This mustard potato salad gets a Mediterranean makeover with a bright dressing and the addition of fresh herbs and capers. Packed with flavor, and it’s egg-free and far lighter on the calories!
Read through for important tips and watch the video below.
Every culture, from Greek to Italian and almost every household in between, has its own treasured potato salad recipe. Mine is this mustard dill potato salad.
What I’m proposing here is not the traditional potato salad, mashed with mustard, pickles, and hard broiled eggs, this one gets a bright Mediterranean makeover.
Like our Greek Potato Salad, it’s a healthier option that swaps mayo for fresh flavor, thanks to the addition of fresh herbs (dill and parsley). Here, I add briny capers and a little bit of punchy chopped red onions. And you’ll love the Dijon mustard dressing with good extra virgin olive oil and white wine vinegar.
Especially during the hot summer months, potato salad, caponata, and this tomato salad make a regular appearance as sides next to grilled whole chicken, pork souvlaki or kofta kebabs!
But there are many more ways to enjoy this potato salad. I can’t wait for you to try it!
What kind of potatoes to use?
Waxy, thin-skinned potatoes, like new potatoes or red potatoes, are great for this mustard potato salad because they tend to have the least amount of starch, which allows them to hold their shape well. Plus, you don’t have to peel them!
I also often use small gold potatoes (yukon gold potatoes) which are great all-purpose potatoes that have just a little bit more starch but will still hold their shape.
Russet potatoes are too thick-skinned and too starchy, which makes them the least favorite candidate for a potato salad recipe like this one.
If you’re here, you’d probably agree with me that the deli and store-bought stuff is just not what you want. To me, it’s too heavy and soggy having sat in a pool of mayo for hours.
But sometimes, homemade potato salad can have it’s issues too–bland, too mushy, not enough flavor.
But this mustard dill potato salad has all the magical qualities you’re looking for: Holds its shape for gorgeous presentation; packed with flavor; and never heavy-tasting. Here is why…
Tips for the best potato salad
- Choose the right potato. Like I said earlier, avoid super starchy, thick-skinned russet potatoes and go for new potatoes, red potatoes or small gold potatoes which will hold their shape better.
- Slice the potatoes before cooking. If you cook the potatoes first, you won’t be able to slice them neatly for the perfect presentation. Plus, thinly sliced potatoes will cook quickly (6 minutes or so)
- Salt the water in which you cook the potatoes. This will help add flavor right from the start.
- Opt for a lighter dressing than mayonnaise-heavy dressing. I used a homemade Dijon mustard dressing for potato salad with extra virgin olive oil and a good splash of white wine vinegar for extra tang. And if you really want to amp up the flavor, add some spice like coriander, sumac and a dash of black pepper.
- Pour the dressing over the hot potato slices. Don’t wait too long for the potatoes to cool; adding the dressing while their still somewhat hot will help them absorb flavor better.
- Play up the flavor. The dressing may be sufficient for some, but I like to add herbs (dill and parsley) for added freshness and color. Most potato salad recipes add pickles, but I like capers for a little Mediterranean flare (either will add some salty and tangy touch here). And a little bit of chopped red onions (or shallots if you need something milder).
- Allow the potato salad to rest before serving. Leave it at room temperature or refrigerate for 1 hour or longer so the flavors have a chance to meld. Be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
How to make mustard potato salad
- Slice and cook the potatoes. I used a mandoline slicer like this one (affiliate link) to slice my potatoes thinly into rounds. Get them in a pot of water (salt the water generously) and boil, then lower the heat and cook until tender (about 6 minutes). Drain well.
- Make the dressing. Combine the olive oil, mustard, white wine vinegar and spices in a small bowl (or a measuring cup, which makes it easy to pour). Whisk well.
- Pour dressing over the potatoes and toss gently.
- Add the rest of the ingredients. Throw in the capers, fresh herbs, and chopped onion. Toss gently to combine.
- Stop. Don’t eat the mustard potato salad yet. Allow some time for things to marinate and for the flavors to meld. If you like, chill for 30 minutes to 1 hour, but be sure to bring it to room temp before serving.
More comforting sides to try
Smashed Potatoes with Garlic and Za’atar
Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin and Lemon
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Mustard Potato Salad, Mediterranean-Style
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb small potatoes such as new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes, or red potatoes
- Water
- tsp salt
- 1/4 cup chopped red onions
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped dill
- 2 tbsp capers
Dijon Vinaigrette
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp ground sumac
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground coriander
Instructions
- Wash and scrub the potatoes and dry them well. Slice potatoes thinly using a mandoline slicer. I used this slicer (affiliate link).
- Place potatoes in a pot and add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring to a boil. Add salt. Turn the heat down and allow the potatoes to simmer for about 6 minutes or so until they're tender (you should be able to poke the potatoes with a fork).
- Add vinaigrette ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until well-combined.
- When the potatoes are ready, remove from heat and drain well. Place them in a large mixing bowl and immediately dress them with the Dijon mustard dressing. Gently toss to coat.
- Add onions, fresh herbs, and capers. Toss gently to combine.
- Transfer the potatoes to a serving platter. For best results, allow the potato salad some time to marinade before serving. You can refrigerate it for 1 hour or so but be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving.
