French Potato Salad with Green Beans
🥔🥗🌿 Mayo-free potato salad with soft potatoes and crisp-tender green beans! They're tossed in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette for bright, big flavor. This EASY French potato salad will be your new go-to for summer cookouts, potlucks, picnics or a great weeknight side dish.
Servings: 6
Calories: 206cal
Ingredients
Salad
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes scrubbed and halved or quartered if larger (red potatoes or new potatoes may substituted or another waxy potato; don't use starchy potatoes like Russet because they crumble)
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or to taste for salting the water
- ½ pound fresh green beans trimmed and cut into thirds
- ½ cup red onion, thinly sliced (if desired, soak in a bowl of cold water for about 10 minutes to remove some of the sharpness and bite, then pat dry with paper towel)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (I prefer flat-leaf to regular parsley for this recipe)
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar (red wine vinegar or champagne vinegar may be substituted)
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard (or use 2-3 tablespoons whole grain mustard; do not use yellow mustard)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or to taste
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper or to taste
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Potatoes: Place the sliced potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by at least 1-2 inches. Add the kosher salt to the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook until the potatoes are fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
- Once the potatoes are tender, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and set them aside in a colander.
- Green Beans: Bring the water that you cooke the potatoes in back up to a rolling boil.
- While you're waiting for the water to boil, make an ice bath in a large bowl with ice cubes and water; set aside.
- Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until crisp-tender.
- Use a slotted spoon to transfer the green beans to the ice bath to stop the cooking process and lock in their color. Once cooled, drain the green beans thoroughly. Tip - You need to shock them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process so they don't become mushy and to also lock in the vibrant green color.
- Vinaigrette: To a medium bowl, add all ingredients (except the olive oil) and whisk to combine.
- Then, drizzle in the olive oil slowly while whisking continuously to create an emulsified dressing.Taste and make any desired flavor tweaks such as more salt, more vinegar, more mustard, etc. Set aside momentarily.
- Combine: Place the potatoes in a large serving bowl and pour about ¾ of the vinaigrette over them. Toss to coat, allowing the potatoes to absorb the dressing.
- Add the green beans, red onion, and parsley, drizzle with the remaining vinaigrette, and toss well to combine and coat evenly. Taste and adjust seasoning and flavor balance with more salt, pepper, etc. if desired.
- Serving: Serve immediately, or at room temperature, or if desired, you may chill it.
- If you chill it, I recommend allowing it to come to room temp for about 20-30 minutes for best flavor and to allow any previously solidified oil to soften.
Notes
Vinaigrette adapted from my own Potato Salad with Bacon
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 24 hours in advance. However, the olive oil in the vinaigrette will solidify slightly in the fridge, so letting the salad sit on the counter for 20-30 minutes prior to serving is recommended. The potatoes also will become firmer in the cold fridge and they're better after they've sat at room temp for 20-30 minutes.
Storage: Leftover salad will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 206cal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 1453mg | Potassium: 769mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 482IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg
