This no mayo potato salad with green beans and olives is the sunshine of summer salads – bright, bold, and coated in a punchy red pepper Romesco-style dressing with major Spanish vibes.
Jump to: ℹ️ Overview | 🛒 Ingredients | 📷 How To Make | 📹 Watch The Video | 👩🍳 Recipe Tips | 🥗 Serving Suggestions | 📝 Full Recipe Card | 🍽 More Spanish-Inspired Recipes
This is not your average potato salad, and not just because it has no mayo!
Inspired by a Spanish vegan potato salad from Smith & Daughters cookbook, my version uses white potatoes and crisp-tender green beans tossed in a smoky, garlicky dressing that kinda-sorta resembles Romesco sauce (minus the nuts).
I also used fire-roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes (more pantry-friendly than Ajvar in the original recipe), and added a hint of curry powder for a little twist (don’t skip!). It’s loaded with fresh, zingy flavor – thanks to olives, tomatoes, and a red onion bite – and it’s totally vegan, gluten-free, and picnic-ready.
I’ve tested it a few times now, and yep, it’s officially in my warm-weather salad rotation. Bonus: it’s great with chickpeas, eggs, or leftover chicken if you want to bulk it up.
👩🍳 You might also like these salads: eggplant and chickpea salad, radish salad, cucumber tomato feta salad, Persian salad with pomegranate, or cowboy caviar salad with quinoa. And if you don’t mind mayo, check out my crispy potato salad and my potato salad with pickles (and capers and dill).
What You’ll Need
Here is what you’ll need for this no mayo potato salad. Find the full measurements in the recipe card below.
For the Salad:
- Baby potatoes – Creamy and soft, these are the base. You can use regular waxy potatoes too.
- Green beans – Add crunch and freshness. Blanching them for a minute keeps them bright and snappy. Swaps could be edamame beans, snow peas, peas, or asparagus.
- Red onion – For a little sharpness and bite. You could use green onions for something milder.
- Green olives – Salty, briny goodness. Sub with capers if you’re not an olive person.
- Cherry tomatoes – Sweet and juicy. Grape tomatoes or diced Roma would also work.
- Fresh herbs – Chives or parsley for that final herby lift.
For the Dressing:
- Pickled roasted red peppers / fire-roasted peppers – The smoky base. Jarred ones work perfectly but you could make your own roasted peppers.
- Sun-dried tomatoes – Umami magic. I like the oil-packed kind for richness.
- Garlic & onion powders, smoked paprika, cumin, curry powder – Warm and smoky spice blend. Don’t skip the curry powder! Chili powder for a touch of heat.
- Vinegar – Red or white wine vinegar adds that sharp tang.
- Olive oil – Extra virgin if you have it, for richness and body.
How To Make Potato Salad With Green Beans & Romesco Dressing
Find the full recipe and nutritional information below. Here are some handy step-by-step photos for no mayo potato salad with green beans & Romesco dressing.
- Cut potatoes (halves or quarters) and boil in salted water for ~10 minutes until just tender.
- Toss in the green beans for the last 1-2 minutes of cooking.
- Drain and cool everything on a tray or plate to speed up chilling.
- Whizz up the dressing in a blender until smooth-ish.
- Slice onions, halve tomatoes, chop olives and herbs.
- Toss it all together in a big bowl, drizzle with the dressing, and mix gently.
- Finish with fresh herbs.
Watch The Video
Recipe Tips
- Cool the potatoes properly before tossing them with the dressing – warm spuds soak up flavors better but you don’t want them steaming hot.
- Add a handful of chickpeas or some hard-boiled eggs if you want to make it a meal.
- No fire-roasted peppers? Use regular jarred roasted red peppers or make your own roasted peppers.
- The dressing makes extra – save it for drizzling over grilled veggies or chicken.
- Storage tips and using up leftovers: Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. This one doesn’t love the freezer – the texture of the potatoes changes. I have used leftovers to make an egg scramble/frittata AND as a topping for potato pizza.
- Make-ahead tips: You can prep all the components (boil the potatoes/beans, make the dressing, chop veggies) a day ahead. Store them separately and toss together before serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve it as a side for anything grilled – sausages, tofu, halloumi, or my grilled chicken tenders. I love it next to veggie burgers or stuffed in a wrap with hummus. It’s also fab as a lunch salad with a soft-boiled egg on top.
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No Mayo Potato Salad With Green Beans & Romesco
Video
Ingredients
For the Potato Salad:
- 1.7-2 lb baby potatoes 800-900 grams, cut in halves or quarters if large
- 1 tablespoon salt for cooking potatoes
- 4 oz green beans 120 grams, cut into ½-inch (1-cm) pieces
- ¼ red onion thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup green olives sliced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- Small handful of fresh chives or parsley chopped
For the Dressing:
- 3.5 oz pickled red peppers or fire-roasted peppers 100 grams
- 1.5 tablespoons white wine or red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon sun-dried tomatoes in oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon mild curry powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cut the baby potatoes into halves (or quarters if large). Add to a pot of cold water with 1 tablespoon salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 10 minutes, or until just fork-tender.
- Add the green beans in the last 1–2 minutes of cooking.
- Drain and spread the potatoes and beans out on a tray or large plate to cool quickly.
- Meanwhile, blend all dressing ingredients in a small food processor or blender until mostly smooth. Set aside.
- Slice the onion and olives, halve the tomatoes, and chop the herbs.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled potatoes and green beans, onion, olives, and tomatoes. Pour over the dressing and toss gently to combine.
- Garnish with chopped chives or parsley and serve.
Notes
- Cool the potatoes properly before tossing them with the dressing – warm spuds soak up flavors better but you don’t want them steaming hot.
- Add a handful of chickpeas or some hard-boiled eggs if you want to make it a meal.
- No fire-roasted peppers? Use regular jarred roasted red peppers or make your own roasted peppers.
- The dressing makes extra – save it for drizzling over grilled veggies or chicken.
- Storage tips and using up leftovers: Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 3 days. This one doesn’t love the freezer – the texture of the potatoes changes. I have used leftovers to make an egg scramble/frittata AND as a topping for potato pizza.
- Make-ahead tips: You can prep all the components (boil the potatoes/beans, make the dressing, chop veggies) a day ahead. Store them separately and toss together before serving.
- Can I use regular potatoes instead of baby ones? Yep! Just go for a waxy variety like Yukon Gold and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- What’s a good substitute for the red pepper in the dressing? Roasted capsicum from a jar works great. In a pinch, even grilled fresh bell peppers can do.
- How spicy is it? Mild with a touch of warmth. You can bump up the chili powder if you like it hotter.
Okay, this was a unique sounding recipe so decided to try (mostly as was looking for a no mayo potato salad) and so glad I did. Punchy, tangy, great textures and looked phenomenal on our summer table spread. My daughter is vegan, so this was a family-friendly option as she had it with some chickpeas and the rest of us had some grilled chicken on the BBQ.