Potato Salad With Spring Onion
A Potato Salad with Spring Onion Recipe that’s creamy and tangy without the use of any mayo. This recipe is easy to whip up and makes enough to bring to a party or to have as a side dish throughout the week. The creamy texture this salad is known for is made by using chopped boiled eggs instead of heaps of mayo.
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I dislike mayo immensely and find that often the only salads available a pot lucks or barbecues often are mayo-based salads. Many people love mayo but I am not a fan.
This Potato Salad Recipe is one of my favorite salads to bring to parties because even mayo lovers enjoy this version of potato salad just as much and I have something to eat with my burger.
Making this salad is really easy but is something best made the night before or the morning of a party you would like to bring it to. Something else to note about potato salad is that everyone has an opinion on potato salad because there are a million different ways to make it. Mayo-based, oil-based, hot, cold, with bacon, no bacon… It can be quite a debate at the family BBQ!
Why Should I Not Make Potato Salad with Mayo?
The elimination of mayonnaise lets the other flavors of the eggs and onions really shine through, creating a light and refreshing potato salad recipe vs. one that is smothered in heavy ingredients.
This also gives you the ability to add other seasonings to the recipe so that the flavor stands out more!
Ingredients And Substitutions
Large potatoes – White potatoes or wax potatoes like yellow, golden or red potatoes are best but you can use any potato.
Large eggs – Be sure to hard boil the eggs fully. Directions on how to do that are below.
Spring onions – These are the same as green onions if you want to purchase them from the store. Chives are also a good substitute.
White vinegar – Don’t try to use any other type of vinegar. White vinegar is best.
Olive oil – Avocado oil could be used, too.
Salt and Pepper – to taste.
How Long To Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad?
The size of the potatoes does matter in terms of time, but a good rule of thumb is that you should cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes once the water is boiling.
To check that they’re cooked all the way, try to pierce them with a fork. They are done cooking when they are still a little firm but still very easy to pierce with a fork. If they’re still hard, they need to cook longer.
If they are overcooked they will fall apart and turn into mashed potatoes when you toss them with the other ingredients.
How to Make Potato Salad with Spring Onion
- Cook the potatoes once they are peeled and quartered. Fill a pot halfway full of water, and add 1 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil on high heat. (be sure to have a lid on).
- Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are fork-tender. Drain the water carefully (it will be super hot!), and then add cold water to the pot with the cooked potatoes.
- Chop one bunch of spring onions. (be sure to remove any stems or roots)
- Peel the boiled eggs and then chop them up. Chop the cooled potatoes into bite-sized pieces and add to a large bowl. Add the chopped egg and also the chopped onions. Mix in ½ cup of the vinegar, ½ cup of the olive oil, and 1 tsp of salt and pepper. Mix.
- Put a lid on the bowl (or cover it) and place it in the fridge to chill.
Can I make this potato salad recipe ahead of time?
I actually think that it has more flavor when made ahead of time. If you can make it 24 hours in advance and have it waiting in the fridge, this is a great way to let the flavor of the eggs, onions, and ingredients marry and bring out the flavor.
What Potatoes Work Best For Making Potato Salad?
You can use any potato to make potato salad but I prefer to make this salad with white potatoes. I find the white potatoes are a little softer than yellow potatoes so when I go to mix the salad it gets a little more of a creamier texture. Russet potatoes are very soft though so I don’t recommend them as they tend to fall apart.
If you want to use yellow potatoes they work well too but I find that they tend to be firmer potatoes than even white potatoes so this salad does get as much of a creamy texture when using them.
How to keep potatoes from turning grey while cooling
This is where the vinegar comes into play! The best way to not have cooked potatoes turn gray is to add vinegar. It stops the color-changing process.
But if you are planning to make the potato salad later and just wanted to get the potatoes boiled ahead of time I recommend draining the hot water and then refilling the pot with cool water. Enough to cover the potatoes. The water will keep the oxygen out which is what turns them grey and stop the potatoes from continuing to cook.
Storage
The best way to store potato salad is to have it in a glass or plastic container with an airtight lid. As long as you have it securely stored and covered, leftovers should last up to 5 days without any issues.
Can you freeze potato salad?
Since this recipe doesn’t have mayonnaise, you can actually freeze it for later. Just add it to a freezer-safe container!
How Long Can Potato Salad Be Left Out?
No more than 2 hours at room temperature. That is the time frame that is considered safe for most foods to be able to sit out. It is said that it takes roughly 2 hours for bacteria to grow to dangerous or inedible levels in foods. However, that said, potato salad is a favorite at parties, and if the party you are at is outside in 90-degree heat this time frame will need to shrink to about 1 hour tops.
This article from Chowhound is a great resource for more info.
More simple Potato recipes
- Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
- Perfectly Fluffy Mashed Potatoes
- Loaded Potato Salad
- Aunt Lillian’s Polish Potato Pancakes
- Italian Potato Salad with Green Beans
Potato Salad With Spring Onion
Equipment
- Large Pot with Lid
- Small Pot
- Knife
- Large Bowl
- Spoon
Ingredients
- 4 lb potatoes peeled and quartered
- 4 large eggs hard boiled, peeled and chopped
- 1 large bunch of green onions finely chopped
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Peel and quarter 6 large or 8 medium white or yellow potatoes.
- Fill a large pot of water half way full and add 1 tsp of salt and bring to a boil. Add potatoes and cover pot with lid leaving a little space for steam to leave. Continue to boil until potatoes are soft enough for a fork to be inserted in the centre easily.
- Carefully drain water from pot and refill with cold water to quickly cool down potatoes
- While potatoes are boiling in a small pot add 4 large eggs and bring to just before a boil. Remove from heat and let sit covered for 12 minutes. Drain water and then refill pot with cold water to cool eggs. Once cool peel and chop.
- Once potatoes are cool cut into large bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Add chopped hard boiled eggs, 1/2 a cup of white vinegar, 1/2 a cup of olive oil, chopped green onions, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp black pepper and mix well.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours to cool or overnight. Allowing to sit overnight is best to allow flavours to meld together for more flavour.
- Salad will keep for up to 5 days covered in refrigerator.
Nutrition
Notes
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hey, I tried this recipe for the July 4 holiday, and the potato salad turned out fantastic! I paired the salad with baby back ribs and a sliced cucumber salad and it was yummy. A couple of slight modifications I made was to use only 1tspn salt instead of two, and I added some dried lemon thyme which was a perfect addition. I will definitely make this potato salad from now on. Next time I might substitute white wine vinegar in place of white vinegar for a smoother taste. Thanks again!
White wine vinegar will work well too. I like the little zing that regular vinegar gives though. Probably the Canadian side of me that loves vinegar on my fries LOL.
Does this not need any sweetener to balance the vinegar?
Hi Mary, I don’t add anything sweet to this salad. No need. But if you prefer sweeter recipes you could always add some honey but I would try it as it is first.