This potato salad with spring onions is flavour-filled, refreshing and guaranteed to impress. You'll struggle to get enough of these cool and tender new potatoes tossed in a delicious dressing made with zesty lemon, punchy mustard, fresh herbs, and smoked paprika, not to mention the spring onions/scallions and crunchy onions that add tasty texture to every bite.
The post contains additional information and helpful tips to ensure the recipe turns out great the first time. Please use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end if you are in a hurry!
✅ 4 reasons why you'll love this recipe:
- A refreshing and flavourful side dish of tender and cool potatoes tossed in a zesty dressing, with spring onions and crunchy onions to keep the texture interesting.
- Ready in less than 30 minutes - it’s just a case of boiling some potatoes and mixing the ingredients to make the super tasty dressing.
- Make-ahead friendly - you can cook the potatoes ahead of time and store the prepared salad in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Versatile - from barbecued meats, to panko chicken and smoked fish there are so many serving options for these tasty cool potatoes.
🛒 Ingredients and variations:
This fresh and flavorful potato salad is made with simple everyday ingredients.
Which potatoes are best for potato salad?
I use new potatoes but any variety of small waxy or red-skinned potatoes will do nicely including Baby Gem, Charlotte, Anya or Maris Peer. I recommend avoiding floury potatoes such as Desiree, King Edward and Maris Piper as these are more likely to crumble and fall apart.
Can I use low-fat mayonnaise?
This recipe has been tested with full-fat mayo but you can also use a low-fat variety if you prefer.
Optional crunchy onions
These are sprinkled onto the salad before serving and add crunchiness. Make sure you add them at the end. They should stay on the top of the salad as their yummy crispiness and savoury flavour will be absorbed into the rest of the salad if added too soon.
🧑🍳 Recipe steps
1. Cook the potatoes
Simmer the potatoes for 20-25 minutes on a medium heat. Set them aside to cool and cut each one in half.
2. Prepare the dressing
Add the mayonnaise, paprika, salt, pepper, mustard, honey, capers, lemon juice and zest, parsley, chives and spring onions to a large bowl and mix.
3. Toss the dressing with the potatoes and serve
Add the cool, halved potatoes to the dressing and toss gently. Sprinkle crunchy onions on top and serve.
👍 Top tips
- Cook the potatoes in advance - cooked new potatoes will take at least 15 minutes to cool. Cook them ahead of time to ensure they are cool by the time they are tossed in the dressing. Adding the dressing to hot potatoes may cause the mayonnaise to separate and give the dressing a greasy texture.
- Check the potatoes are done before you drain them - put a fork into one of the larger potatoes. If it slides in easily, the potatoes are ready to be drained.
- Add the crunchy onions at the end for maximum crunch - their yummy crispiness can get lost if you toss them into the salad too soon.
🙋 FAQs
Trim the root off the bottom and the thin darker green part off the top where the spring onion/scallion starts to thin out. You’ll be left with the white part and pale green part, which can be thinly sliced and added to a salad.
Some potato salad recipes will call for you to peel the potatoes after they are boiled, but you can also leave them on. The potato skins add additional texture, flavour and nutrients to the salad.
This depends on the size of the potatoes. If you’re using smaller potatoes you can leave them whole, but if you’re using large potatoes you may want to cut them to reduce the cooking time. Ensure the potatoes are roughly the same size so they take the same amount of time to cook.
The vinegar adds tangy sourness that enriches the flavour of the potato salad dressing. This can also be achieved by adding lemon juice and/or zest.
Red onion and spring onions/scallions are my top choices in salads because they have a milder flavour, whereas other onion varieties can taste pungent when served raw. Shallots also have a milder flavour and work well in salad dressings.
📦 Storage
The potato salad will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Ensure you cover it or put it into an airtight container.
Note that the potato salad will not taste good after a stint in the freezer because the mayonnaise will separate and the flavour and texture will be off.
😋 More salad recipes
Sometimes salads can be boring, but they certainly do not have to be. If you’re looking for nourishing salads that taste great and satisfy your hunger my salad recipes have got you covered.
Did you try this recipe? It would be really great if you could leave a comment and a star rating ⭐️. I would love to receive your feedback and know that other readers find it helpful too.
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📖 Recipe
Potato Salad with Mayonnaise, Spring Onions and Chives
Equipment
Ingredients
- 25 oz (700 g) new potatoes
- ½ cup (115 g) mayonnaise
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 2 tsp mustard
- ½ tsp honey
- 2 tbsp (20 g) capers finely chopped
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- 4 tbsp (10 g) parsley finely chopped
- 1 tbsp (10 g) chives finely chopped
- 6 spring onions/scallions finely chopped
- 4 tbsp crunchy onions optional
Instructions
- Place a generously salted pan of water on a medium to high heat. Add the potatoes when the water begins to boil, reduce the heat a little and leave the potatoes to simmer for 20-25 minutes.
- Meanwhile mix the mayonnaise, paprika, salt, pepper, mustard, honey, capers, lemon juice and zest, parsley and chives in a large bowl.
- When the potatoes are done, drain them, cut each one in half and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes.
- Toss the cooked potatoes with the dressing and spring onions/scallions.
- Top with optional crunchy onions and serve.
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