Moroccan Potato Salad
Moroccan potato salad is bright, herby and packed with flavor. This simple potato salad with parsley is made with no mayo and instead has simple oil and vinegar dressing that takes potato salad to a whole new level! Perfect for cookouts, potlucks or weeknight meals, this Moroccan potato salad is going to become one of your new favorite side dishes!
Why you will love this recipe
- Simple, fresh ingredients – the fresh flat leaf parsley really makes this salad taste bright and fresh (unlike many other potato salad recipes that can feel heavy). It’s great for summer meals but I love serving it in the winter as a way to get fresh summer flavors in with traditional winter foods (potatoes).
- Easy to make – this recipe is quite simple to make. Getting the potatoes cooked but not overcooked is the toughest part of this recipe, since you won’t want the potatoes falling apart as you stir in the dressing.
- No mayo! Great for cookouts, summer bbq’s or potlucks. This salad is great cold, room temperature or even served slightly warm! Since there is no mayo, it can sit out at room temperature for about 2 hours before it needs refrigeration.
- Great for meal prep! This Moroccan potato salad is great for 4-5 days in the fridge and would be the perfect meal prep lunch item to go along side salads, sandwiches or wraps for a healthy and filling meal!
Ingredients
- Potatoes – I find that the best potatoes for making potato salad are red skinned potatoes, baby gold potatoes or a mixture of baby potatoes. These potatoes are very thin skinned and therefore don’t need to be peeled! This saves so much time in the preparation of the recipe.
- Red onion – red onion adds a nice crunch to the salad and also adds so much flavor. The onion gets soaked in vinegar for a few minutes before the salad is assembled. This helps to remove that pungent onion flavor and really mellows the onions out to be a sweet, crunchy component of the salad.
- Red wine vinegar – the red wine vinegar acts as a base for the dressing and also helps to reduce the harsh taste of the red onions. You could also use lemon juice in place of the red wine vinegar but the dressing will be slightly sweeter tasting.
- Extra virgin olive oil – instead of mayo, this Moroccan potato salad uses olive oil and vinegar to coat the potatoes and make them more flavorful. You want to ensure you are using enough olive oil or the potatoes will start to dry out as they sit in the fridge.
- Spices: Salt, ground cumin, garlic powder – the cumin helps to give a smoky flavor to the dressing that really elevates the entire salad to a new level of flavor. The garlic powder helps to create a savory, umami flavor without overtaking the dish. Fresh garlic tends to overpower a dish like this so I prefer garlic powder.
How to make Moroccan potato salad
Start by cooking the potatoes. I actually like to do this 1-2 days in advance as part of my weekly meal prep. This way I can make this salad in just minutes on busy weeknights when I’m short on time. You can make potatoes using the stove, instant pot or crockpot. Check out the cooking instructions below for each method!
While the potatoes are cooking, chop the red onion and add it to a bowl. Pour the red wine vinegar over the onion and allow it to sit for 5-10 minutes (or longer) to help neutralize the onion and remove some of the harsh onion bitterness.
Once cooled enough to handle, cut the potatoes down into bite size pieces.
Chop the parsley – you want a fine enough chop that the parsley leaves are broken down but it doesn’t have to be finely chopped, it’s ok for there to be some texture.
Add the olive oil, chopped parsley and spices to the bowl with the onions and red wine vinegar. Stir well.
Add the potatoes directly to the dressing and stir well until all the potatoes are well coated.
Serve immediately (you can serve this warm if the potatoes are still warm) or store in the fridge for 1-2 hours to cool before serving.
Top tips
Buy organic, thin-skinned potatoes and leave the skin on! The skin is packed with fiber and other nutrients and you really don’t notice it when the potatoes are very thin skinned (like baby potatoes). Leaving the skin on helps to cut down on the prep time too!
