Potato Salad with Eggs and Cucumber

Halve the potatoes first. Salt the water so it tastes like ocean. That matters more than people think.

Why You’ll Love This Potato Salad

Comes together in 40 minutes flat. Works cold the next day, maybe better — potatoes keep soaking up dressing and it gets more flavor somehow. One bowl. One pot. Side dish energy without the fuss. Not creamy. Doesn’t need mayo. The mustard and vinegar do all the work. Vegetarian. Feeds a crowd or sits in your fridge for days.

What You Need for Vegetarian Potato Salad

Baby potatoes. New ones, the kind with thin skin. You eat the skin — that’s the point. Halve them.

Five hard boiled eggs. Peel them, crack them into a bowl, bash them a bit with a fork. Not paste. Keep chunks.

Avocado oil. Not olive oil — that burns before the warmth even sets in. Avocado oil stays smooth.

Apple cider vinegar. Not white. White’s too sharp. This one’s got something softer going on.

Whole grain mustard. The kind with seeds. The seeds taste like something. They burst when you bite down.

Green onions. Slice them thin. Raw. They stay crisp.

A cucumber. Dice it small. It adds water and crunch.

Fine sea salt and black pepper. That’s it.

How to Make Easy Potato Salad

Drop the halved potatoes into a pot. Cover with cold water. Salt it — actually salt it hard, the way you’d salt pasta water. Bring it slow over medium heat. Not a rolling boil. A gentle one. That takes maybe 10 minutes or so to even start.

Watch the pot. The water should bubble softly. That’s when you’re cooking, not before. Go for 20 to 25 minutes total. Stick a fork in one. If it goes through easy but the potato doesn’t fall apart, you’re done. That’s the whole thing — still firm in the middle.

While those are going, crack the eggs into a big mixing bowl. Use a fork or potato masher and bash them. Not into mush. Leave chunks. You want texture.

How to Get Potato Salad Right

Drain the potatoes the second they’re done. Cold water rinse — not long, just enough to stop the cooking. You want them warm still. Not hot. Warm.

Add the warm potatoes to the eggs. Pour in the avocado oil first, then vinegar, then mustard. Toss it all together. The warm potatoes start breaking down the mustard seeds a tiny bit, and the whole thing gets creamy without being creamy. That’s the trick.

Now fold in the green onions and cucumber. Gently. You’re not mashing it down. You’re mixing.

Taste it. Salt. Pepper. Probably needs salt. Usually needs more vinegar for brightness, or more oil if it feels dry. I always do another splash of vinegar. Just does.

Let it sit. 10 to 15 minutes. Maybe 20. The dressing melts into the warm potatoes and suddenly it tastes like it’s been in the fridge all day even though it’s still warm. That’s the moment you want.

Serve it warm or wait until it cools. Cold works too.

Easy Potato Salad Tips and Common Mistakes

Don’t overboil. A firm bite is the whole thing. Mushy potatoes fall apart in the bowl and the salad goes to nothing.

Cold water rinse matters. Gets the starch off the outside, stops them cooking. Two seconds in cold water. That’s all.

Don’t skip the resting time. Those 10 to 15 minutes are when it actually becomes salad instead of warm potato chunks with dressing on top. The warmth melts everything together.

Potatoes drink dressing. If you make it tonight and eat it tomorrow, it’ll look dry. Add another splash of oil before serving. Not vinegar again — just oil. Oil brings back the slickness.

Whole grain mustard only. Regular mustard is different. Doesn’t have the seed texture. Doesn’t work.

Potato Salad with Eggs and Cucumber

By Emma

Prep:

18 min

Cook:

22 min

Total:

40 min

Servings:

6 servings

Ingredients

• 500 g (3 cups) baby new potatoes, halved
• 5 hard boiled eggs, peeled
• 25 ml (1 ½ tablespoons) avocado oil
• 20 ml (1 ¼ tablespoons) apple cider vinegar
• 20 ml (1 ¼ tablespoons) whole grain mustard
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cucumber, finely diced
• 2.5 ml (½ teaspoon) fine sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. 1 Drop the halved potatoes into a large pot. Salt the water well; it should taste like the sea. Cover with cold water then bring slowly to a boil over medium heat. Look for when the water boils gently and potatoes thicken. Cook 20 to 25 minutes, until you can easily poke through without them collapsing. Don’t overboil, keep a firm bite.
2. 2 Meanwhile, crack the hard boiled eggs into a bowl and bash lightly with a fork or potato masher, leaving chunky pieces. You want texture, not a paste.
3. 3 Drain potatoes promptly, rinse briefly with cold water to stop cooking, then let them cool just enough to handle – warm but not hot.
4. 4 In a large mixing bowl, add smashed eggs and halved potatoes. Toss with avocado oil, apple cider vinegar and whole grain mustard. The mustard whole seeds add bursts of flavor and bite. Then fold in green onions and diced cucumber for crunch and freshness.
5. 5 Season with sea salt and grind in black pepper. Taste, then add more oil or vinegar if it feels dry or flat. I often add another splash of vinegar for brightness or a dash of oil if it needs softness.
6. 6 Mix gently but thoroughly. The warmth from potatoes will help the dressing meld into everything. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes to let flavors marry. Serve lukewarm or just cool from fridge.
7. 7 Best served alongside grilled vegetables or a light roast. Can hold in fridge up to 24 hours but potatoes absorb dressing over time, so add extra oil before serving if dry.

Nutritional information

Calories

230

Protein

7g

Carbs

20g

Fat

12g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Vegetarian Potato Salad

Can you use regular potatoes instead of baby potatoes? Yeah. Cut them smaller though. Baby ones cook in 20 minutes. Regular ones need more like 30 to 35. Keep checking with a fork.

How long does this keep? 24 hours easy. Maybe 36 if it’s cold enough. After that the potatoes get weird and the dressing separates. Not bad — just different.

Can you add mayo? Could. Wouldn’t. The vinegar and mustard are doing the whole thing here. Mayo makes it something else.

What if you don’t have avocado oil? Coconut oil works. So does a light olive oil if you’re careful not to heat it. Peanut oil too. Mayo works too but again — defeats the purpose.

Should it be warm or cold? Warm’s better. The flavors are louder. Cold mutes everything a bit. Serve it straight from cooking, or let it come back to room temp, or eat it cold the next day. All work. Warm is just more.

Can you make this ahead? Make it the day before, keep it covered in the fridge. Add extra oil before serving — potatoes absorb everything overnight. Tastes even better actually. The flavors got time to settle.