This French-style new potato salad is a far cry from the German potato salad I grew up eating. No mayo, no bacon – but lentils! Roasted new potatoes, lentils, greens, and plenty of herbs, all topped off with a mustard vinaigrette. It’s a classic made into a solid vegan weeknight meal.
We make this at least once a week when new potatoes are available, and it’s a treat every time. There’s something quite special about a warm potato salad, particularly when you add the combination of crispy potato skin and chewy lentils to the mix.
A handful of alternative potato salad recipes grew out of this one, mostly based on requests I’ve received from readers. This curry potato salad, a version with asparagus, and a winter rosemary potato salad.
Why You Should Try This Recipe
I can’t say enough good things. While I’m not averse to a good dill pickle potato salad, there’s something special about all the fresh flavours and textural variety happening here. It’s a gardener’s dream.
- It’s filled with greens: with a good amount of fresh greens in the form of spinach or another hardy leafy green, plus plenty of herbs, you’re getting some vegetables in.
- Roasted potatoes add more flavour: of course! Roasting rather than boiling means more flavour and more texture, and adds a new element to potato salad.
- No need to peel: the skin is so thin on new potatoes that they’re much better unpeeled. You want that crispy skin from roasting, so leave it on.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Lentils: French green (le puy), black (beluga), or brown (mountain) lentils all work in the same way here and I use them interchangeably. Red lentils and the big brown/green ones are not nice in this recipe and are not recommended.
- Greens: spinach, rucola, chard, baby kale, or any greens you like when they aren’t really cooked – just wilted – are great! I do rucola and spinach in the warmer months and then switch to mostly chard over the winter.
- Herbs: dried dill is one of the few herbs that dries very well, so it can be used in place of fresh. A tablespoon or do will do it. Freeze dried chives are best if you want to sub them, or use green onion or very finely sliced red onion.
- White wine vinegar: red wine vinegar will work, as will plain white vinegar in a pinch, though I recommend using a smaller amount as the acidity is higher. You can also use lemon juice.
- Dijon mustard: any regular mustard (not yellow hotdog mustard) can be used in place of Dijon.
Step by Step
1. Prep the potatoes: scrub and trim the potatoes as needed, then add them to a large pan with the oil and salt.
2. Roast: cook the potatoes for about 40 minutes, or until crisp and golden.
3. Make the vinaigrette: while the potatoes are cooking, mix the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar or dish.
4. Assemble: add the hot potatoes to a bowl with the greens, lentils, and vinaigrette, and mix well.
Recipe Notes
The big, important thing for this recipe is to mix everything together while the potatoes are still very hot. Have everything but the vinaigrette already in a large bowl ready for the roasted potatoes so they can go straight in.
If you’re cooking lentils specifically for this recipe, or any time, really, salt the water they’re cooked in. It makes a particular difference here to have seasoned lentils but is generally better.
You might notice that some of the potatoes I used are red, and some are partly peeled. They’re from my garden (second early, mostly Annabelle) and some had slight potato scab which I cut off. I don’t recommend peeling your potatoes for this recipe.
How to Store
Storage: leftovers will keep well for a couple of days in a sealed container in the refrigerator. This is best when fresh and still warm, though.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing this salad.
Expert Tips
- Use bigger potatoes: you can also use larger potatoes cut into cubes instead of new, baby potatoes. I like it a bit less this way, and the texture changes, but it’s still good. It’s not necessary to go out and buy a bag of overpriced small potatoes if you have perfectly good larger ones sitting around.
- Use fat as a carrier: mixing the herbs with the vinaigrette rather than the greens does improve the salad. Fats (like olive oil) help to carry flavour throughout the whole dish and it’s noticeable here. That’s also why you add the vanilla to the butter mixture, for example, rather than the flour, when you bake a (traditional) cake.
- Work quickly: the potatoes must still be hot when they’re mixed with the greens and vinaigrette for this salad to be at its best. The point is to wilt the greens and have the potatoes absorb some of the dressing.
More Delicious Potato Recipes
Lentil and Potato Stew
Creamy Cauliflower Potato Soup
Potato Pea Curry
Potato Leek Soup
If you make this Roasted Potato Salad or any other vegetarian mains on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Roasted New Potato Salad with Lentils and Herb Dressing
Description
Ingredients
Roasted Potato Salad
- 1 kilogram (2 lb) new potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 300 grams (2 cups) cooked black or green lentils (belgua or le puy)
- 50 grams (2 cups) fresh rucola or spinach
Herb Vinaigrette
- 60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil
- 10 grams (¼ cup) dill, finely chopped
- 10 grams (¼ cup) chives, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Scrub the potatoes and cut any larger ones so that they're all roughly the same size (about the size of a golf ball).
