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Vibrant, fresh, and easy to make, this Italian Potato Salad is guaranteed to be a hit at all your summer gatherings! With tender potatoes, fresh green beans, and a zesty dressing, this mayo-free potato salad is an unexpected favorite!
My Favorite Mayo-Free Potato Salad Recipe
Potato salads and potlucks go hand in hand. And while you can't go wrong with classic potato salad or bacon ranch potato salad, when it comes to light and fresh, this Italian Potato Salad is the winner!
With creamy potatoes, crisp-tender green beans, bright cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs tossed together in a zesty Italian dressing, this Italian potato salad is filled with texture and flavor.
And while the taste alone will sell you on this recipe, you will love that this Italian Potato Salad recipe is also egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly. That means everyone can enjoy this simple side dish.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
Notes on Key Ingredients
You will find the full list of ingredients, along with quantities in the recipe card. Below is a quick glance at what you need and tips to help you make the right selection.
- Potatoes: Waxy potatoes, like new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or red potatoes are the best options for this potato salad, as they are creamy, yet will hold their shape, and prevent the potato salad from becoming mushy. I personally love using baby potatoes for this potato salad, but larger varieties work as well.
- Tomatoes: Use cherry or grape tomatoes, as they will hold up well in this potato salad.
- Green Beans: Optional, but WOW! The texture and flavor that fresh green beans add to potato salad is so incredibly good.
- Homemade Italian Vinaigrette: Instead of a heavy mayonnaise-based dressing, this potato salad dressing is made extra virgin olive oil, fresh lemon, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, and minced garlic.
- Fresh Herbs: Adding fresh minced parsley will elevate this potato salad and make it taste that much fresher. Other fabulous options would include fresh basil, fresh chives, or fresh tarragon.
- Optional Additions: If you like, you can also opt to add Kalamata olives, parmesan cheese, finely minced red onion, and/or 1 tablespoon of salad supreme seasoning, for additional flavor, texture.
How To Make Italian Potato Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook Potatoes. Place whole baby potatoes into a large pot of water. Heavily season with salt and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are just fork-tender.
Using Larger Potatoes?
If working with larger potatoes, it is best to cut the potatoes into 1-inch cubes prior to cooking them. This will help them cook quickly and evenly.
- Dry & Dice Potatoes. After draining the potatoes, return them to the hot pan for a minute or two. This will help any excess liquid to evaporate, which prevents a watered-down potato salad. Then let them cool slightly before dicing into bite-sized pieces and adding to the dressing.
- Blanch Fresh Green Beans. The best way to ensure your green beans are not overcooked and retain a nice crisp bite and vibrant green color is drop them in boiling water for a minute or two and then transfer them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Let cool for a few minutes, then drain and pat dry.
- Prepare Italian Vinaigrette. While the potatoes and green beans are cooling, whisk the components of the dressing together in a large mixing bowl.
Kristen's Tip
Prepare the dressing in a large mixing bowl or serving dish rather than a smaller bowl. That way you can simply toss the salad together in this bowl, cutting back on the number of dishes.
- Combine. Add the cooled potatoes, blanched green beans, tomatoes, and fresh parsley to the Italian dressing and gently toss to coat.
- Serve. You can opt to serve the Italian Potato Salad immediately while still a bit warm, or cover and chill for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours, to allow the flavors time to marry together. I personally prefer the potato salad after it has been chilled.
Think Beyond the Potluck
While this Potato Salad with Green Beans is a favorite side dish at picnics, BBQs, potlucks, it also makes a fabulous option for a simple dinner at home. Enjoy it with Hamburgers, Air Fryer chicken breasts, Greek chicken, baked Italian sausage, or lemon baked cod.
More Favorite Potluck Side Dishes
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Italian Potato Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby Yukon gold or red potatoes, see notes if using larger potatoes
- 12 ounces fresh green beans
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 large lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced or crushed
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, + more for cooking potatoes
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Place potatoes and 1 tablespoon of salt into a large stock pan. Add cold water so that the potatoes are covered by 1-inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through and easily pierced with a knife, 10 to 20 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes.
- Drain the potatoes and then return them to the hot pan for 1-2 minutes to quickly evaporate any residual liquid. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly and then slice in half.
- Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. While the water is coming to a boil, remove and discard the ends of beans and cut them in half on a diagonal. Once the water is boiling, drop the beans and 1 teaspoon of kosher salt into the boiling water and cook for 1-2 minutes or until just crisp-tender, but still vibrant green. Remove the beans with a slotted spoon and transfer them to a bowl of iced water. Once cool, drain, and pat dry.
- While the potatoes and green beans are cooling, prepare the dressing by whisking ¼ cup red wine vinegar, the zest and juice of 1 large lemon, 2 cloves garlic (minced), 2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a large mixing bowl. Stream in ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, whisking to combine.
- Add the potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and parsley to the dressing, and gently toss to combine and coat in the vinaigrette.
- Let sit for 10 minutes to allow for the flavors to meld. Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This sounds like a potato salad that's a bit different from the traditional mayonnaise-based potato salad. I think it's an especially good choice for outdoor picnics on hot days when mayo can be a bit iffy. If you take care to keep a potato salad with mayo cool, it will be fine, but at outdoor picnics that's sometimes not easy.
I agree! I like to nestle potato salads in bowls of ice and change out the ice, but that can be cumbersome. This is the perfect solution.