This Healthy French Potato Salad recipe is incredibly simple in nature. But don’t let that fool you! This potato salad packs a major flavor punch thanks to fresh dill, a Dijon vinaigrette, and fabulous castelvetrano olives (the queen of olives)!

Side angle image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

This recipe is:

  • s.i.m.p.l.e
  • Vibrant 
  • Savory 
  • Vegetarian & Vegan
  • Gluten-free

What is French potato salad?

Like with any potato salad, there is no “right” way to make a French potato salad. But the nitty gritty is this: a vinaigrette based potato salad (no mayo!) that’s full of fresh herbs and features something briny, and something fresh and crunchy. 

Overhead image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

French potato salad ingredients:

  • Olive oil and red wine vinegar 
  • Shallot and garlic—if you’d rather just use one of these instead of both, opt for the shallot as it offers more “French” flavor. 
  • Dijon mustard — a must for giving this salad a “French” feel. If you love Dijon, I recommend using a heaping tablespoon. 
  • Baby gold and red potatoes—feel free to use one or the other (you don’t need to do a mix). You can also use fingerling, yukon gold or red new potatoes. 
  • Green beans—use hericot verts for a very authentic French potato salad
  • Castelvetrano olives—this type of olive is mild, soft and just gorgeous in this salad. If you can’t find them you can also use pimento-stuffed green olives. 
  • Dill and chives—this combo is very French. Feel free to add more of each herb to taste. You can also use fresh tarragon and parsley. 
Side angle image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

How to make French potato salad:

It doesn’t get easier than this folks!

  1. Cook & halve the potatoes: add potatoes to a large sauté pan and fill with cold water. Bring water and potatoes to a boil and cook until fork-tender (I use a skewer to test doneness). Drain potatoes and let them cool slightly, then halve the potatoes. (Cooking them whole then halving keeps their interiors nice and creamy—not waterlogged.)
  2. Meanwhile, whisk up the classic vinaigrette (use maple syrup if you need this to be vegan).
  3. Cook & shock the green beans: fill now-empty pan with water and bring to a boil. Add green beans and cook until crisp-tender; transfer beans to an ice water bath to “shock” or stop the cooking immediately (this keeps them crisp-tender and vibrant in color). 
  4. Toss it all together: combine the potatoes, beans, olives and herbs in a large bowl. Drizzle the vinaigrette over the potato mixture and toss to combine. 
  5. Season with salt and pepper to taste! Be generous when you’re seasoning a potato salad. 
Overhead image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

French potato salad variations: 

The beautiful thing about this salad—and all potato salads—is that you can easily modify and substitute ingredients without drastically changing the end result. 

Not so sure about some of the ingredients in the recipe? Or maybe you don’t have them on hand? Check out some of these variations to get your creativity flowing!

  • Herbs: try tarragon or parsley instead of, or in addition to, the fresh dill and chives. A combination of herbs is wonderful here, so I recommend you use more than one kind.
  • Potatoes: baby gold and red new potatoes offer an unmatched creaminess to this potato salad, but feel free to use red potatoes, yukon gold, or fingerling potatoes. 
  • Green beans: try broccolini or asparagus instead of, or in addition to, the green beans.
  • Olives: not a lover of olives? Add in some capers instead! You can also use slice green olives.
  • Add some cheese: fresh goat cheese, Parmesan or pecorino would be a delicious addition to this salad.
  • Add some nuts: toasted slivered almonds or pinenuts would be beautiful this French potato salad! 

More make-ahead salad recipes…

Overhead image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

Make sure to tag me @ZESTFULKITCHEN ON INSTAGRAM or tag #zestfulkitchen on social media if you make a recipe! 

If you make this potato salad, leave a comment and rating below! 

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Overhead image of green beans, potatoes, lives and herbs in a white square dish set on a table.

Healthy French Potato Salad with Dill

  • Author: Lauren Grant
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 mintues
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 cups (8 servings) 1x
  • Category: Side dish/Salad
  • Method: Stove-top
  • Cuisine: French
  • Diet: Vegetarian

Description

A delicious and simple potato salad full of French flavors from dill, Dijon, castelvetrano olives, and green beans. Featuring a vinaigrette—not mayo!—this salad is a healthy take on potato salad while still being bold in flavor.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound baby gold and red potatoes
  • 8 ounces green beans, halved and quartered
  • ½ cup castelvetrano olives, halved
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
  • 1 tablespoons chopped chives
  • ½ cup classic vinaigrette
  • Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Add potatoes to a large sauté pan and cover with 2 inches of cold water. Place pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; season with 1 teaspoon salt, reduce heat to medium and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Drain potatoes and set aside to cool slightly; halve potatoes and transfer to a large bowl.

Prepare an ice water bath.

Bring 2 inches of water to a boil in now-empty sauté pan; season with salt then add green beans and cook until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Using a spider or slotted spoon, transfer green beans to ice water bath and cool completely.

Add green beans, olives, dill and chives to bowl with potatoes; drizzle with vinaigrette and toss to combine. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste.


Notes

This salad can be made up to 2 days ahead of time.

Make this vegan: use maple syrup in the vinaigrette instead of honey. 


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: ¾ cup
  • Calories: 123
  • Sugar: 2g
  • Sodium: 275mg
  • Fat: 7g
  • Saturated Fat: 0.5g
  • Carbohydrates: 13g
  • Fiber: 2g
  • Protein: 2g
  • Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: french potato salad, healthy potato salad, dill potato salad, french dill potato salad, healthy dill potato salad

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About The Author

Lauren Grant is a professional culinary food scientist, food writer, recipe developer, and food photographer. Lauren is a previous magazine editor and test kitchen developer and has had work published in major national publications including Diabetic Living Magazine, Midwest Living Magazine, Cuisine at Home Magazine, EatingWell.com, AmericasTestKitchen.com, and more.

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