Time saving tip: Make your potatoes in advance. I often make a large batch of potatoes during my weekly meal prep so that I can make recipes like this in just minutes during the week. Meal prep doesn’t have to be time consuming. Often I just put the whole potatoes in the instant pot, turn it on and walk away.
If you don’t love onion in your salad, try this tip of soaking the onions in vinegar before omitting them from the salad! The entire flavor profile changes when you soak them in vinegar!
Add more veggies or fresh herbs depending on what you have on hand! This potato salad can easily become a veggie packed side dish depending on what you have available.
Other additions
- Fresh veggies: Thinly sliced carrots, radishes, steamed or blanched green beans, cooked peas would all be a great addition to this salad
- Fresh herbs: Fresh mint, cilantro, fresh dill could all be great additions to this salad. I love using parsley because it is bright and fresh and always available in the grocery store and is pretty budget friendly.
- Spice: Add red pepper flakes to the dressing to add some spice.
- Sweetness: Add a pop of color and a sweet note by adding pomegranate seeds
- Creaminess: Add creaminess and a bit more salt by adding some feta cheese (there are some great vegan options now if you are vegan/dairy free).
What to serve with this parsley potato salad
This fresh and flavorful salad would go well along side any protein. Some great weeknight options include:
- Air Fryer Chicken Drumsticks
- Air Fryer Frozen Shrimp
- Air Fryer Salmon
- Black Bean Lentil Burgers
- Juicy oven baked chicken
- 10 Minute Italian Chicken (with ½ teaspoon of oregano added for more of a Greek flavor).
Common questions
What are the best potatoes for potato salad
The best potatoes for potato salad are red skinned potatoes or small gold potatoes or a mix of baby potatoes. These potatoes have a much thinner skin and also won’t fall apart when boiling them. I don’t recommend russet potatoes for potato salad since they tend to break down easily when boiled.
How to cook potatoes for potato salad
- Stove top: Add whole potatoes to cold water. Cook over medium high heat until potatoes are fork tender (this means you can easily insert a fork or paring knife into the potatoes without resistance). This will take about 15 minutes for small, baby potatoes and closer to 20-25 minutes for large potatoes.
- Instant pot: Put trivet in instant pot and add 1-2 cups of water. Place potatoes on top of trivet. Cook 10 minutes high pressure for larger potatoes and 5 minutes high pressure for small, baby potatoes. Allow the pressure to naturally release at least 10 minutes.
- Crockpot: Add potatoes to the crockpot and turn on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
How to save time when cooking larger potatoes
If you only have large potatoes on hand, you can first cut the potatoes down into cubes before cooking on the stove or instant pot. Once they are smaller sizes, follow the instructions for the small, baby potatoes.
Do you have to peel the potatoes?
No! You don’t have to peel potatoes to make potato salad. Some potatoes have thicker skins which can be chewy when you make potato salad, which is why I recommend baby potatoes or thin skinned red potatoes for potato salad.
Can you eat parsley stems?
Yes! When you are cutting off the leaves, you can also use the thin stems around the top of the leaves. The stems are packed with flavor and work great in this salad!
Do you have to soak the onions in vinegar?
You don’t have to soak the onions in vinegar but it’s highly recommended since it makes the onions sweeter and less harsh.
Storing leftovers
Store leftover Moroccan potato salad in the fridge for 4-5 days total. If you made the potatoes in advance, you only want them in the fridge 5 days total, so be mindful of that as well.
It is not recommended that you freeze potato salad as the potatoes will get water logged and brown.
Substitutions
- Potatoes– you can also use sweet potatoes or even cauliflower (check out my cauliflower potato salad recipe for tips on how to cook the cauliflower).
- Red onion – if you don’t have red onion, you can use chopped green onion instead. The green onion will not need to be soaked in vinegar.
- Red wine vinegar – red wine vinegar brings so much flavor to this dish. If you don’t have red wine vinegar on hand, the best next option would be lemon juice.