- Add the potatoes, olive oil, and salt to the prepared tray and use your hands to mix until the potatoes are well coated. Roast for 40-50 minutes, or until very golden.1 kilogram (2 lb) new potatoes, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- To make the dressing, add the olive oil, dill, chives, vinegar, mustard, maple syrup, salt, and pepper to a jar or small bowl and mix to fully combine. It should be a light golden colour and not separated.60 ml (¼ cup) extra virgin olive oil, 10 grams (¼ cup) dill, finely chopped, 10 grams (¼ cup) chives, finely chopped, 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, ½ teaspoon honey or maple syrup, ½ teaspoon sea salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- To assemble the salad, place the spinach and lentils into a large bowl. Top with the potatoes immediately after coming out of the oven.50 grams (2 cups) fresh rucola or spinach, 300 grams (2 cups) cooked black or green lentils (belgua or le puy)
- Pour the dressing over the salad and mix until the potatoes are fully coated with dressing and the spinach is wilted. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
Woohoo so happy to hear that, and I hope you complete everything on your list and more!
I loved this recipe! I put it on a bed of spinach/arugula because these potatoes are so good it's easy to sneak more of my greens in! And you inspired me to make a by-30 list (and a by-35 list since 30 isn't too far away for me). Thanks for the inspiration!
I didn't have fresh dill so subbed dry…and no chives so I roasted an onion with the potatoes. I've made several vegan potato salad recipes in the past month. This was THE winner!
this looks delicious and the photos make it look amazing!
Thanks Erin! No, I don't parboil them, just the direct roast. They're in the oven for an hour though, I've never had any problems with undercooked potatoes for this recipe. If you have a lot of issues with under cooking, then I imagine you could parboil them.
I love roasted potatoes but they never soften all the way through when I just roast. Did you parboil these before sticking them in the oven? Looks delectable!
I'm so happy to hear that, Belinda! I use cumin, turmeric, & coriander in equal amounts, and then a little cardamom and salt and pepper. I use parsley or cilantro instead of the dill and chives and leave the mustard out of the dressing. Hope that helps!
Oh my goodness, this is delicious! I made it for dinner a few nights ago & I'm still dreaming about it.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Just read another comment regarding sweet potatoes. What spices do you cook those in when you make this salad?
Hi Jill! You could use coconut oil as a good high-heat alternative, and choose refined if you're concerned about any coconut taste. Otherwise olive is good!
Great recipe, not sure we can get avocado oil in the UK, can you recommend an alternative?
Happy to hear it, David!
These were delicious. I paired them with a maple-dijon green bean dish.
I'm happy to hear it! I hope it works out! I make a sweet potato salad that I adapted from this recipe but add extra spices to the sweet potatoes before roasting – I find the texture is different but it still tastes good.
Hey thanks so much for this recipe. It's really lite for a spud salad and it has now replaced our usual 'german style' potato salad. I forgot to buy potatoes so I'm about to try it with sweet potato….here goes….
How was it with sweet potatoes?
That herb dressing looks so fresh and irresistible. Love the list of goals. It's always nice to put those things into writing and cross them off once they happen!
Looks fantastic! I wish dill was still in season – these photos of me craving it. Your list is extensive! And Twitter deserve it's own spot 😉 JK. All your points sound like great life experiences. Good luck!
These potatoes are cooked to perfection! Your list of goals is fun to read. I am still in grad school and dream of all my creative blogging goals but as you alluded to, while in grad school I can only focus on a few of them right now! Eek. What did you study?
This looks delicious! Potato salad has always been part of the traditional meal for Christmas. I like the addition of the lentils and your herb dressing looks so good with the salad!
I do the same thing sometimes! We all need a break every once in a while though. Traci, you're the sweetest! Thank you!
Ohhh I'm in loooove with this pot salad.. just enough vinager for a punch, but the herbs shine! And I love the idea of roasting! Sooo good! Sounds like you've got your priorites in order. It's good to have clear goals. Sometimes there's so much I want to do, I get overwhelmed and do nothing .. (what's that?!) Sheesh! I love your decision on a small wedding – super wise for a woman your age. It's easy for some to get caught up in the glitz and glamor… but the real deal comes after the wedding.. for years. I think a trip or house is longer lasting than an expensive wedding for sure! Good for you for taking off from grad school. I know that must have been a hard decision, but in hindsight, you know now it was the right one. You've so much coming up/going on! Yay you! That cookbook will happen soon. I can't wait!