With summertime in full force, it would be entirely unthinkable of me not to share with you some kind of potato salad; after all, potato-y salads are, by most standards, one of the most quintessentially summer foods there is, typically omnipresent at outdoor celebrations and gatherings. This particular vegan potato salad recipe is a slightly more eccentric iteration of the classic, sporting a moderate quantity more of colorful veggies than would be in a simpler, no-frill version, but nevertheless an entirely eatable and enhanced emulation of everything anyone could want in a proper potato salad.
So if you have a big bag of small golden potatoes laying about somewhere, then put them to use! This vivid, vivacious rainbow-y potato salad is an extraordinarily simple means of transforming plain potatoes into a refreshing and snack-worthy meal that you can store easily in the fridge and eat throughout the week – not that it’ll ever last that long!
“Veganizing” a Potato Salad
This isn’t really a difficult dish to “veganize.” Essentially, the only ingredient that needs changing is the mayo.
Mayonnaise is traditionally made from whipped eggs, but it can just as easily be made from whipping canola oil instead, as in the case with a lot of vegan substitutions. My favorite brand of vegan mayo is Follow Your Heart Veganaise; it has all the taste and flavor of a classic mayonnaise, and comes in many variations and flavors – the classic white mayo works best here, however.
Moreover, for this vegan potato salad recipe, 1/2 cup of vegan mayo combined with the sharp, spicy punch of smooth dijon mustard should be sufficient enough to coat all of the small, quartered golden potatoes well. It is imperative when making a good potato salad that each individual piece of potato be attended to by the mayo and dijon; nobody wants a naked, undressed potato wedge in a potato salad.
The Rainbow Veggies
One of my favorite things about plant-based cuisine is that it tends to be very vibrant and colorful by default. As it generally requires more vegetables and fruits and legumes and produce, plant-based food can’t but help be beautiful and varied and amazingly appetizing, as the splendorous cornucopia of natural produce contains within it every color of the rainbow and beyond.
And so, I ran with this particular idea and looked for a subject on which to project the natural color of vegetables; the unassuming and meek small golden potato was the perfect canvas. With fresh, crunchy, and colorful vegetables to accentuate and contrast beautifully against the potato, this salad is truly an aesthetic marvel, at least when compared to traditional salads of the same ilk.
While I would recommend that you incorporate the listed veggies if decide to make this recipe, this is not to say that you have to adhere strictly to the recipe, word-for-word, ingredient-for-ingredient: finely chop other colorful vegetables and add them to this potato salad if it suites you. With the exception of say, adding kumquats or raw beets or tomato, I don’t think that doing so would really detract from the overall dish.
Essentially, the purpose of this vegan potato salad recipe was pretty straight-forward: to be as delicious as it is beautiful; to have a multitude of colors as it does textures; to wow the eye as well as the tastebuds. If you think you can achieve this by adding something additional, then by all means do it!
The recommended veggies, and the veggies that I used, for both color as well as taste, are as follows:
- Red bell pepper
- Orange carrots
- Yellow Potatoes
- Green Jalapeño
- Dill and sweet pickles
- Pink radishes
Remember that you’re the judge and the master of your own kitchen and cuisine. If you feel the need to clean out your vegetable crisper and use whatever it is in there instead, then do it! Add what pleases you to this vegan potato salad recipe; but for strictly thematic purposes, try your best to make it colorful and varied and rainbow-y.
Vegan Potato Salad Recipe: Rainbow Potato Salad
And there you have it: a simple recipe that’s simply tasty.
There truly are few things better on a warm summer day than to sit back and relax with a cool, chilled bowl of exquisitely dressed and balanced and beautiful potato salad. If this imagery appeals to you, then you’re only a scarce hour or two away from making it happen.
Give this vegan potato salad recipe a try – I think you’ll love it!
Rainbow Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 lbs small yellow potatoes,
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- Dash of salt
- ½ cup vegan mayonnaise
- ¼ cup smooth dijon mustard
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 large carrot, grated
- 2 small jalapeños, de-seeded finely diced
- ¼ cup dill pickles, finely diced
- ¼ cup sweet pickles, finely diced
- ⅓ cup radishes, thinly sliced
- Some ground black pepper, and additional salt, to taste
Instructions
- Gently boil the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until tender. This usually takes about 20 – 25 minutes.
- Allow the potatoes to cool just until they're not too hot to handle, and then quarter them and place them in a large mixing bowl. After that, with a rubber spatula, mix in the apple cider vinegar, dried thyme and dash of salt.
- Combine the vegan mayo and dijon in a separate bowl, and then add to the potatoes.
- Prepare the rest of your veggies (pepper, jalapeños, carrots, pickles and radishes), and add them to the potatoes. Mix well.
- Season the potato salad one last time with black pepper and more salt, if needed. Then, refrigerate the potato salad in an air-tight container, or serve right away warm.
Nutrition
Enjoyed this vegan potato salad recipe? If so, leave me a recipe rating, and maybe a comment down below.
Also, check out my category, Soups and Salads, to discover many more delicious vegan dishes in the same vein as this one.
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
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