Easy Green Bean and Potato Salad

Here’s an easy green bean and potato salad that proves why this dish is a classic. When summer rolls around, and by summer, we usually mean Memorial Day weekend, it’s the start of potato salad season. This simple, naturally plant-based potato salad will be welcome as part of outdoor meals, everyday dinners, and potlucks.

Potato salad is a must-have for outdoor meals and picnics, and is a classic companion to grilled foods. While you can get pretty creative with potato salads (why not?), sometimes it’s good to stick with the basics. 

Dress in vinaigrette, vary with vegan mayo: This particular recipe is dressed in vinaigrette, which makes it not only sturdy, but completely plant-based.

You likely know how hard it is to find vegan potato salad outside your own kitchen — it’s usually doused in non-vegan mayo. That said, this recipe has a vegan mayo variation, and I’m all for dousing it with that kind!

What to serve with vegan potato salad

• This is a great side dish with veggie burgers and other kinds of sandwich meals — even vegan quesadillas.
• This potato salad is also excellent with grilled tofu or other plant proteins like tempeh or seitan. Either way, round out a summery meal with fresh corn on the cob and refreshing melons.

Photos by Hannah Kaminsky, BittersweetBlog.com

Explore more …

• Tasty vegan potato salad recipes.
• Potato Salad with Red Beans and Artichokes
• Cauliflower and Potato Salad with Peas and Olives

Continue to Content

Yield: 6 to 8

Easy Green Bean and Potato Salad

Print

Here's a simple vegan potato salad that proves why it’s a classic. It's great for outdoor meals, to serve with veggie burgers, and more.

Prep Time 18 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 5 to 6 medium-large golden or red-skinned potatoes (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 cups trimmed fresh or frozen green beans, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup vinaigrette dressing, bottled or homemade, as needed (see link to recipe in Notes)
• 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup sliced green pimiento olives
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. If you’d like to keep the skins on the potatoes, scrub them well. Cut into approximately 3/4-inch chunks.
2. Combine the potatoes with just enough water to cover in a roomy saucepan. Bring to a slow boil then turn down the heat, and simmer with the cover ajar until the potatoes are about half done.
3. Add the green beans and continue to cook until the potatoes and green beans are done, but still firm.
4. Transfer the potato and green bean mixture to a colander and rinse with cool running water until they’re lukewarm.
5. Place the potatoes and green beans in a serving bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir gently to combine.
6. If time allows, let the potato salad stand at room temperature for a half hour or so, then see if you’d like to add more dressing.

Notes

Variation: For a creamy potato salad, eliminate the vinaigrette and use about 1/2 cup of vegan mayonnaise, or as you’d like. Add a teaspoon or two of mustard as well.

Here's our Basic Vinaigrette.

Optional add-ins: If you’d like add something more to the mix, you can try any of these:

• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• A few sprigs chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 medium bell pepper (any color), diced
• 2 tablespoons or so toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 199mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g

Nutrition data is always an estimate depending on program used to calculate and exact products used. This is given for informational purposes only and accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

See more plant-rich salads & sides.