Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad
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Tangy and full of fresh flavor, Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad is a refreshing change from mayonnaise-based versions. Creamy potatoes soak up a bright vinaigrette, and fresh herbs add garden-fresh flavor. It’s easy to make ahead, tastes even better after it sits, ready in about 45 minutes, and is perfect for cookouts, potlucks, and easy summer dinners!
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
Fresh, vibrant, and packed with flavor, this Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad is the perfect side dish for warm-weather meals. Tender potatoes are tossed in a zippy vinaigrette with plenty of fresh herbs, crunchy pickles, and briny capers for a lighter potato salad with bold, tangy flavor in every bite.
It pairs beautifully with grilled meats, burgers, seafood, and all your picnic favorites. Herb and Vinegar Potato salad is easy to make ahead, travels well, and tastes even better after the flavors have had time to mingle.
This Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad recipe is:
- A sure hit with the no-mayo crowd!
- Loaded with texture and flavor! Crunchy pickles, briny capers, fresh garden herbs, and a bright mustardy vinaigrette create a bold, tangy potato salad.
- Make ahead! It can be made one day ahead, so it’s perfect for cookouts, picnics, potlucks, and easy summer meals.
- Versatile! Serve it warm, cold, or room temperature.
Whether you’re serving it at a backyard barbecue, packing it for a picnic, or making an easy weeknight dinner feel a little more special, this Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad delivers fresh, vibrant flavor every time!
How to Make herb and vinegar potato salad:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this potato salad with vinegar and herbs recipe. The exact quantities are on the recipe card below.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Potatoes: I use a combination of baby Yukon Gold and red potatoes for the color contrast. New potatoes are young potatoes prized for their tender texture and thin skins. They’re typically harvested about two to three months after planting before reaching full maturity. Categorized as “waxy” potatoes, they’re ideal for this recipe because they retain their shape.
- Shallots: Shallots are a mild, sweet member of the onion family, but are less pungent than onions. They grow in clusters or bulbs, resembling a head of garlic but with fewer cloves.
- Pickles: Baby (cocktail) dill pickles or cornichons add bright, tangy flavor and a satisfying crunch that balances the creamy texture of the potatoes.
- Capers: Capers are green, unripe flower buds from the caper plant and add a salty, briny element. They’re available near the pickled products section.
- Herbs: Fresh dill, parsley, and chives are essential. Avoid using dried.
- White Wine Vinegar: White wine vinegar is made from white wine and has a more complex flavor than white distilled vinegar.
- Coarse-Grain Mustard: Coarse-grain mustard is made from partially ground mustard seeds, so it adds texture and little pops of mustard flavor throughout the salad. Substitute Dijon mustard, and if you have yellow mustard seeds in your pantry, add a teaspoon or two for texture.
- Lemon Juice: Fresh is best. The lemon juice adds depth to the vinaigrette so it doesn’t taste “one note.”
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients.
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with the tip of a paring knife.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and set aside to cool.
- Whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add the shallots, pickles, capers, parsley, dill, chives, and the vinaigrette.
- Gently toss everything together. Adjust to taste with vinegar, oil, and salt and serve!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Cut the potatoes as uniformly as possible, both for presentation and so they cook evenly.
- Start the potatoes in cold, well-salted water. This also helps them cook uniformly.
- Don’t overcook the potatoes. They should just get to fork-tender so they hold their shape in the salad.
- Dress the potatoes while they’re still slightly warm so they absorb more flavor from the vinaigrette.
- If making ahead, taste before serving and refresh with an extra splash of vinegar, olive oil, or salt if needed.
Recipe FAQs:
Yes! You can make it 1 day ahead of your event. Taste it before serving and adjust as necessary with a splash of vinegar or salt. The herbs stay green, but the shallot will soften up. If you prefer it to stay crunchy, add it on the day of or right before serving. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so and garnish with more fresh herbs just before serving.
I don’t recommend substituting dried for fresh; the flavor won’t be as vibrant.
Yes to all three! That’s the beauty of this versatile salad.
Serve with:
- Bloody Mary Skirt Steak
- Chicken Sloppy Joes
- Mediterranean Fish Recipe en Papillote
- Braised Pork Loin in Dijon Mustard Sauce
More great POTATO SALAD recipes!
- German Potato Salad
- French Potato Salad
- Potato Salad with Horseradish
- Creamy Potato Cucumber Salad
- Potato Green Bean Salad
Get all my side salad recipes at Side Salad Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Herb and Vinegar Potato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds baby red or yellow potatoes, or a combination, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
- Salt
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coarse-grain mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 large shallots, thinly sliced
- 5 cocktail dill pickles or cornichons, sliced (approximately 1/2 cup)
- 1 tablespoon drained capers, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Add 1 tablespoon of salt.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for 15-20 minutes or until you can easily pierce the potatoes with the tip of a paring knife.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and set aside to cool.
- Whisk together the olive oil, white wine vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, and salt and black pepper to taste.
- Add the shallots, pickles, capers, parsley, dill, chives, and the vinaigrette.
- Gently toss everything together. Adjust to taste with vinegar, oil, and salt.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Can substitute Dijon mustard for the coarse-grain mustard. If you have yellow mustard seeds in your pantry, add a teaspoon or two for texture.
- Cut the potatoes into uniform pieces for even cooking and a prettier salad.
- Start the potatoes in cold, well-salted water so they cook evenly throughout.
- Cook just until fork-tender so the potatoes hold their shape.
- Toss the potatoes with the vinaigrette while still warm so they absorb more flavor.
- If making ahead, refresh with a splash of vinegar, olive oil, or salt before serving if needed.
- Can be made 1 day ahead of your event. Taste it before serving and adjust as necessary with a splash of vinegar or salt. The herbs stay green, but the shallot will soften up. If you prefer it to stay crunchy, add it on the day of or right before serving. Let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes or so and garnish with more fresh herbs just before serving.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are automatically calculated using unbranded products and are estimates only. Actual results may vary based on ingredients used and portion sizes. Adjust as needed for dietary restrictions, allergies, or health concerns.
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