So simple, this Quick Potato Salad with Spring Onions (Scallions), can be put together in no time. Small potatoes, spring onions (scallions) and mayonnaise. That's it!
- Simple ingredients. This Potato Salad has a very short ingredient list, potatoes, spring onions (scallions) and mayonnaise.
- Quick to prepare. No peeling of potatoes here. Keep the skin on for ultimate flavour and goodness.
- Delicious and nutritious. Boiled potatoes in their skin are rich with healthy goodies such as potassium, vitamin C and fibre.
Potato Salad with Spring Onions was one of our family staple salads growing up, and is still my favourite version of Potato Salad.
The crisp, fresh flavours of the finely chopped spring onion (scallion) perfectly balance the richness and creaminess of the mayo and potatoes.
Being naturally lazy, the ease with which this delicious, classic Potato Salad can be put together has always been a winner for me. No laborious peeling of potatoes, just boil, drain, thrown in some chopped spring onions and mix in a few dollops of mayo. Job done!
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Ingredients
- Potatoes. I like to keep the potatoes whole with the potato skin on, so no peeling and little preparation of the potatoes needed. Small new potatoes are perfect for this salad, otherwise waxy potato varieties such as Charlotte, Pink Fir Apple, Ratte, Jersey Royal, Maris Peer, Yukon Gold or fingerlings.
- Spring Onions (Scallions). By spring onions I am using the English meaning of spring onions, which is young spring onions that have been harvested before the bulb starts to swell. In the US these are known as scallions (and in Ireland also) or green onion. Scallions (or English spring onions) have a more delicate taste than small onions which have a bulb.
- Mayonnaise. I make this with my Homemade French Mayonnaise. You can, of course, use a store bought ready-made mayonnaise.
- Salt and Black Pepper.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make Potato Salad
There are only few steps to making this salad, and it may easily be made in stages. For instance cook the potatoes a day ahead. If you are making the mayonnaise from scratch this can be made up to a few days ahead.
- Prepare the potatoes. Clean 500g of potatoes. If the potatoes are muddy they may need a short soak in cold water to loosen the soil. Remove any earth with a brush or soft scouring pad. Rinse the potatoes under running water. If you have small potatoes, you do not need to cut them. For larger potatoes, cut them into chunks, keeping the skin on.
- Cook the potatoes. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with water. Make sure that no part of the potatoes is above the water. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil and then gently simmer the potatoes. The cooking time will depend upon the size and type of potatoes but will be about 10 to 20 minutes. Check if the potatoes are cooked by trying to insert a fork into them. If the fork enters easily they are cooked.
- Drain the potatoes. Drain the potatoes as soon as they have cooked and let them cool. Whilst the potatoes are cooling, prepare the spring onions.
- Prepare and chop the spring onions. Prepare about 3 to 4 spring onions (scallions) by chopping off the root end and, if needed removing the outer leaf layer. Rinse under a cold tap. Finely chop the white end of the spring onions including some of the lighter green part of stems. Reserve some of the greener slices of onion.
- Combine the ingredients and season. Put into a large mixing bowl 4 to 5 generous tablespoons of mayonnaise, the chopped spring onions and the cooled potatoes. Mix together well with a large spoon so that all potatoes are well covered by the mayonnaise. Double check the seasoning by tasting a slice of potato together with the mayonnaise dressing. You may find that extra salt and ground pepper is needed.
- Sprinkle and serve. You may wish to serve the Spring Onion Potato Salad in a fresh, clean dish. Sprinkle the salad with some of the reserved finely chopped spring onions.
MY COOKING TIPS:
- Drain the potatoes as soon as cooked. Otherwise the potatoes will soak up the water becoming watery.
- Overcooked rather than undercooked. If you are not sure whether or not the potatoes are cooked through, err on the side of caution. It is far better for the potatoes to be overcooked than undercooked.
The Healthy Side of Potatoes
Potatoes boiled and eaten in their skin retain more vitamins than most other methods of cooking potatoes, whilst containing less calories. New potatoes are also full of more concentrated goodness than older, larger potatoes.
Did you know, a medium sized potato has more potassium than a medium sized banana? Here are some more potato fun facts:
- Rich in vitamins. As well as a good amount of potassium, a medium sized potato has about the same amount of Vitamin C as a medium sized tangerine, and various other vitamins such as vitamin B6, thiamin, iron, magnesium and phosphorus.
- Fibre. A medium sized potato has the same amount of fibre as ½ grapefruit. Whilst the skin is rich in fibre, a large portion of the fibre is found in the potato flesh.
- Protein. A medium sized potato has about the same amount of protein as a ⅓ cup of milk. This high quality protein is found close to the skin.
FAQ
Raw onion can be quite strong and overwhelming in flavour, so generally sweeter, milder onions work best. Red onions, shallots, spring onions, scallions or green onions all work well in potato salads.
More Recipes with Mayonnaise
If you haven't made Mayonnaise before, you must try this Homemade French Mayonnaise recipe. Mayonnaise is truly simple and quick to make and this recipe is packed with tips for success first time round.
Mayonnaise is great with crunchy cabbage, the creamy, richness of the Mayonnaise in perfect contrast. Try this Creamy Coleslaw with Apples.
French Mayonnaise is also famous for its association with the classic bistrot dish of Oeufs Mayonnaise. Another deliciously simple Mayonnaise recipe.
📋 Recipe Card
Quick Potato Salad with Spring Onions (Scallions)
Ingredients
- 500 g new potatoes
- 3 to 4 spring onions (scallions)
- 3 to 4 tablespoon mayonnaise
- salt and ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the potatoes. Clean 500g of potatoes. If the potatoes are muddy they may need a short soak in cold water to loosen the soil. Remove any earth with a brush or soft scouring pad. Rinse the potatoes under running water. If you have small potatoes, you do not need to cut them. For larger potatoes, cut them into chunks, keeping the skin on.
- Cook the potatoes. Put the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with water. Make sure that no part of the potatoes is above the water. Add a generous pinch of salt to the water. Bring the water to a boil and then gently simmer the potatoes. The cooking time will depend upon the size and type of potatoes but will be about 10 to 20 minutes. Check if the potatoes are cooked by trying to insert a fork into them. If the fork enters easily they are cooked.
- Drain the potatoes. Drain the potatoes as soon as they have cooked and let them cool. Whilst the potatoes are cooling, prepare the spring onions.
- Prepare and chop the spring onions. Prepare about 3 to 4 spring onions (scallions) by chopping off the root end and, if needed removing the outer leaf layer. Rinse under a cold tap. Finely chop the white end of the spring onions including some of the lighter green part of stems. Reserve some of the greener slices of onion.
- Combine the ingredients and season. Put into a large mixing bowl 4 to 5 generous tablespoons of mayonnaise, the chopped spring onions and the cooled potatoes. Mix together well with a large spoon so that all potatoes are well covered by the mayonnaise. Double check the seasoning by tasting a slice of potato together with the mayonnaise dressing. You may find that extra salt and ground pepper is needed.
- Sprinkle and serve. You may wish to serve the Spring Onion Potato Salad in a fresh, clean dish. Sprinkle the salad with some of the reserved finely chopped spring onions.
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