Potato salad doesn’t need mayonnaise to be delicious, and this no mayo Greek Potato salad recipe is living proof! With the right potatoes and an easy yet bold Greek-style vinaigrette, you’ll make a healthy potato salad with a wonderfully herbaceous flavor in just 30 minutes.
With the season of outdoor gatherings in full swing, I often look for side dishes to pair with grilled meats like swordfish and chicken wings or kebabs. Or, keep things traditional, nutritious, and flavorful with classic Pork Souvlaki. I find myself craving a delicious and healthy version of a classic, like this Greek potato salad recipe!
Greek potato salad is dairy-free, vegan, and naturally gluten-free side dish. A lighter version of traditional potato salad, it’s perfect to enjoy during the warm summer months. Serve at your next barbeque or backyard gathering!
Table of Contents
Ingredients for Greek Potato Salad
The ingredients for this refreshing and healthy no mayo potato salad are simple and easy to find. What’s more, this recipe is so versatile. You can easily substitute many of these ingredients with what you have available.
- Potatoes: I use yellow potatoes like Yukon Golds, but small red or fingerling potatoes would also work well. Make sure to check the smallest potatoes as they boil as the cooking times vary.
- Onions: Red and green onions bring mild sweetness and depth of flavor. You can substitute them with shallot and chives.
- Fresh herbs: Flat leaf parsley and fresh dill bright light, fresh flavor to the creamy potatoes.
- Olives: You can typically find nice olives in the prepared foods section of your grocery store. Pitted Greek Kalamata olives are best for this recipe as they add a slightly tangy, rich flavor. You can substitute with a similar high quality olive if necessary.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Olive oil is a major flavor component of the vinaigrette. Use the best, smoothest finishing olive oil you have, or find our favorite Greek olive oils at our shop.
- Red wine vinegar: The acidity of wine vinegar brightens the flavor of the potatoes.
- Mustard: A good quality (Dijon-style) prepared mustard adds a peppery flavor and helps the vinaigrette emulsify.
- Dried oregano: I like Greek oregano, as it has a deeper flavor and is very aromatic.
- Garlic: Finely minced (see tips in our how to mince garlic guide) or pressed garlic brings boldness to the vinaigrette.
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper: Seasonings enhance the potato salad’s flavor. Always adjust as needed to suit your preferences.
How to Make Greek Potato Salad
There is nothing difficult or tricky about preparing this Greek potato salad. As an added bonus, it’s ready in just 30 minutes. Here are the steps:
- Ready the potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Scrub 3 pounds of small yellow potatoes. Once the water is boiling, add the potatoes and 1 tablespoon of salt and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer until tender, then drain and allow to slightly cool.
- Make the easy vinaigrette: While the potatoes cook, make the dressing. In a medium mixing bowl, add ¼ cup red wine vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 ½ teaspoon dried oregano, and 2 minced garlic cloves. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and ¼ teaspoon of black pepper. Whisk to combine. Slowly drizzle in ½ cup of olive oil while whisking to emulsify.
- Peel and slice the potatoes: When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel them with a paring knife or metal spoon or leave them as-is. Slice into bite-sized pieces.
- Combine: Place the potatoes in a serving bowl. Add ½ cup each of chopped parsley, dill, and halved Kalamata olives. Add the vinaigrette and toss gently to combine.
- Serve: Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature. Or, cover and store in your refrigerator for up to 3 days. Allow the potato salad to come to room temperature before serving.
Variations and Substitutions
This versatile recipe can be tweaked according to your taste preferences and what you have on hand. Here are some ways to mix it up:
- Potatoes: To add more color to your potato salad, use a mix of potatoes. Boil both yellow and small red potatoes and keep their skins on. As long as they are about the same size they should cook at the same rate, but taste and adjust accordingly.
- Acidity: Instead of vinegar, you can use fresh lemon juice to add a citrusy flavor.
- For more intense flavor: Add a tablespoon of rinsed small capers. They will add tang and a briny flavor to the salad.
- Fresh herbs: Minced fresh chives and cilantro also go very well with this salad.
Tips: How to Make the Best Greek Potato Salad
This no mayo potato salad is simple and essentially foolproof. Here are some tips to ensure you make the best potato salad every time:
- Use the right kind of potato. Go for waxy potatoes, are they have a creamy interior, thin skin, and are low in starch. This means they keep their shape as they boil. Waxy potato varieties include yellow, Yukon gold, red, and fingerling. Starchy potatoes, like russet, have a thick, dark skin and a fluffy interior that will not hold its shape as they boil. These potatoes are best for baking or mashed potatoes.
- Prevent oxidation.If your potatoes are larger and you need to cut them in pieces or you decide to peel them before cooking, place them in a bowl of cold water to avoid oxidation (browning).
- Cook until just tender. Watch the potatoes closely as the cook. They should be fork tender, but not fall apart at the end of their cooking time. This will make a classic potato salad, rather than mashed potatoes.
- Season and dress the potatoes while they’re still hot. This is a good way to ensure they will absorb the vinaigrette nicely and become very flavorful.
What to Serve with Greek Potato Salad
This delicious and healthy potato salad can be served at room temperature or warm. It makes a great side dish for picnics, barbeques, and potlucks.
Serve with your favorite barbeque meats. Grilled chicken, steak, ribs, sausages, or lamb burgers or kebabs would be classic and delicious. The light potato salad would also pair well with grilled fish like shrimp, salmon, swordfish or cod.
This dairy-free, vegan dish is also perfect as part of a vegetarian spread. Serve with coleslaw, baked beans, corn on the cob, pasta salad and of course, the Greek kidney bean salad.
