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This Crispy Smashed Potato Salad tosses roasted potatoes, dill pickles, fresh veggies, and herbs in a creamy mayo-Dijon dressing, giving you a seriously elevated version of the classic summer side dish! Vegan and Gluten-Free.
This Vegan Smashed Potato Salad with Dill Pickles will be a guaranteed smash hit this summer. It’s made with the best of both worlds—extra crispy smashed potatoes and a creamy and tangy potato salad dressing—for an out-of-this-world take on classic vegan potato salad. Prepare it ahead of time or make it in about an hour with the 12-ish everyday ingredients.
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When Crispy and Creamy Collide
Forget diamonds….potatoes are this girl’s best friend 😉 With endless ways to enjoy them, there’s no way I could ever get tired of potatoes. I love these Extra Crispy Romesco Smashed Potatoes and this rich, creamy, and savory Everything Bagel Potato Salad, but when their simplified versions collide and turn into this dreamy Vegan Smashed Potato Salad, I’m in potato heaven!
Think of this potato salad recipe as an innovative twist on the backyard barbecue classic. It’s just as creamy, dilly, and tangy as the potato salad you know and love, but smashing and roasting the potatoes and combining them with diced dill pickles gives the finished dish a serious crunch factor. Whether you’re sharing it at a summer gathering or enjoying it all to yourself, be prepared for it to disappear fast.
What You Need for Vegan Potato Salad
This elevated potato salad recipe uses around 12 familiar ingredients to give it the perfect balance of crispiness, creaminess, and bold flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Baby Gold Potatoes: these little spuds work best for potato salad since they don’t require any chopping or peeling. Small red potatoes or quartered Yukon Gold potatoes also work and will hold their shape well.
- Dill Pickles: potato salad without dill pickles? Not on my watch—they’re a tangy, crunchy, and dilly star in this picnic dish, just like in my Creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad!
- Vegetables: a mix of Persian cucumbers (or English cucumbers) and red onion is tossed with the potatoes and dressing to round out the textures in the salad. The red onion can be substituted for sliced scallions if you want a milder onion flavor.
- Fresh Herbs: fresh parsley and fresh dill keep the salad bright and full of herby flavor. Fresh chives would also be great here.
- Dressing: a mix of vegan mayo, Dijon mustard, vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper create the creamy potato salad dressing. Just be sure to use a good mayo for the base. I make my own, but a quality store-bought egg-free mayo works, too.
How to Make Vegan Smashed Potato Salad
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked through. Drain, then let them cool in the colander for a few minutes. Transfer them to a clean kitchen towel and gently rub them dry.
- Toss the potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
- Transfer the seasoned potatoes to a baking sheet and smash each one with a potato masher. Bake the smashed potatoes until they have golden brown edges. Cool the potatoes on a wire rack.
- Meanwhile, whisk the dressing ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Add the cooled potatoes, cucumber, pickles, red onion, and fresh dill to the bowl with the dressing. Toss to coat, then serve the potato salad right away. Enjoy!
Caitlin’s Cooking Tips
- Make the dressing the night before. Refrigerating the potato salad dressing in a sealed jar for several hours gives those tangy, creamy, and savory notes time to meld and deepen. You can chill the dressing for a quick 3 hours or overnight for the best results.
- Boil the potatoes just right. To prevent the potatoes from falling apart when smashing them, boil them just until a skewer or fork easily slides through one. After boiling, dry the potatoes as well as you can. The drier the boiled potatoes are, the crispier the smashed potatoes will be!
- Smash and roast with care. Gently smashing the potatoes to about 1/2” thickness is best (I find a potato masher or fork gives me the most control for this part). Leave space in between each smashed potato on the baking sheet to make sure the heat of the oven crisps up every side evenly.
Serving Suggestions
This dill pickle potato salad will be an instant hit at any backyard barbecue, pool party, picnic, or get-together. Just like this Crunchy Cucumber Dill Salad, these BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches, and this 25-Minute Vegan Macaroni Salad, it’s always welcome on the summer menu! Don’t forget to make a big pitcher of sweet tea or this Blueberry Lemonade to complete the feast.
If you’re looking for more vegan recipes to make for the picnic, you’ll also love this Crunchy Broccoli Salad, this Mediterranean Pasta Salad, and this Vegan Chickpea Salad Sandwich!