- Extra virgin olive oil – this is usually a pantry staple, but if you run out and still want to make this salad, you can use avocado oil in place of the olive oil.
- Fresh flat leaf parsley – use any of the other herbs listed above if you don’t have fresh parsley (cilantro, mint, dill). You can also use fresh oregano as well, but it can quickly overpower the dish so I’m usually cautious to suggest it. Start with just 1-2 tablespoons and go from there.
- Spices: Ground cumin can be replaced by smoked paprika (will change the flavor slightly) or you can use a Moroccan spice blend like Ras-el-Hanout. If you don’t have garlic powder on hand, you can use onion powder or fresh garlic (be sure to use a microplane for fresh garlic to break it down as much as possible so there are not large chunks of garlic in the salad).
If you love potatoes, you should try:
- Creamy Tahini Potato Salad
- Air Fryer Baby Potatoes
- Instant Pot Rosemary Potatoes
- Dairy Free Mashed Potatoes
- Crispy Roasted Potatoes
Moroccan Potato Salad
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes (baby potatoes)
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 medium red onion
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/3 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Start by cooking the potatoes. You can use the stove, instant pot or crockpot for this. See tips below.
- While the potatoes are cooking, chop the red onion and add it to a bowl. Pour the red wine vinegar over the onion and allow it to sit for 5-10minutes (or longer) to help neutralize the onion,
- Once cooled enough to handle, cut the potatoes down into bite size pieces.
- Chop the flat leaf parsley.
- Add the olive oil, chopped parsley and spices to the bowl with the onions and red wine vinegar. Stir well.
- Add the potatoes directly to the dressing and stir well until all the potatoes are well coated.
- Serve immediately (you can serve this warm if the potatoes are still warm) or store in the fridge for 1-2 hours to cool before serving.
Notes
- Stove top: Add whole potatoes to cold water. Cook over medium high heat until potatoes are fork tender (this means you can easily insert a fork or paring knife into the potatoes without resistance). This will take about 15 minutes for small, baby potatoes and closer to 20-25 minutes for large potatoes.
- Instant pot: Put trivet in instant pot and add 1-2 cups of water. Place potatoes on top of trivet. Cook 10 minutes high pressure for larger potatoes and 5 minutes high pressure for small, baby potatoes. Allow the pressure to naturally release at least 10 minutes.
- Crockpot: Add potatoes to the crockpot and turn on high for 3 hours or low for 6 hours.
- Buy organic, thin-skinned potatoes and leave the skin on! The skin is packed with fiber and other nutrients and you really don’t notice it when the potatoes are very thin skinned (like baby potatoes). Leaving the skin on helps to cut down on the prep time too!
- Time saving tip: Make your potatoes in advance. I often make a large batch of potatoes during my weekly meal prep so that I can make recipes like this in just minutes during the week. Meal prep doesn’t have to be time consuming. Often I just put the whole potatoes in the instant pot, turn it on and walk away.
- If you don’t love onion in your salad, try this tip of soaking the onions in vinegar before omitting them from the salad! The entire flavor profile changes when you soak them in vinegar!
- Add more veggies or fresh herbs depending on what you have on hand! This potato salad can easily become a veggie packed side dish depending on what you have available.
- Fresh veggies: Thinly sliced carrots, radishes, steamed or blanched green beans, cooked peas would all be a great addition to this salad
- Fresh herbs: Fresh mint, cilantro, fresh dill could all be great additions to this salad. I love using parsley because it is bright and fresh and always available in the grocery store and is pretty budget friendly.
- Spice: Add red pepper flakes to the dressing to add some spice.
- Sweetness: Add a pop of color and a sweet note by adding pomegranate seeds
- Creaminess: Add creaminess and a bit more salt by adding some feta cheese (there are some great vegan options now if you are vegan/dairy free).
Absolutely delicious! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Sabrina, I love hearing this. Thank you for sharing.
This potato salad was yummy. I’ll be making it again.