This elegant French potato salad with green beans is made with a light and tangy herb dressing and crispy green beans. It’s the perfect paring with a summer bbq, picnic or potluck!
French potato salad with green beans is full of crispy green beans, tons of fresh herbs, green onions. It features a bright and tangy vinaigrette made with dijon mustard, vinegar, olive oil, shallot, and garlic, is unlike it’s American cousin which uses creamy mayo as the base.
This potato salad is the perfect recipe is perfect for a summer BBQ or picnic. It’s my go-to recipe for a pot luck and pairs perfectly with my Mediterranean chicken legs or dry brined pork chops. The absence of mayo helps this salad last longer on a sunny day than mayo based potato salad.
Key Ingredients + Variations
French style potato salad uses simple, fresh ingredients.
Potatoes: Any variety of baby potato will work in this recipe including creamers, red or fingerlings. I use baby potatoes because the skin tends to be thinner than regular potatoes. The thin skin means you don’t need to peel them. Yay!
Vinegar: This potato salad gets its acidity from a combination of red wine and white wine vinegar. Red wine vinegar has a more robust flavor than white wine vinegar which is more delicate. I find the combination of the two adds the right amount of acidity and punch to the dressing. The dressing will still taste great if you only have one of them on hand.
Herbs: This salad features a heavy amount of fresh parsley and dill which adds a lot of brightness to the salad.
Green beans: Green beans add a nice crunch and textural element to this salad. French green beans, or haricots verts, are longer, thinner, and earthier in flavor than American style green beans. If you can’t find french green beans, regular green beans work fine.
Onions: Shallots and onions are both members of the allium family and can be used interchangeably in many recipes, including this one. Shallot has a milder flavor than onion which I prefer in vinaigrette that get the punch from the vinegar. If you don’t have a shallot on hand, you can swap in the 1-2 tablespoons of red onion, although it will have a sharper bite. Adding fresh green onion to the salad also adds some bite and more freshness.
Looking for other summer salad recipes like this? Try these:
Storage
This potato can be made ahead of time and will keep in the fridge in a sealed container for 2-3 days and still taste great.
PrintFrench-style potato salad
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 8
Description
This herby potato salad uses a tangy vinaigrette in place of American style mayo based potato salad.
Ingredients
Salad
2 pounds baby potatoes (yellow, red, or a mix)
½ pound french green beans, trimmed and cut in half
2 teaspoons salt
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
¼ cup chopped fresh dill
¼ cup diced green onion
Dressing
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Rinse and scrub potatoes, then cut into half. Bring a large pot of water with 2 teaspoons of salt. Once water boils, add potatoes and cook over medium/high heat until easily pierced with a form, about 12-16 minutes depending on the size of your potatoes. In the last 2 minutes of cooking, add the green beans.
- When the potatoes and beans are done, drain rinse well with cold water. Let drain in colander for about 10 minutes while you prep the dressing.
- Add vinegars, mustard, garlic, shallot, salt, and pepper to a mixing bowl and combine with a whisk. Slowly stream in the olive oil while continuing to whisk to emulsify the dressing. Taste the dressing and add more of vinegar, oil salt or pepper to adjust the flavor as needed.
- Add drained potatoes to a serving bowl.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Cuisine: French
Keywords: french potato salad
Annie says
I love this version of potato salad!
★★★★★
Janice says
My kids hate mayo! So this potato was perfect for backyard bbq night!
★★★★★