What can you say about potato salad?
Other than that it’s DELICIOUS.
I’ve mentioned before how much I love potato dishes. Probably all of them.
And my Vegan Potato Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette is definitely a new favorite.
My Vegan Potato Salad
This vegan potato salad is a bit different than the traditional potato salad most of us think of. You know the one, with the thick, mayonnaise base.
Though I do use Vegenaise (or mayonnaise if you’re not keeping this vegan) in the creamy vinaigrette, it’s there to do just that: make the vinaigrette creamy. Vegenaise/mayonnaise is not a flavor in this potato salad. It’s the red wine vinegar, garlic, and fresh rosemary that take center stage. And in my book, when combined with the potatoes, it’s a match made in heaven.
Vegan Potato Salad: Make it a Meal!
It’s easy to make this potato salad a complete meal: just serve with my easy pan-fried chickpeas (recipe below) and some veggies.
Sautéed green beans or fresh arugula are great choices. I’ve served my vegan potato salad and chickpeas with green beans, and I’ve served them with arugula. And I honestly couldn’t choose a favorite between the two. Either veggie is a delicious, healthy way to round out this incredibly easy and filling meal.
Well, again, what can you say about potato salad?
Oh yeah, it’s delicious.
So I’ll leave you with that!
Real Quick!
I toss a little bit of nutritional yeast in my chickpeas before pan-frying. It adds a (vegan) cheesy, nutty flavor and helps the chickpeas brown more and get a bit of a crispy skin.
And then there’s the fact that there’s 8 grams of protein in a quarter cup. !!! So here, even just using 2 Tbsp, you’re adding 4 grams of protein to the chickpeas. Up the protein and flavor of countless dishes, like scrambled eggs/tofu scramble, quinoa, or pasta and pasta sauce, by adding a bit of nutritional yeast.
The nutritional yeast is optional in my chickpea recipe, but who wouldn’t want a little bit more protein and cheesy-crispiness??? You can find my favorite nutritional yeast here on Amazon [ aff. link].
Vegan Potato Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette and Chickpeas
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled and cut to roughly 1 inch pieces
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the vinaigrette:
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary, minced
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 pinches pepper
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp Vegenaise, or mayonnaise if you don’t need the dish to be vegan
- ⅓ cup olive oil
For the chickpeas:
- 2 15 oz cans chickpeas, drained
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, optional, but highly recommended
- 1 tsp olive oil
To Garnish:
- sliced cherry tomatoes, optional, but highly recommended
Instructions
Boil the potatoes
- Place the potato pieces in a large pot. Fill the pot with water so that the potatoes are covered by about 1 inch of water.
- Bring the pot to a boil over high heat.
- Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, and let the potatoes simmer until cooked through, about 10-11 minutes. A fork should pierce through the potato pieces easily, but don’t cook the potatoes so long that they easily fall apart.
- Note: to maintain the simmer, you may have to adjust the burner heat between medium and medium-low every so often.
Make the creamy vinaigrette
- While the potatoes cook, make the creamy vinaigrette.
- Add the minced garlic, minced fresh rosemary, salt, and pepper to a small mixing bowl. Now add the red wine vinegar and the Vegenaise (or mayonnaise).
- Last, add the olive oil, and whisk until the vinaigrette comes together and emulsifies. It will be thick and creamy.
- Dressing is done, set aside until the potatoes are finished cooking.
Combine the potatoes and vinaigrette
- Once the potatoes are cooked through, drain them, and put the potatoes back in the pot you cooked them in.
- While the potatoes are still warm, sprinkle the ½ tsp sea salt over the top, and carefully fold it into the potatoes. Some of the potatoes will break apart, and that’s ok.
- Now add about half of the vinaigrette to the potatoes, and very carefully fold it in so that all the potatoes are covered vinaigrette.
- Give the potatoes a few minutes to soak up the vinaigrette, then taste. Add more vinaigrette or salt according to preference.
- Potatoes are done!
Cook the chickpeas
- Add the drained chickpeas, salt, nutritional yeast (if using), and olive oil to a large skillet.
- Cook chickpeas over medium heat for about 10 minutes, until slightly browned. Flip the chickpeas occasionally with your spatula to keep them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve the creamy potatoes and chickpeas with a side of sautéed green beans, or serve over a bed of greens like arugula.
- Drizzle any remaining dressing over the top, and garnish with sliced tomato, if desired, and enjoy!
I don’t like those potato (and pasta) salads drenched in a ton of mayo dressing, so this light version looks and sounds wonderful to me! And with the addition of chickpeas and robust arugula, that’s really a nice and hearty salad.
Thanks so much Ben! Oh, I completely agree, potato salads can be so overwhelmed by mayo that you don’t get to enjoy any of the other flavors. I definitely prefer a lighter vinaigrette. 😋
What a fun recipe, Shannon! I grew up on the ‘classic’ potato salad with mayo, and I still love that version – as long as the mayo is fairly light. However, we’ve discovered some really tasty versions of potato salads over the years, and this one definitely makes the list! The flavor profile sounds so bright and tasty – perfect for this time of the year when all I can do is dream of being back outdoors again one day!
Thanks David! I completely agree, so many memories associated with classic potato salad. I still enjoy it, like you say, as long as the mayo is not too overpowering! And definitely! This potato salad is perfect with spring just around the corner.