This Red Potato Salad recipe (red skin potato salad recipe) is made with baby red potatoes, onion, celery and lots of fresh herbs all tossed in a light and delicious lemon vinaigrette.  It’s a perfect healthy potato salad recipe to make for potlucks and backyard barbecues!

bowl of red potato salad

I love a good classic potato salad with mayo and pickles as much as the next person, but this red skin potato salad recipe is a favorite potato salad of mine.  It’s fresh, light and popping with flavor.   

pot of red skin potatoes in water

If you’re looking for a healthy potato salad recipe, you’ll want to give this red potato salad a try. It makes a perfect side to serve with grilled chicken and fish.  

Healthy Potato Salad Recipe

This healthy potato salad recipe is an easy one to pull together.  Few ingredients.  Little fuss.

  • Baby red potatoes
  • Celery
  • Red Onion
  • Green Onion
  • Fresh herbs (basil, mint and parsley)
  • Vinaigrette

How to Make Red Skin Potato Salad

I love making potato salad in the summer, and this potato salad with red potatoes is super quick and easy to make!

  • Make dressing:  Add all of the ingredients to a small mason jar with a lid and shake well to blend.
  • Cook potatoes:  Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.
  • Herbs, onions and celery:  Finely mince the onions, celery and herbs.
  • Drain potatoes:  After you can poke a fork in the potatoes remove from heat and drain water.  Run under cold water or place in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.  Set aside to cool.
  • Toss ingredients:  Cut the potatoes into small bite-sized pieces and add to bowl along with onion, celery and herbs.
  • Drizzle vinaigrette:  Drizzle vinaigrette over salad ingredients and toss.
  • Season:  Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

bowl of red skin potato salad recipe ingredients

Best Potatoes for Potato Salad

Potatoes with thin skins (like red, baby red, white and fingerling) are a little more waxy, a little less starchy and they retain their shape a little better, so they’re a good pick for potato salads like this.  I’ve used baby red potatoes for this salad.

On the other hand, if you want a creamier potato salad like a classic potato salad, then you might want to choose Yukon potatoes. 

Pick smaller potatoes for best flavor and choose potatoes that are relatively the same size so they’ll cook evenly. Avoid wrinkled, dried out potatoes.

How Long to Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad

Well, that depends on the size of the potatoes and whether you’re boiling them whole or cut.  The key is to make sure the potatoes (whether whole or cut) are approximately the same size so they can cook evenly.   Again, depending on the size of the potato, it can take anywhere from 8 to 20 minutes to boil potatoes.  Since we’re using baby red potatoes for this potato salad, they cook in about 8-10 minutes.

Potato Salad Dressing

We toss this red skin potato salad recipe with a light lemony vinaigrette instead of a weighty mayo dressing.

  • Lemon juice
  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Dijon mustard
  • Dried basil
  • Salt and pepper

Add all ingredients to a small mason jar and shake well.  Drizzle dressing over salad and toss.

bowl of salad ingredients

Benefits of Potatoes 

  • Rich source of vitamins and minerals:  Potatoes are rich with vitamin C, B vitamins and potassium. (1)
  • Rich with antioxidants:  Potatoes are an excellent source of flavonoids, carotenoids and phenolic acids (2)

bowl of salad with cooked potatoes and herbs

Fresh Herbs

Fresh herbs add a pop of flavor to so many recipes and they’re rich with essential vitamins (A, C and K) as well as powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Fresh vs Dried Herbs 

  • Dried herbs have a concentrated and somewhat bitter taste before they’ve been cooked in dishes like soups, stews and sauces.  If you’re wanting to add herbs to salads, then chopped fresh herbs are the way to go.
  • When substituting fresh herbs with dried herbs, the correct ratio is one tablespoon of fresh herbs to one teaspoon of dried herbs.

bowl of salad with potatoes

Looking for more potato salad recipes to make?

Want more ideas? Check out all my healthy salad recipes.

bowl of red skin potato salad
Yield: 8 servings

Red Potato Salad

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes

This Red Potato Salad recipe (red skin potato salad recipe) is made with baby red potatoes, onion, celery and lots of fresh herbs all tossed in a light and delicious lemon vinaigrette.  It's a perfect healthy potato salad recipe to make for potlucks and backyard barbecues

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds baby red potatoes, cut in half or quarters (depending on size)
  • 3 large celery stalks, finely minced
  • 1/3 cup red onion, finely minced
  • 1/3 cup green onion, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons fresh basil
  • 2 tablespoons fresh mint
  • 2 tablespoons fresh parsley

For the Lemon Vinaigrette

  • 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1-2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • salt and cracked pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place the potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven. Fill with water about 1-2 inches above the potatoes.
  2. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and simmer for about 8-10 minutes or until potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain water from pot and run cold water over potatoes to stop the cooking process. Drain again.
  3. Transfer slightly cooled potatoes to a large mixing bowl.
  4. Add the celery, onions and fresh herbs to the potatoes and toss.
  5. Drizzle dressing over the salad and toss again.
  6. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

For the Potato Salad Dressing

  1. Add the ingredients to a small mason jar. Seal lid and shake vigorously to blend well.

Notes

Toss the potato salad while the potatoes are still slightly warm to the touch (at least room temperature). They will absorb the dressing better and make for a really delicious potato salad.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 141mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 3gSugar: 3gProtein: 3g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations.