Vegan Dill Potato Salad
Vegan dill potato salad is great for picnics, cookouts, or weeknight meals. This dill tahini potato salad has no mayo and is the perfect summer side dish. This creamy, delicious healthy dill potato salad can even be made in advance and is even better the next day.
Why you will love this recipe
- Simple ingredients – this tahini potato salad uses mostly pantry ingredients, except for the fresh dill. These simple ingredients come together to create a really rich and creamy potato salad that will pair well with your favorite cookout foods like burgers, hot dogs, bbq chicken and more!
- Easy to make – potato salad is so easy to make, you can boil the potatoes up to 2 days in advance if needed. Once you are ready to make the salad, cut the potatoes into bite size pieces, make the dressing (in just 2 minutes) and combine everything together.
- No mayo – if you are like me and hate mayo, this vegan dill potato salad is just for you! Tahini takes the place of mayo so you get the same creamy texture without the taste of mayo – win, win if you ask me!
- Can be made in advance – prep this salad up to 24 hours in advance. This dill potato salad tastes even better the next day, just be sure to give it a good stir before serving.
Ingredients
- Potatoes – use waxy potatoes that will hold their shape like gold (yellow) potatoes, red potatoes or any of the baby or fingerling potatoes.
- Tahini – tahini is a paste made from ground sesame seeds. You can usually find it in most grocery stores with the other nut butters or in the international foods section. If you can’t find tahini, try almond butter or unsweetened sunbutter.
- Apple cider vinegar – apple cider vinegar helps to cut the heaviness of the tahini and gives the dressing balance. I like how neutral the apple cider vinegar is in this recipe. You could also use lemon juice.
- Fresh dill – there really is nothing quite like the flavor of fresh dill. It’s unique, so flavorful and pairs well with the potatoes. If you don’t have fresh dill, you could use dried in a pinch (start with about 1 tablespoon dried).
- Spices: Salt, garlic powder – these simple spices help to elevate the flavors of the dish. Garlic powder is used instead of fresh garlic to minimize the harsh bite from fresh garlic (it can overpower the flavor of the dish and compete with the fresh dill).
- Water – water is used to thin out the dressing.
How to make vegan dill potato salad
Start by cooking the potatoes: Scrub the potatoes, add them to a large pot of cold water. Bring water to a boil and cook for 15 minutes (small potatoes) or 20-25 minutes for larger potatoes. You can also cook potatoes in the instant pot or in the slow cooker (see below).
Once the potatoes are done cooking (test them with a pairing knife), drain the potatoes and allow them to cool 10-20 minutes so they are easier to handle.
While the potatoes are cooling, mix together the tahini, apple cider vinegar, fresh chopped dill and spices. Stir well. Add water and stir again until all the tahini is well combined with the water. Let sit 5 minutes.
Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and add them to a bowl. Pour the dressing over top and stir well to coat the potatoes. Serve immediately or let the mixture rest in the fridge 2-3 hours to cool.
Top tips
- Allow the potatoes to cool for at least 10-20 minutes before cutting into cubes. The potatoes are very hot and hard to handle right after boiling.
- If you want the potatoes to cook faster, cut them into 1-inch cubes before cooking. The smaller the potatoes, the faster they will cook.
- Always cook potatoes in cold water – adding potatoes to boiling water will cause them to cook unevenly, where the outside is done but the inside is raw. Allowing the water and potatoes to come up to temperature together ensures that the potatoes are cooked through evenly.
- Tahini based dressing can thicken up in the fridge. Give this salad a good stir before serving after storing in the fridge to cool.
Other additions
- Chopped red onions or green onion – this will give the salad a bite from the fresh red onion.
- Finely chopped celery – the potato salad my grandfather made always had some chopped celery. It gives the potatoes salad fresh flavor and also a crunchy bite that contrasts the creamy potatoes well.
- Fresh chives – chives give a much more mellow onion flavor that won’t be quite as pungent as red onion or green onion.
- Radish – finely chopped radish will give a peppery bite to the potato salad and also provide the same crunch as celery.
What to serve with tahini dill potato salad
- At cookouts/BBQ’s with your favorite grilled protein and a simple green bean salad or tomato cucumber salad.
- For a simple meal with air fryer black bean burgers, buffalo cauliflower, air fryer buffalo chicken or simple chicken drumsticks and your favorite green veggie.
- As part of a summer feast with watermelon gazpacho, Italian white bean salad and finish up the meal with a homemade blackberry crumble.
Common questions
What are the best potatoes for potato salad
Thin skinned waxy potatoes like Yukon gold, red potatoes, baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes are best for potato salad. They stay together when cooked and don’t have to be peeled in advance.
Russet potatoes are not recommended for potato salad, as they can fall apart when cooked (think mashed potatoes).
Do you have to peel potatoes?
For potato salad, I typically like to leave the skin on. Since you are using a thin-skinned potato, the skin is easy to digest and doesn’t really get in the way. Since you will be eating the skins, be sure to scrub the potatoes before cooking.