Video
Notes
- Make-ahead instructions You can make this mustard potato salad ahead of time. Dress the potatoes with the vinaigrette but hold the onions, herbs and capers until later. Refrigerate up to 8 hours. Before serving, add the onions, herbs and capers and toss.
- Leftovers can be stored in the fridge covered for 2 to 3 days or so.
- Visit our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients including olive oils and all-natural spices used in this recipe.
Nutrition
This post originally appeared on The Mediterranean Dish in 2017 and has been recently updated with new information and media for reader’s benefit.
Any suggestions on what I can substitute for the sumac? I live in a small town in Italy so we are somewhat Mediterranean but have not seen sumac in my stores.
Hi, Jeri. There really is no good substitute for sumac as it is very unique. We often recommend just omitting the sumac and compensating a bit by adding more of the other spices in the recipe if possible, or something else you enjoy that might be complimentary.
You can find sumac online here at Suzy’s online store. I often buy her spices and EVOO and can attest to their superb quality.
Oops… didn’t see that you are actually in Italy. Not sure if she ships international.
Absolutely delicious potato salad!
The sumac and coriander is such an interesting twist. And you can never go wrong with fresh dill and capers.
I added a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for a little extra zing. It was so good that I might make it again today!
This was great! I added some basil and kalamata olives
Has anyone tried this using dried dill? If yes, how much did you use? Fresh dill is hard to find for so much of the year. Thanks!
Hi, Maureen. You can use dried dill here if that’s all you have on hand. The general rule of thumb is, for every 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs, you would use 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. So, here you would use roughly 4 teaspoons of dried dill.
Thanks!
Haven’t tried this recipe yet, can’t wait…wondering about Yukon Gold potatoes…I tried making potato salad from them years ago, and ended up with mashed potato salad…has anyone tried these? Maybe I cooked them too long…my friend from Alabama actually makes “mashed potato salad” …so I guess it’s a thing…love your recipes…
I’ve made this recipe many times since it was posted 3 years ago. It’s so so delicious and definitely one of my absolute favorites. Perfect for summer dinners!
These were the best MASHED potatoes we ever had!!! LOL Okay, this was my first fail with you…but I’m certain it was user error. 😆 I followed instructions to the letter except I used red new potatoes (what I had on had). Sliced the same thickness, boiled the same time. However, I think I underestimated how quickly my stovetop cooked them! I also made the mistake of dumping the hot thin potatoes into a colander! The result: all my potatoes broke! Then I tried to carefully place them in a bowl and any that had escaped being destroyed in the draining step, now joined the broken crew! I rolled with it and poured in the vinaigrette dressing, but “gently” tossing just resulted in “mashing”. I threw in the onions and rest of the ingredients, gave it one more…um…gentle toss. Set it on the table and hoped for the best. Thankfully, my family thought they were tasty mashed potatoes. 😆 If I try again, I’ll cube the potatoes instead and watch the pot like a hawk!!! 🤣
LOL! I think this is called a “happy accident.”
Great dish! I made it as a side for the salmon kabobs, and it complemented the salmon very well. We ate it while was still a bit warm, but it did not mater. The cold left overs were fantastic as well 🙂
Absolutely delicious 💕
How can buy anything from your shop?
You are in USA we live in UK.
Hello! I’m so sorry, but we don’t ship internationally at the moment. Hopefully someday, though!
I made this for dinner with a friend about two weeks ago–got reviews. One thing though I did not mandoline slice (have nightmares of the only time I ever used), I decided to just cut in half (removed about half the peels after cooking). This works just fine and I kind of prefer for the more potato-y vibe. But the dressing and ingredients followed the recipe. This is so good and you will never miss the mayo.
Five stars plus!
Thanks for sharing, Jay!
Noticed you don’t have sodium in the nutritional information. Could you please give us an idea of what it is? I’m watching how much sodium I eat and if it’s low enough I’ll definitely be trying this.
Hi, Mrs. Plotner. I’m sorry that we don’t have the sodium count in the nutritional info here. With sodium numbers, it really will vary for individual taste and the kind of salt and amount used, so it is tricky. In all, the nutrition information provided here is a best estimate.
Love the flavors! I was missing some ingredients and ended up subbing dry parsley, dry thyme for the fresh parsley; lemon juice and white balsamic vinegar for the white wine vinegar; lemon pepper for the sumac; and Kalamata olives for the capers. Dressing was still so delicious! Next time I might not boil the potatoes that long, or perhaps just slice them thicker – they broke into pieces when I stirred in the dressing.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share, Aamina.
could this salad be served warm? if so, any tips on best way to achieve that end? assuming just let it cool slightly after dressing the hot potatoes but don’t actually refrigerate?
Sure! Yes, your mentioned method should work just fine. Enjoy!
Loved the flavors in this recipe! I’ve made it a few times, but I’m wondering if I can cube the potatoes instead of slicing them?
This potato salad recipe is quickly becoming a family favorite. My sister first made it for a group of her friends looking for a lighter version potato salad. It was so tasty, she then made it for our Mother’s Birthday celebration (20 people).
I made it again last night for 11 of us. Our son-in-law has celiacs disease, and this recipe worked into his diet, and all of ours. Everyone loves it! Thank you.
Oh, Wonderful! Thank you so much, Mindy!