A creamy vegetarian potato salad with crunchy veggies like green bell pepper and celery, spiked with a creamy mayonnaise dressing with smoky paprika and vinegar. Olives offer a flavorful briny kick! This potato salad with olives and egg makes that summertime BBQ or picnic complete. This recipe is vegetarian, easily vegan and gluten free.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Recipe Review: “Wow, its absolutely delicious. What a change from the overly sweet mayonnnaised to death potato salad….” ~ Elizabeth
Potato Salad with Olives; A Summer Essential
For the love of loaded potato salads! Never boring, always packed with flavor and endless possibilities. A true comfort food. Like this Texas Potato Salad, potato salads were always a part of BBQs, picnics and family gatherings when I was a kid. It seemed those in the know had passionate opinions about what should and shouldn’t be in a potato salad.
Growing up in Texas, potato salads were a serious business.
My Mam-Maw wouldn’t stray from her sour cream and mayo loaded baked-potato style potato salad, bacon included, while my Ma preferred a mustard-mayo base in her homemade potato salad. Always mustard. I’ve never really been too particular about potato salad, however. Even if it was majorly over-mayoed (mayo lover here). #getinmybelly
This Recipe Is
- creamy and crunchy
- make ahead – its flavor improves with a bit of refrigerator time.
- expect a Fuss Free Egg Peel with my easy egg cooking method!
If you love homemade Side Dish Recipes, you’ll enjoy this creamy and tangy green olive potato salad recipe.
Vegetarian Potato Salad Recipe Inspiration
This vegetarian potato salad masterpiece comes from my friend, Mikel. He first introduced this egg and green olive potato salad to me a few years ago at a Memorial Day potluck. I was taken by the pops of briny olive throughout, creamy mayo base – because, HELLO (!!) mayo – crunchy veggies, creamy potatoes and eggs.
This olive potato salad with egg recipe is Rob’s favorite. And, it comes in at a close second for me, just under my beloved Southern style Texas Potato Salad recipe.
At a Glance: How to Make Vegetarian Potato Salad
Make ahead for best flavor, this potato salad is creamy, full of flavor and interesting textures. Cook the potatoes just until fork tender to archive the most creamy, not mushy potatoes.
- First, put the potatoes on to boil. Meanwhile chop the veggies.
- Second, transfer the potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add the apple cider vinegar. Refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Third, cook the eggs using my Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs method (for a fuss free egg peel). Peel the eggs, chop and add them to the mixing bowl with the potatoes.
- Fourth, whip up the easy dressing: mayo, vinegar, salt, paprika.
- Last, place all the ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix.
Plan on refrigerating for at least an hour so the flavors can marry.
Traci’s Tips
- Make ahead? Yes please! Make up to one day ahead. This potato salad’s flavor and ultimate creamy improves with a little time.
- Salt: Potatoes can take quite a bit of salt. Prior to serving and after allowing the salad to rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour, taste the salad and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
- Adjust to Taste: The creamy factor of potato salad is adjustable to taste. If you find this olive potato salad needs a few more tablespoons of mayo, add it in at anytime after the salad is prepared. I’m known to give it a few more sprinkles of vinegar too.
Creamy Crunchy Green Olive and Egg Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (930 grams) German Butterball or Yukon Gold Potatoes sliced into 1" cubes, skin on
- 3/4 tablespoons Fine Sea Salt
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 5 Large Eggs*
- 1 cup (135 grams) Purple Onion medium dice (about one medium onion)
- 1 1/2 cups (185 grams) Green Bell Pepper medium dice (about one medium bell pepper)
- 3/4 cup (75 grams) Celery thinly sliced (about 4 celery stalks - chop the leaves and add them to the salad too if you have them!)
