Healthy Potato Salad
on Jul 25, 2023, Updated Feb 15, 2025
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My Healthy Potato Salad is a summertime ☀️ staple in our household. Unlike American 🇺🇸 potato salad (which I also love), my version uses tart white balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice🍋) and olive oil instead of mayo. This light and filling recipe gets protein from the addition of hard-boiled eggs 🥚, and bright color and flavor from finely chopped fresh herbs 🌿 and red onion. It’s the perfect side to grilled meats and fish. This recipe was always on my family’s table in Bulgaria and is very nostalgic.
Why You’ll Love Healthy Potato Salad
🌱 Light and Healthy: Say goodbye to heavy mayo-laden potato salads. Here, I use zesty white balsamic vinegar or 🍋 lemon juice, paired with the goodness of olive oil, creating a light and healthier dressing.
🥚 Protein-Packed: Additionally, hard-boiled eggs add protein, making this salad a satisfying and standalone side.
🎨 Customizable: Moreover, you can make it your own by adjusting ingredients like eggs, herbs, and red onions.
🌞 Picnic-Perfect: What’s more, the absence of mayo makes it picnic-friendly and a great companion to grilled meats and fish.
How to Prepare Healthy Potato Salad
Hard-Boil The Eggs: Boil eggs for 10 minutes until hard-boiled, then transfer them to an 🧊 ice bath for easy peeling.
Prep and Boil the Potatoes: Peel and cut yellow potatoes into uniform pieces for even cooking. Next, boil the potatoes in salted water until fork-tender, around 10 minutes.
Arrange the Salad: Drain potatoes, arrange them on a plate 🍽, and artfully nestle egg wedges amongst them for a lovely presentation.
Add Seasoning: Lastly, add 🍋 lemon zest, lemon juice, red onion 🧅, and herbs 🌿 (dill, parsley, or basil) for flavor and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, and gently mix.
Nonna’s Tip
Make sure the potatoes are not too soft. They should have a bite to them so that the salad doesn’t become too mushy.
Variations and Substitutions
As always, everything should be measured with your heart ❤️. Love eggs? Add a few more, or leave them out entirely.
- Red onions are optional, but add a nice sharpness and color to the dish.
- Dill is classic in this preparation, but any fresh herb can be used: parsley, oregano, and basil are nice substitutes.
Best Served With
While my dad was visiting this summer, we enjoyed this salad alongside grilled branzino 🐟 (aka whole European Sea Bass) and a crisp glasses of white wine — the perfect summer meal!
Similar Recipes
Common Questions
What type of salt do you use?
I use Redmond Real Salt, please note that depending on the salt you use, your dish may be less or more salty. Salt is always to taste, you should taste and adjust as you cook.
Yes, you can certainly use different potato varieties. Yellow potatoes work well, but experiment with red or russet potatoes for slightly varied textures and flavors.
Store any leftover salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator, but it’s best consumed within 2-3 days to maintain the freshness of the ingredients.
You certainly can; to make the Bulgarian Potato Salad recipe vegan, you’ll need to replace or leave out the non-vegan ingredients like hard-boiled eggs and consider using vegan-friendly options for the dressing.
Healthy Potato Salad
Ingredients
Instructions
- Boil the eggs until hard boiled, 10 minutes. Add them to an ice bath (water with ice) to stop them from overcooking and make peeling easier. Peel them and cut into wedges. Set aside.
- Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into equal size pieces. I like to cut the potato in half, those halves in half and make three cuts across to get the perfect equal sized cubes.
- Boil the potatoes in boiling salted water until fork tender. Mine took about 10 minutes but it will depend on the size of your cubes.
- Strain the potatoes and arrange them on a plate.
- Nestle the egg wedges between the potatoes.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, thinly sliced red onion, herbs of choice and a generous drizzle of olive oil. Season with salt, gently mix and enjoy!
My Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Love this lighter version that’s still packed full of flavor!
Definitely different without mayo! The white balsamic vinegar and olive oil is a game-changer! It is so much lighter and fresher than with traditional mayo-based potato salads! Perfect side dish for summer BBQs! LOVE THIS!
Looks delicious! I will try this, and see what my mayo loving man thinks. Fresh basil would be great on this. Thanks for sharing. ❤️
Hope you both love it!