How to Store Leftover Potato Salad
I recommend enjoying the potato salad as soon as it’s assembled since this is when the smashed potatoes will be super crispy. If you do end up with leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and refrigerate them for up to 5 days.
The leftovers will be delicious, albeit a tad softer, served right out of the fridge. Give the salad a good stir before serving just in case some of the dressing has settled at the bottom of the container.
Substitutions and Variations
- Mayo Substitute: If you’re not a fan of mayo, you can swap it for a 1:1 mix of vegan sour cream and Greek-style vegan yogurt for a slightly tangier and lighter version.
- Dill Pickle Substitute: Any type of pickle goes here. Try it with gherkins or bread and butter pickles if you want to try something different. Sweet pickle relish also works, although the salad will be missing some crunch.
- Customize the Dressing: If you like a little heat, whisk a pinch of red pepper flakes or a splash of hot sauce into the dressing. For a smoky touch, add a small amount of smoked paprika. Or, for extra dill pickle goodness, swap the vinegar for pickle juice.
Recipe FAQs
While the assembled salad is best served right away, you can get a head start by boiling the potatoes and making the dressing up to 2 days in advance. When you’re ready, just smash and roast the potatoes, toss everything together, and serve!
This is an optional extra step you can take if you want extra fluffy-on-the-inside and crispy-on-the-outside roasted potatoes. Soak the raw potatoes in cold water for 4 hours or overnight before boiling them in fresh water later on.
No need to peel the baby potatoes before boiling! Their thin skins are easy to eat and crisp up nicely when roasted.
Yes, this potato salad is inherently gluten-free as-is.
Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊
Smashed Potato Salad with Dill Pickles
Ingredients
- 3 pounds baby gold potatoes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt plus more for seasoning
- Black pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise 1 cup??
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- 2 small persian cucumbers quartered and finely sliced
- 2/3 cup dill pickles fine dice
- 1/4 red onion fine dice
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Cook the Potatoes: Add the potatoes and salt to a large pot. Fill the pot with enough cold water to completely cover the potatoes by about 1/2". Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, uncover and reduce the heat to medium to maintain a simmer. Boil the potatoes until fully cooked though and easily pierced through with a skewer; this will take 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of your potatoes.
- Oven Prep: While the potatoes are boiling, preheat the oven to 420F and set a baking sheet aside lined with a silicone mat or parchment paper off to the side.
- Drain and Dry: Drain the potatoes and let them sit in the colander for 3 to 5 minutes, to allow them to dry slightly. Transfer them to a clean kitchen towel and give them a gentle rub to remove any additional moisture.
- Season: Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and drizzle with olive oil, plus a pinch of salt and black pepper to taste. Gently toss the potatoes until they are evenly coated.
- Smash: Transfer the potatoes to the baking sheet and spread them out so they have space between them. Use a potato masher or large fork to “smash” each potato until it is about 1/2” thick, doing your best to keep them in one piece. Try to smash the potatoes onto the baking sheet so they are not touching each other (though if they do touch, they should be pretty easy to separate). I was able to fit all of my potatoes on one large baking sheet, but you can also use two sheets to give them a little more room.
- Bake: Roast the potatoes on the top rack of the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until they have golden brown edges. If you are using two baking sheets, place one sheet in the middle and switch the sheets halfway through the bake time.
- Let Cool: Transfer the potatoes to a wire rack; this allows them to cool off more rapidly and prevents them from getting soggy. Set the potatoes aside while you prepare the dressing.
- Dressing: Add the mayonnaise to a large bowl along with the mustard, vinegar, garlic, and salt and black pepper to taste. Whisk well until combined.
- Combine: Add the smashed potatoes to the bowl along with the cucumber, pickles, red onion, and fresh dill. Gently toss the salad until everything is evenly coated in dressing.
- Serve: This salad is best served immediately for the crispiest potatoes, but will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
A labor of love but 1000% worth it!!! SO GOOD!
So happy you enjoyed!
Beat potato salad I’ve ever tasted and the extra time spent on the potatoes to get them crispy was totally worth it! I will be bringing this to a summer cookout this year.
So happy to hear that, Rose!
Very good, great dill flavor I thought it was a little dry so I’m going to add additional dessing next time. Otherwise we loved it. Im going to make it for friends on the 4th of July next.
So happy you all loved it!
Made this recipe this past weekend – it’s so good!!! Easily the best potato salad I’ve ever had.
So glad!