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Classic Gluten-Free Potato Salad

Potato salad is one of those traditional summer dishes I’ve always enjoyed, but as my tastes changed over the years I noticed I didn’t care for the mayonnaise-laden recipe I enjoyed as a child. But I still enjoyed the base flavor, and I prefer the creamy recipes to the vinegar-based recipes, so I decided to adapt a gluten-free recipe to better fit my adult tastes. Not only do I like this gluten-free potato salad recipe better, but it is also healthier than the versions I ate as a kid and healthier than most potato salads I see at deli counters.

I prefer to make this with new potatoes or thin-skinned potatoes like Yukon Gold so I can leave the skins on and retain more nutrients. This recipe can easily be made egg-free by using a vegan mayonnaise like Vegenaise (which is both vegan and gluten-free).

Gluten Free Potato Salad

Ingredients:

  • 5 cups cubed potatoes (about 6 medium potatoes)
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise or Vegenaise
  • 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
  • 1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or dried dill (optional)
  • A dash or two or three of sweet paprika or smoked paprika

Instructions:

Add potatoes to salted water. Bring to a boil and cook on medium-high heat until potatoes are tender. Drain and cool.

Mix mayonnaise or Vegenaise, mustard and lemon juice together. Add potatoes, chives and celery. Stir well. Salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish with dill and sprinkle sweet or smoked paprika on top.

Chill for at least an hour or overnight so the flavors can combine. I like it best when it sits overnight.

Tips For Making Your Potato Salad Better

Keep in mind not all potatoes are the same. A waxy potato like Yukon Gold, red potatoes or fingerlings will hold up better when mixing them with the dressing; they also have a better texture when they are served cold. Russets tend to break apart more easily, which makes a messier potato salad that lacks the texture you want for this recipe.

To maintain those nutrients just below the skin of the potato, and to add color, scrub the potatoes well and leave the skins on the potatoes.

It’s important to salt the water enough as you are cooking the potatoes because they absorb the salty flavor as they are cooking. This provides a better flavor than simply salting them once they are mixed with the other ingredients.

While gluten-free potato salad is pretty easy to make all of these little things can make a difference.

This is one of those gluten-free recipes that doesn’t require you to have a fully stocked gluten-free pantry as it is naturally free of gluten as long as you use gluten-free mayo and mustard, which are pretty easy to find.