Say a big howdy hello to Labor Day with this Eggless Potato Salad Recipe. A quick, easy, and simple vegan comfort food, perfect for all your summer cookouts. It’s the best eggless potato salad with cornichons, eggy kala namak salt, and a sprinkling of fresh chives or dill.
Can you honestly say it’s a complete and rockin’ cookout without potato salad? Well, yeah, you probably could, but I couldn’t! Potato salad is that classic, must-have side dish that seems to complete a classic cookout setup. You’ll never convince me otherwise. It’s like trying to play a concert without a guitarist. It might be possible, but it definitely won’t be the same.
Depending on what time of year it is and what recipe I’m making, I feel the same way about these Vegan Scalloped Potatoes and Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese. They’re a must for meal success! Side dishes, in general, are the glue that bring the meal together. Without them, mealtime can get boring, lifeless, or leave something to desire. Don’t let dinner time be a sad affair. Whip up this eggless potato salad and pair it with our Vegan Steaks or Jackfruit Ribs and let them slap a smile on your face.
How to Make Eggless Potato Salad
- Prep the potatoes – Scrub, rinse, and cut the potatoes.
- Cook – Place the potatoes in a large pot of water. Add the bay leaves, some salt, and turmeric. Boil until soft.
- Drain – Drain in a colander and let them dry in their own steam.
- Combine – Dice the cornichons and add them to a large bowl with the potatoes, scallions, olive oil, brining liquid, and kala namak salt. Toss to coat.
- Serve – Taste and adjust your seasoning as needed. Serve at room temperature with the toppings of your choice and enjoy!
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Storage – Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I do not suggest freezing this dish as the texture doesn’t come back out the best.
- Reheating – This dish is meant to be served at room temperature or chilled, so I do not suggest reheating it in any way. If you decided to freeze the dish, let it come to an edible temperature on its own.
- Turmeric adds the perfect golden color – Many are used to their potato salad having that golden glow. The turmeric provides this golden color while adding in many other health benefits to the salad at the same time.
- Don’t overcook the potatoes – You don’t want the potatoes to be mushy. You’re not making mashed potatoes. You want them to be soft, but not overly done.
- Do I need to use kala namak salt? – This salt adds the missing eggy flavor in vegan potato salad. If you don’t mind if this flavor is there or not, you can swap it out for normal sea salt.
- Topping ideas – I like to top my potato salad with some fresh herbs like dill or chives. You can also top it with more kala namak or chili flakes for a spicy kick.
- Vinegar substitute – Instead of vinegar, you can use the brining liquid found in your pickles or cornichons. It has great flavor and accomplishes the same task as vinegar but extra special.
- Add-ins – If you want to kick things up a notch with your potato salad, you could add some extra ingredients. Some of my go-tos are vegan bacon, grilled plant-based sausages, smoky tempeh, roasted peppers and pickled red onion.
Eggless Potato Salad Questions
Is Potato Salad Vegan?
It is if you make it that way! Some potato salads use lard or eggs, which would commonly make potato salad not vegan. However, it’s pretty easy to swap those ingredients out for other cruelty-free options! For a creamy version make sure to try our classic European Vegan Potato Salad recipe.
What is Kala Namak Salt?
Kala namak salt is largely used in South Asia and is known for its very pungent smell. It contains large amounts of sodium chloride, which gives it its color and sulphurous smell. This salt is actually kiln-fired and is also known as black salt, black lava salt, sanchal, and kala loon. It has a very bold flavor, which lends the taste of eggs to many vegan dishes like this Eggless Potato Salad Recipe.
More Vegan Side Dishes:
Rustic Paprika Potatoes
Coconut Spinach Rice Pilaf
Pineapple Fried Rice
Grilled Corn Tomato Avocado Salad
Italian Balsamic Tomatoes.
P.S. If you tried this recipe make sure to report back with a comment rating below, snap a photo and tag me with #VeggieSociety on Instagram, it always brightens up my day ~ Florentina Xo’s
Eggless Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 Lb yukon gold potatoes (or red potatoes)
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 scallions chopped
- 12 oz jar cornichons reserve the brining liquid
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- kala namak eggy salt
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- fresh chives parsley or dill for serving
- 1 pinch red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Scrub and rinse the potatoes well then cut them into one inch pieces. Transfer to a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil. Add the bay leaves, a good pinch of salt and the turmeric. Cook until the potatoes are perfectly tender but not mushy.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander and allow to dry in their own steam. Transfer to a large salad bowl.
- Meanwhile dice the cornichons (or dill pickles) into small pieces and add them to the bowl with the potatoes together with the scallions. Drizzle with 1/3 cup of olive oil and a 1/4 cup of the reserve cornichons brining liquid. Sprinkle with a god pinch of Kala Namak salt then toss to coat well.
- Taste and adjust seasonings with more of everything then sprinkle with fresh chives or dill.
- Serve at room temperature with a pinch of chili flakes for heat, extra sulfur salt (kala namak) and fresh herbs.
- Add in suggestions: crispy vegan bacon, smoky tempeh, grilled plant based sausages, roasted peppers, red onion etc.
Notes
- Turmeric adds the golden color - Many are used to their potato salad having that golden color. The turmeric provides this golden color while adding in many other health benefits to the salad at the same time.
- Don’t overcook the potatoes - You don’t want the potatoes to be mushy. You’re not making mashed potatoes. You want them to be soft, but not overly done.
- Do I need to use kala namak salt? - This salt adds the missing eggy flavor in vegan potato salad. If you don’t mind if this flavor is there or not, you can swap it out for normal sea salt.
- Topping ideas - I like to top my potato salad with some fresh herbs like dill or chives. You can also top it with more coarse kala namak or chili flakes for a spicy kick.
- Vinegar substitute - Instead of vinegar, you can use the brining liquid found in your pickles or cornichons. It has great flavor and accomplishes the same task as vinegar.
- Add-ins - If you want to kick things up a notch with your potato salad, you could add some extra ingredients. Some of my go-tos are crispy vegan bacon, grilled plant-based sausages, smoky tempeh, roasted peppers, red onion, etc.
Nutrition
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