fresh vegetables and fresh herbs to a large mixing bowl.
- Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper to the mixing bowl.
- Mix all ingredients together until they are fully combined.
- You can serve the potato salad immediately or let it chill in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
Notes
- Keep a close eye on the potatoes while they're boiling. The key to potato salad is to not have potatoes that are too soft. You want the potatoes to easily pierce with a fork, BUT not fall right apart when pierced with the fork. You aren't making potatoes for mashing. Ideally you want cooked potatoes with a creamy texture that do not fall apart.
Keywords: Potato Salad without Eggs
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Katie
This recipe is so creamy and delicious!
★★★★★