No Mayo, Full Flavor Side Dishes
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Greek Potato Salad (No Mayo!)
Ingredients
For the Potato Salad:
- 3 pounds small yellow potatoes, scrubbed
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ cup chopped red onions or shallots (about 1 small red onion)
- 3 green onions, trimmed and thinly sliced (white part and green part)
- ½ cup chopped Italian parsley leaves
- ½ cup chopped dill
- ½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted and halved
For the Vinaigrette:
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 garlic cloves, pressed or finely minced
- 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the (unpeeled) potatoes and one tablespoon of salt. Reduce the heat to maintain an active simmer. Simmer the potatoes until they are fork tender when poked, about 15-20 minutes (the time will depend on their size). If the potatoes vary in size, remove in batches, starting with the smallest, until they are all cooked through.
- Make the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, oregano, garlic, salt, and pepper. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, while still whisking, until all ingredients are well combined.
- Cool: Gently drain the cooked potatoes and set aside until just cool enough to handle.
- Peel and slice: Using a paring knife or metal spoon, peel the potatoes by scraping off the skin (or leave the skin on if you prefer). Cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes, and place them in a large bowl.
- Combine: Add the red and green onions, parsley, dill, and olives. Whisk the vinaigrette one more time, then pour it over the potatoes. Gently toss to combine. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
- Serve: Serve while still slightly warm or at room temperature.
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Notes
- Leftovers of this mayo-free salad can be stored in the refrigerator (covered well) for 2-3 days. Remove from the refrigerator for at least half an hour before eating. If the salad looks a little dry, drizzle with some more olive oil, stir gently and serve!
- Boil the potatoes until just fork tender and no more. You want them to maintain their shape when sliced.
- Visit our shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils, honey, jams and spices.
We’ve made this twice now and it’s our new favorite! Can’t go wrong with this one.
4star
Thanks, Patricia!
My farm share this week included potatoes, fresh dill, fresh cilantro, and cucumber. Hmm, what to make? This potato salad! I adapted the recipe to fit my ingredients, and it was a big hit with the family! I used a bit less mustard (I'm not a fan), added a few squeezes of lime juice for the vinaigrette. Since I had no scallions, I used some red onion instead; plus, I added some chopped cucumber. Thank you for this delicious, mayo-free potato salad recipe -- I will make it again soon!
Wonderful! Thanks, Jane!
I made this for a BBQ potluck and everyone kept commenting on how yummy this salad was!!! It was a hit!!!
Very easy to make and full of great flavours!
Hey, I just made this and it's amazingly flavorful. It's refreshing to have a non-mayo potato salad as an alternative. This recipe is light and perfect. I used Penzey's Northwoods seasoning in the dressing and it delivered. Thanks for sharing your recipe. It's a keeper.
So glad you enjoyed it, Becky!
This is now my favourite potato salad! I'm going to try adding green beans to it next time. My favourite way to serve it is warm. Thanks for such a delicious salad.
Yum! Love that idea!
My kids declared they didn't like potato salad, until they tried this one! We served it with Copper River salmon, and it was a hit. They said this was absolutely a do-again dinner.
Yessss! Love it when we get a thumbs up from the kiddos!
I have not yet made this delicious looking salad but am looking forward to doing so in the near future. You and I must be related somewhere down the line as Leavitt, my maiden name, is not all that common.
It was delicious 😋
Delicious!
I found this recipe when searching for a potato salad without mayo. I love Greek flavors, so that got my attention. After reading the ingredients it sounded very much like a potato salad that a roommate of years ago made, and was well loved
I must confess to making some additions based on the previous salad mentioned: I added 1/2 cup of sliced celery, a scant 1/2 cup of thinly sliced radishes, and a Tbsp of capers. I didn't have fresh parsley or dill, so I substituted dry. Not being a big fan of red wine vinegar, instead I used 2 Tbsp of lemon juice. Lastly, I added 1/4 tsp of Cavendar's Salt Free Greek seasoning.
This potato salad ROCKED! I struggled with having self control and not eating it all! I do think I'll use another potato or 2 next time, just to balance with the extra veggies added.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I've already shared it with several of my friends.
I made this to accompany our dinner of burgers last night. It was good, but I think that, next time, I will add some feta. Also, in fairness, I didn't have fresh dill so I added dried dill AND I was all out of Kalamata olives (the horror!). I'll admit, it was a little "lacking" but I'm looking forward to the leftovers today. I think the ingredients just hadn't had time to "marry". I have tried several of the recipes on this website, all with good results. Thank you for making our "diet" more delicious!
We are obsessed with this salad. I made it last night to kick off Memorial Day weekend. This will be one of our new summer favorites. Great recipe.
Yay! Thanks so much, Renee!
Very nice salad but a bit bland so I added feta cheese and tomatoes and I had no red wine vinegar so I used white apple vinegar instead and it was delicious but I had to eat it cold as not a lover of warm salads!
I’ve yet to find a good red wine vinegar. Can you suggest a brand? Thank you for these great recipes.
Hi, Joy. Suzy most often uses Pompeian Red Wine Vinegar, since it's so easily accessible/
Made this last night along with the Greek Lemon Chicken; It was a hit!
I have been waiting for eons to get a good no mayo potato salad recipe. (Can't eat mayo). Thank you so much for giving us this recipe along with precise instructions....they are so helpful.....can't wait to make this.....thank you again!
Thanks, Carolyn! We also have another no-mayo potato salad you should definitely check out!