Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad! The star of this recipe is the Spanish pimento-stuffed green olives, adding a savory, tangy that elevates the dish to new heights.
Discover the vibrant flavors of this Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad—a colorful and irresistibly tasty dish perfect for picnics, potlucks, holiday gatherings, or even a simple weeknight dinner. Tender, fluffy potatoes form the base, complemented by crisp red and green bell peppers, crunchy celery, and fresh green onions for a burst of freshness. Coated in a homemade, tangy dressing made with olive oil, lemon juice, and a hint of dijon mustard, this salad is a symphony of flavors and textures.
Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.
Hi there, Ameera here!
Okay, folks, if you’re a fan of classic potato salad but crave something a little different, you’ve got to give this Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad a shot! It’s so yummy and packed with bold flavors that will surprise your taste buds. Trust me, once you try this unique twist on a beloved dish, you’ll be hooked.
Whether you’re looking for a new go-to for your next picnic or just want to spice up your veggie repertoire, this recipe is a must-try—don’t miss out on this delicious, tangy vegan potato salad!
Tips for Success:
- Flavor Profile: This Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad is filled with tender potatoes, red and green bell peppers, celery, green onions and Spanish pimento stuffed green olives all coated in a deliciously tangy homemade dressing. Perfect for picnics, potlucks, holidays, and every day!
- Spanish Pimento Stuffed Green Olives: This dish was created especially for those who love Spanish pimento stuffed green olives. If you do not LOVE these olives, then skip this recipe. We used ½ cup of finely chopped olives and ½ cup of sliced olives in this dish. The finely chopped olives help to distribute that delicious briny olive flavor throughout the potato salad. Be sure to review the ingredients label.
- Type of Potatoes: We suggest using petite or small Yukon Gold potatoes (or petite/baby red skinned potatoes) as they work perfectly in this potato salad. Based upon the size of the potatoes, you can quarter or halve them. The key is to try to ensure they are all very similar in size to ensure similar cooking time. You can use either gold or red potatoes, unpeeled. If you wish, you can use larger potatoes; however, we suggest peeling them based upon the type of potato. Very thin-skinned potatoes do not require peeling; however, thicker skinned potatoes require peeling. Additionally, we halved the potatoes, then we quartered some of them after they had completely cooled.
- Boiling the Potatoes until Just Tender: Gently boil the potatoes just until tender. Watch them very carefully. Do not overboil the potatoes. If you boil them too long, they start to crack and fall apart. Additionally, if you overboil them, the peels will start to come off and create issues in the end product. To test for tenderness, remove a potato with a slotted spoon and run it under cold water until cool, then test for tenderness by biting into it to check. Continue this process just until the potatoes are tender. Gently pour the potatoes into a colander and run under cold water. The cold water solidifies the potatoes to prevent further cooking and helps firm up the starches in the potatoes. Make sure the potatoes come to room temperature before dressing the salad.
- Vinegars: This recipe uses both distilled white vinegar and rice vinegar. Each vinegar brings a different depth of flavor to this potato salad.
- Cashew Substitutions: You can try the typical substitutions like silken tofu, white beans, or other nuts or seeds with the understanding that the flavor and texture will be impacted accordingly. We have not tested any substitutions.
- Oil-Free Potatoes Salads: Oil-free potato salads tend to really drink up the dressing simply because oil-based potato salads use oil to coat the potatoes creating a barrier where the oil helps prevent the dressing from being overly absorbed by the potatoes. With oil-free potato salads, the dressing can be somewhat absorbed into the cooked potatoes while in the refrigerator. If presenting for guests, picnics, or potlucks, we suggest removing the potato salad about 30 minutes before serving, then stirring gently. Add a tablespoon (+/-) of vinegar, if needed, to loosen up the dressing.
- Pure Maple Syrup: The sweetness of this dish is totally within your control. Start on the low-end and increase as you feel necessary.
- Hot Sauce: The hot sauce does not add heat to the potato salad. It adds excellent depth of flavor.
- Green Onions Substitutes: We used green onions, but you can easily substitute with red onions if you prefer them. If using red onions, then consider using less as red onions have a stronger flavor than green onions.
- Optional – Soaked Red Onions: If you are concerned about the sharpness that can come from red onions, then we suggest lightly soaking them. The purpose of soaking the red onions is two-fold. One – it removes any sharp notes as some red onions can be overpoweringly strong. In this salad, mild red onion perfectly complements the flavor. Two – it ever so slightly reduces the crunch. The red onions are still crunchy as they are raw, but soaking can mitigate some of the crunch. Simply place the chopped red onions into a small bowl, cover with warm tap water and steep for 7 minutes, then drain off the water, shake well to remove any excess water, then they are ready for the recipe.
- Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.
Leftovers and Freezing:
Leftovers will generally keep 4 to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in a covered air-tight container.
Like most potato salads, this salad does not freeze well.
Pantry Products:
- Hot Sauce: We used Frank’s RedHot Original Hot Sauce. Feel free to use your favorite
- Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Kitchen Equipment:
- Large pot (for boiling the potatoes)
- High-Speed blender
If you try this flavorful potato salad, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.
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Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 20 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20-30 Minutes
- Total Time: 50 Minutes
- Yield: 9 Cups 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Discover the vibrant flavors of this Vegan Spanish Pimento Olive Potato Salad—a colorful and irresistibly tasty dish perfect for picnics, potlucks, holiday gatherings, or even a simple weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
Salad Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, halved, quartered, or diced *
- ½ red bell pepper, small dice
- ½ green bell pepper, small dice
- 4 celery ribs, small dice (1 cup) (+/-)
- 1 cup Spanish pimento stuffed green olives, sliced/chopped (divided) *
- 6 green onions, sliced (1 cup)
Dressing Ingredients:
- ¾ cup [raw] cashews *
- ¼ cup water
- ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon olive brine (from jar of Spanish Pimento Olives)
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (+/-) *
- 2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- ¼ teaspoon hot sauce *
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika (+/-) *
- 1 teaspoon dried ground mustard powder (+/-)
- Pinch to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
Instructions
- Place the potatoes (see notes on potatoes) into a stock pot of cold water, add a generous sprinkle of sea salt and bring to a boil. Once boiling, gently boil until just tender, about 20 to 30 minutes, largely dependent on size. Drain and rinse with cold water until the potatoes are no longer warm. Set aside to drain, then spread out onto a large tray, baking sheet, or plate to come to room temperature.
- In the meantime, place the cashews in a small bowl, pour boiling water over top and soak for 15 to 20 minutes, then drain (discard water) and set aside.
- Place all the Dressing Ingredients (including the soaked and drained cashews) into a high-speed blender, process until smooth and emulsified, set aside.
- Place all the Salad Ingredients into a large bowl, mix well to combine, then pour the Dressing over top, mix well. Serve and enjoy! Refrigerate leftovers.
Notes
Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.
Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
Servings: Makes 9 cups
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