- 1/2 cup (15 grams) Curley Parsley packed and chopped fine, reserve a few Tbs for garnish
- 3/4 cup (100 grams) Green Peminto Stuffed Olives chopped + a few extra whole olives for garnish
For the Dressing:
- 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon (150 grams) Mayonnaise* I like veganaise or just mayo (adjust up or down to taste)
- 2 tablespoons Apple Cider Vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon Sea Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Smoky Paprika divided
Instructions
For the Potatoes:
- In a large stock-pot, add potatoes and cover with cold water filling to 2 inches (5 cm) above potatoes. Add 3/4 Tbs sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for between 8-15 minutes. Butterball potatoes take about 8-9 minutes and Youkon Gold take about 10-12 minutes to cook. Simmer until just fork tender, but not mushy. Drain.
- Transfer the potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add 2 Tbs of apple cider vinegar. Gently stir to incorporate the vinegar. Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
For the Eggs:
- While the potatoes are cooking, in a medium sauce pot fitted with a steamer basket, bring one inch of water to a boil. Add the eggs to the steamer basket, and lid. Set a timer for 13 minutes and steam the eggs.
- Meanwhile, prepare an ice bath in a medium bowl. Transfer the cooked eggs to the ice bath. Set a timer once again for 15 minutes and allow the eggs to cool.
- Peel the eggs by tapping the larger end of the egg on a hard surface, then roll the egg gently to crack the remaining surface. Remove the shell, then rough chop the cooked egg, leaving the eggs chunky, or chop small for a less chunky egg. Transfer the eggs to the bowl with the potatoes.
For the Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sea salt, pepper and 1/4 tsp smoky paprika. Set aside.
Putting it all Together:
- Into the large mixing bowl with the potatoes and eggs, add the purple onion, bell pepper, celery, parsley and olives. Pour the dressing over the veggies and gently stir to mix. Taste for mayonnaise and salt adjustment and add plenty of fresh ground pepper to taste. Store in the refrigerator for at least an hour prior to serving. Flavor development improves as the salad chills in the fridge. Before serving, I like to let it set at room temperature for 30 minutes to take the chill off. Spoon onto a serving dish/bowl, sprinkle with remaining paprika and garnish with whole olives and remaining chopped parsley.
For Storage:
- Store for up to four days in the refrigerator. It gets a little watery as it sets, so be sure to stir well prior to serving.
I’ve shared the recipe 100 times and everyone loves it.
Hi Joe! Thank you for your note and sharing! Best news ever!
Great recipe. Easy and delicious
Hi Lynn! So happy to hear. Thank you for your note!
Had anyone tried adding vegan tofu egg salad to this or maybe black salt to give it the egg flavor?
Hi Janet…. I’ve not received any comments regarding adding vegan tofu eggs. But I’ve heard of black salt, although I’ve not seen it. Tofu eggs is a delicious idea and would be so good in this!
I love the recipe my Husband does. Ot care for green bell pepper so I used red. DELICOUS can’t wait to take it to our Super Bowl Party!
Hi Penny! Thank you so much for your note and giving the recipe a go! So happy to hear you and your hubs are enjoying the recipe! – love the red bell sub BTW!
My mother-in-law introduced me to egg and olive sandwiches 40 years ago! I love it and still make them often. I can’t wait to make this salad!
I love that combo too… I hope you enjoy the recipe!
I just made this for an office 4th of July lunch. Wow, its absolutely delicious. What a change from the overly sweet mayonnnaised to death potato salad. Thanks so much for sharing the receipe. I made it exactly as printed. I wouldn’t add or change anything.
Oh my goodness, Elizabeth! Thank you for your note, coming back to leave a note and kind words… So happy to read your note. I’ll pass it on to Mikel! He’ll appreciate this!
O this looks amazing with the green olives. I have all the ingredients on hand so this weekend I am so making this!
Thaaank you lovely!
Potato salads can definitely be a blank canvas for dressings and add ins. My Mom would have really liked this one. When I was little I remember watching her make a sliced green olive and mayo sandwich for lunch. I wanted to like it so badly but I was in camp black olive only back then. Now I’ll eat any and all olives… and potato salads!
Mayo Olive Sandwich!? Jean! That sounds SOOOO good!! Another mayo lover, no? Hooray for such a variety of olives! They all have their own unique flavor. I like that this is Mom approved!