Thanks to the versatility of the humble potato, there are so many diverse potato salad recipes to choose from, like my fresh and crunchy Dill Pickle Potato Salad. But this Pesto Potato Salad is a nod to traditional creamy potato salad recipes with fresh, fragrant summer basil.
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Here’s Why This Recipe Works
Potato salad is always a crowd-pleaser when it comes to picnic salads, especially summer picnic salads.
Like my Mediterranean Pesto Orzo Salad and my Couscous Salad, I love the simplicity of this salad. You simply boil the potatoes, blend your pesto dressing in a food processor, and combine.
This is a fantastic make-ahead salad. You can make this salad up to three days in advance or whip it up in less than an hour for an impromptu picnic or party.
Picnic Tip: This recipe uses fragrant, fresh pesto. If you make a bigger batch or have leftovers, you can use it for other summer picnic recipes, like my Pesto Caprese Sandwich or easy homemade Pesto Cheese Bread.
Ingredient Notes
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements and notes.
Recipe Variations and Substitutions
Pesto: This recipe uses walnuts in the pesto. You can use pine nuts, as in a traditional pesto sauce, but be careful how much you use, as pine nuts are very full-flavored. If you don’t like walnuts, you could use cashews or almonds.
Heavy Cream: You can switch heavy cream for sour cream, Greek Yogurt, or a light version of either.
Add Some Zest: A small squeeze of lemon juice or lemon zest added to the pesto can give that salad a nice fresh finish.
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare the Potatoes
Step 1: Before cooking the potatoes, you need to decide whether to keep their skins. If you like the texture, keep them. If not, peel them before chopping them into bite-sized pieces.
Step 2: Fill a pot with cold water and add the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until fork-tender but not too soft, so they hold their shape well.
Once cooked. Drain the water and set the potatoes aside to cool.
Make the Pesto Dressing
Step 3: Add the walnuts, fresh basil leaves, mayonnaise, cream, garlic clove, salt, olive oil, and ground pepper to a food processor or bowl and blend well to combine. You should have a nice, smooth, creamy consistency.
Add the parmesan cheese to the pureed mix and stir to combine.
Step 4: Once the potatoes are cooled, add the potatoes and pesto mix to a large bowl. Optional: add some roughly chopped fresh basil and walnuts for extra flavor and texture.
Step 5: Gently mix the salad, ensuring the potatoes are well coated.
Recipe FAQs
A straight pesto potato salad (without mayonnaise or cream) can be served either warm or chilled. However, I think cold is better when it comes to a creamy pesto dressing.
To avoid a watery potato salad, ensure the potatoes are cooked until just fork-tender and drained well. Letting them cool before adding the pesto can also help maintain the right consistency.
Which are the Best Potatoes for Potato Salad
Choose a waxy potato over a starchy potato for potato salad. Potato varieties such as Red(also known as Red Bliss Potatoes), New Potatoes, or Fingerling are good for potato salad. They will be less starchy than white and have finer skin, which is better for potato salads.
Choose smaller, firm potatoes. Avoid sprouted potatoes with a green hue or those that are soft or wrinkly.
Expert Tips
Cooking the Potatoes: Don’t overcook your potatoes, as this will result in a mushy potato salad. Starting the cooking process from cold will help to avoid this. Also, allow your potatoes to cool properly before dressing them, as this will help prevent watery potato salad.
Pesto Dressing: If you feel the dressing is too thick, add a little extra olive oil.
Food Safety Tip: Potato salad (especially a creamy dressing) can turn bad after two hours out of the fridge. See my tips for keeping food cold at a picnic to ensure your potato salad stays fresh.
Related Recipes
Did you try this Pesto Potato Salad?
Please leave me a ⭐ rating below and let me know in the comments how you enjoyed it.
Creamy Pesto Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 lb potatoes
- ⅓ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- ½ cup walnuts or pine nuts
- ½ teaspoon salt - adjust to taste
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
Prepare the Potatoes
- Before cooking the potatoes, you need to choose if you want to keep their skin or not. If you like the texture, keep it. If not, peel them before the next step.
- Chop the potatoes into bite-sized pieces.
- Fill a pot with cold water and add the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes until fork-tender, but not too soft, so they hold their shape well. Do not overcook the potatoes, as they will not hold their shape or become mushy.
Make the Pesto Dressing
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the pesto dressing: You’ll need a hand mixer or blender to make the dressing.
- Add basil leaves, cream, mayonnaise, garlic clove, walnuts, salt, olive oil, and ground pepper and blend until you have a well combined and smooth consistency.
- Add parmesan cheese to the dressing mix and stir to combine.
- Once the potatoes have cooled, combine them with the creamy pesto. Optional: add some roughly chopped fresh basil and whole or rough chopped walnuts for extra flavour and texture.
Notes
Recipe Tips & Variations
- Choose a waxy potato, such as a red new potato, over a white starchy potato.
- Make sure you let your potatoes cool properly before adding the dressing.
- If you feel the dressing is too thick, add olive oil or mayonnaise.
- You can switch heavy cream to sour cream or a light version of either.
- To make this recipe vegan-friendly, replace parmesan cheese with nutritional yeast and heavy cream and mayonnaise with vegan mayo.
- You can switch walnuts for pine nuts
Storage
- Keep leftover potato salad covered in the fridge for up to three days.
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