This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure.
This healthy potato salad is a classic side dish for for a summer party or barbecue. Check out how to make this traditional, creamy potato dish a little healthier with a few tricks. You won't know the difference!This recipe is a total throwback - it's one of the first I experimented with when I started my blog. Many years ago, I had the luck of meeting Tyler Florence at a picnic where he was demoing some of this summer recipes.
He shared a potato salad recipe with me that was delicious, and because I loved it so much I decided to recreate a healthier version that captured Tyler's original flavors without any of the guilt!
This recipe is super simple and easy to make. It's ready in under 30 minutes and is the perfect side dish for pretty much any meal: burgers, sandwiches, and so much more.
Tools and Equipment You'll Need
How to make The Perfect Healthy Potato Salad - Step by Step
Step 1: Put potatoes and eggs into a big saucepan of cold salted water. Bring to a simmer. After 12 minutes remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and let cool. Continue cooking the potatoes until a paring knife poked into them goes in without resistance, about 3 minutes longer. Drain the potatoes in a colander and let cool.
Step 2: Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, sour cream, yogurt, mustard, pickles and juice, red onion, remaining scallions and capers, parsley, and lemon juice in a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes. Peel the cool eggs and grate them into the bowl. Add the potatoes to the bowl, and toss to coat with the dressing.
Step 3: Season to taste with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil and garnish with reserved scallions and capers.
What Makes This Potato Salad Recipe Healthy?
- Low in Calories and Fat: 1 serving of traditional potato salad has almost 400 calories and 20g fat. This recipe cuts the calories and fat way down, but keeps all of the flavor - 1 serving of this potato salad has only 165 calories and 7.9g fat! To cut the fat/calories even further you can use fat free Greek yogurt and Fat Free Sour Cream, but I'd recommend keeping the fuller fat versions because it add flavor and creaminess to the recipe!
- High in Nutrients: Potatoes are a nutrient rich food. They are rich in antioxidants, Vitamin C, Potassium, Vitamin B6, Magnesium, and fiber. They also contain resistant starch which can help in keeping your blood sugar steady.
- Gluten Free: Potatoes are naturally gluten free, which makes this recipe gluten-free as well!
Will Kids Enjoy This Healthy Potato Salad?
This salad is creamy, rich and mild in flavor - which makes it a perfect kid-friendly food. If your kids are more on the picky side and don't like certain ingredients (green onions and fresh herbs, for example) - you can always leave those ingredients out of their portions and add them in for the adults!
How Do you Serve and Store Potato Salad?
To serve: Potato salad is best served in a large bowl alongside your main dish, and let people help themselves - family style. It can be served warm or cool. If serving cool, transfer to a large bowl covered with plastic wrap and cool in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving.
To store: Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days. This recipe won't freeze well, so it's best to enjoy within a few days. Since the flavors have more of a chance to marry together overnight, this recipe actually tastes the best the day after you've made it!
What Is The Best Kind of Potatoes for Potato Salad?
Potatoes that hold their shape well are critical for a good potato salad. I prefer Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes because they keep their firm texture in the salad after they are tossed with the dressing (they don't get mushy!)
Russet or Idaho potatoes will break down more during cooking, which will make your potato salad softer (which some people prefer) - but there is also the risk of a mushy or watery potato salad with these two varieties.
Top tips for making The Best Healthy Potato Salad
- I recommend making this salad the night before or at least 3-4 hours before serving so that the flavors have a chance to blend together.
- Don't over cook the potatoes, you want them to be cooked through, but still holding their shape.
- Let the eggs cool before peeling them, place them in a bowl of cold water to speed up this process.
- Chop your potatoes before boiling them, that will keep them from getting too mushy when you toss them with your salad.
- Don't salt your cooking water (that prevents your potatoes from leaking moisture), and add your potatoes to cold water to boil.
- Let the potatoes and eggs cool almost completely before mixing with the dressing to make sure your potato salad doesn't get too watery.
- While it might be tempting to take out all the mayo from this dish, I found that you end up missing that rich mouth-feel traditional potato salads have. The combination of Greek Yogurt + Mayo + Sour Cream keeps that richness while still cutting calories in this salad! If you'd like, you can substitute fat free Greek Yogurt or sour cream to cut the fat/calories further in this dish, but if you don't need the reduced calories I'd recommend the full fat versions!
Check Out These Other Healthy Side Dishes!
If you have tried this healthy potato salad recipe, or any other recipe on my blog, then please rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also FOLLOW ME on , , and to see more delicious, healthy, family friendly food!