If you prefer the look or texture of peeled potatoes, you can peel the potatoes before cooking.
The best way to prep potatoes for potato salad
Stovetop – place whole potatoes in pot of cold water. Bring water to a boil. Once water is boiling, cook for 15 minutes (small potatoes) or 20-25 minutes (large potatoes).
To cook potatoes faster, cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes before adding to cold water. Bring water to boil and cook 8 minutes.
Instant Pot – add trivet to the instant pot insert then add the potatoes on top of the trivet. Add 1 cup water (2 cups for an 8 qt instant pot). Cook 5 minutes high pressure for small potatoes (baby potatoes) or 10 minutes high pressure for larger potatoes. Let pressure naturally release at least 10 minutes before manually releasing pressure.
Slow cooker – add the potatoes to the slow cooker and cook 3 hours on high o 6 hours on low.
How to tell if potatoes are done cooking?
The easiest way to tell if potatoes are done cooking is to pierce them with a paring knife. The knife should easily slide into the center of the potato. If you feel resistance when pressing into the potato with the knife, the potato is not done cooking yet.
Note that you don’t want to overcook the potatoes, making them too soft will cause your potato salad to fall apart. Keep an eye on the potatoes at the 15 minute mark for small potatoes (anything less than 2 inches in diameter) and 20 minutes for larger potatoes.
What if you discover the potatoes aren’t done cooking after draining
If you discover that some or all of the potatoes are not quite done cooking (they are hard in the center when dicing the potatoes), simply put the potatoes in the microwave for 5 minutes or so.
Can you use dried dill instead of fresh dill?
Fresh dill will pack the most flavor into this dish, but you can use dried dill in a pinch. Start with about 1 tablespoon dried dill, add more (1/2 teaspoon at a time) until the dish reaches your desired flavor.
What if you don’t have tahini?
If you don’t have tahini, replace it with almond butter or unsweetened sunbutter (sunflower seed butter). The flavor will be slightly different but still very good.
Can you make healthy dill potato salad in advance?
Yes! Potato salad gets even better as it sits. You can cook the potatoes whole up to 2 days in advance, just store them in the fridge until you are ready to make the potato salad.
When ready, cube the potatoes into bite size pieces then pour the dressing over top. Wait to cube the potatoes until right before adding the dressing though, or they can start to dry out.
You can also assemble the entire potato salad in advance and store in the fridge up to 24 hours. Be sure to stir the potato salad well right before serving.
Storing leftovers
Fridge: Store leftovers in the fridge up to 5 days. The dressing will start to break down a bit after the first day, so be sure to stir this well before enjoying.
Freezer: because the potatoes will change texture when frozen, I don’t recommend freezing.
Substitutions
- Potatoes – you can also make this recipe with sweet potatoes or even cauliflower. Check out my cauliflower potato salad for tips!
- Tahini – use almond butter, cashew butter or unsweetened sunbutter in place of tahini
- Apple cider vinegar – use lemon juice or white wine vinegar in place of apple cider vinegar.
- Fresh dill – use dried dill (1 tablespoon) in place of the fresh dill. You could also make this with chopped chives if you don’t love the flavor of dill.
If you love this recipe, you should try
- Kale Tahini Salad
- Creamy Tahini Dill Dressing
- Moroccan Potato Salad
- Smashed Potatoes (Air Fryer)
- Air Fryer Potato Cubes
Vegan Dill Potato Salad
Guided Recipe Video
Ingredients
- 3 pounds waxy potatoes - like yellow, red, baby or fingerling potatoes
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 6 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Clean the potatoes. Add potatoes to a large pot. Cover with cold water and cook on high heat until water comes up to a boil.Once boiling, cook potatoes for 15 minutes (small potatoes) or 20-25 minutes (large potatoes) until potatoes are cooked through (you should be able to insert a paring knife or fork into the center of the potatoes without resistance).
- Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool at least 10 minutes so they are easier to handle.
- While potatoes are cooling, make the tahini dressing. Combine tahini, apple cider vinegar, salt, garlic powder in a bowl. Stir well. Add water and stir until all the tahini and water have combined. This mixture will be thin. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken.
- When potatoes have cooled enough to handle, cut potatoes into 1-1.5 inch cubes. Add cubed potatoes to a large bowl.
- Pour the dill tahini dressing over the potatoes and stir well to combine. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to cool 2-3 hours before serving.
Notes
- Allow the potatoes to cool for at least 10-20 minutes before cutting into cubes. The potatoes are very hot and hard to handle right after boiling.
- If you want the potatoes to cook faster, cut them into 1-inch cubes before cooking. The smaller the potatoes, the faster they will cook.
- Always cook potatoes in cold water – adding potatoes to boiling water will cause them to cook unevenly, where the outside is done but the inside is raw. Allowing the water and potatoes to come up to temperature together ensures that the potatoes are cooked through evenly.
- Tahini based dressing can thicken up in the fridge. Give this salad a good stir before serving after storing in the fridge to cool.
