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This French Potato Salad is a wonderful alternative to mayonnaise-based potato salad. It is made with green beans, hard boiled eggs, and a refreshing lemon vinaigrette.
This light and flavorful French Potato Salad is the perfect side dish and a refreshing colorful alternative to mayo-based potato salads. It features tender green beans, hard-boiled eggs, herbs, and more tossed in a zesty lemon dijon vinaigrette.
I actually made this potato salad because my Mother-in-law wanted to have fried chicken for Mother’s Day. I decided to make some popular southern side dishes that were better for you to balance out all that fried chicken. This is my take on a healthy potato salad.
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Why You’ll Love This French Potato Salad
Not only is French Potato Salad lower in calories, but it is also incredibly flavorful and perfect for potlucks, bbq’s, and holidays.
Ingredients
Here are some additional notes on some of the ingredients you may find helpful.
Potatoes: For the potatoes, I recommend using Baby Gold Yellow Potatoes
Herbs: Be sure to use fresh chives & parsley instead of dried.
Mustard: In this recipe I like to use the ground dijon mustard since the mustard seeds add a nice texture and pop to each bite.
Olives & Capers: Kalamata olives and capers add the perfect amount of flavor and saltiness. If you can find cured black olives those will work as well but do not use canned black olives.
Green Beans: Always use fresh green beans in this recipe
Purchase the best Extra Virgin Olive Oil you can afford. The quality will affect the flavor of your dressings and dishes. Key things to look for in olive oil are cold pressed, first or early harvest, and being in a dark-colored glass bottle.
How to Make French Potato Salad
French Potato Salad is incredibly easy to make and to simplify it even more, we boil the potatoes and green beans in the same pot.
Boiling the Potatoes & Green Beans
To start, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then turn the pot down to medium heat and add your potatoes. Boil until you can stick a toothpick through the potato. This is about 10 minutes.
Then add your green beans on top and continue to lightly boil for an additional 3 minutes. Then, immediately transfer the potatoes and green beans to a large bowl with ice water to stop the cooking process. Blanching the green beans will ensure they stay a bright green color.
Once blanched in the cold water, transfer the potatoes and green beans to a strainer and then add them to a large serving bowl or dish.
Lemon Vinaigrette
This lemon vinaigrette is different than my traditional lemon herb vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, ground Dijon mustard, vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped capers & kalamata olives, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then pour the dressing over the potatoes and green beans. Reserve a little bit of dressing for the very top before serving.
Next add the capers, parsley, and chives. Then carefully toss everything together with a spatula.
How to Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
This is my method of always making perfect hard-boiled eggs. First, add the eggs to your pot and cover them with water. Place on the stove over medium to high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn off the stove and move the pot off the hot burner. Then set an alarm for 10 minutes. Once the alarm goes off, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.
Peel and cut your hard-boiled eggs into quarters by cutting the egg in half long ways, then cut them in half again. Place the hard boiled egg slices and kalamata olives over the top of the French potato salad. Right before serving, pour the extra dressing over the top.
Tips
French potato salad is even better when you make it the day before. This gives enough time for all the flavors to develop.
Always add a generous amount of salt to your boiling water.
Do not over-boil your potatoes. To prevent this, reduce your heat and use a low boil.
I highly recommend using organic eggs as the color of the yolk will be much more deep & vibrant.
When making your hard-boiled eggs, pay attention so you don’t over boil. Once you see the water start to boil, turn off the burner and move the eggs off the heat.
More Delicious Side Dishes
Serving Suggestions
This French Potato Salad is perfect for Memorial Day, July 4th cookouts, Mother’s Day, potlucks, summer bbqs, and even as a side dish with your favorite grilled recipe.
Leftovers
Leftovers will last in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. This makes a great post-workout snack, lunch, or even breakfast.
French Potato Salad with Green Beans
This light and flavorful French Potato Salad is the perfect side dish and a refreshing colorful alternative to mayo-based potato salads. It features tender green beans, hard-boiled eggs, herbs, and more tossed in a zesty lemon dijon vinaigrette.
Sondra Barker
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Prep Time 15 minutes minsCook Time 15 minutes minsTotal Time 30 minutes mins
Servings 6 servingsCalories 252 kcal
Diets: Low Calorie, Vegetarian
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark
1.5 lbs yellow potatoes baby gold, cut in half340 g green beans one bag or 3 full cups, cut in half15 whole Kalamata Olives 15 Olives1 tbsp capers2 large eggs cut into 4’s1 tbsp chives about 5 sprigs, chopped.5 tbsp parsley tornLemon Dijon Vinaigrette¼ cup olive oil extra virgin3.5 tbsp white wine vinegar1 tsp lemon zest from 1 lemon2 tbsp lemon juice fresh squeezed1 tbsp capers chopped1 tbsp kalamata olives chopped3 cloves garlic minced2 tbsp Dijon Mustard whole grain1 tsp sea salt½ tsp black pepper fresh cracked
To start, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then turn the pot down to medium heat and add your potatoes. Boil until you can stick a toothpick through the potato. This is about 10 minutes.1.5 lbs yellow potatoes, 340 g green beansNext, add your green beans on top and continue to lightly boil for an additional 3 minutes. Then, immediately transfer the potatoes and green beans to a large bowl with ice water. Once blanched in the cold water, transfer the potatoes and green beans to a strainer and then add them to a large serving bowl or dish.Hard Boiled EggsFirst, add the eggs to your pot and cover them with water. Place on the stove over medium to high heat. 2 large eggsPlace on the stove over medium to high heat. As soon as the water begins to boil, turn off the stove and move the pot off the hot burner.Then set an alarm for 10 minutes. Once the alarm goes off, transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.Peel and cut your hard-boiled eggs into quarters by cutting the egg in half long ways, then cut them in half again. Set to the sideLemon Dijon VinaigretteIn a medium bowl, whisk together the oil, ground Dijon mustard, vinegar, freshly squeezed lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped capers & kalamata olives, garlic, salt, and pepper.1/4 cup olive oil, 3.5 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp lemon zest, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp kalamata olives, 3 cloves garlic, 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard, 1 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp black pepperAssemblyPour the dressing over the potatos and green beans in your serving dish, reserving a small amount to pour over the top before serving. Add the capers, parsley & chives. Then gently toss together.1 tbsp capers, 1 tbsp chives, .5 tbsp parsleyAdd the eggs, kalamata olives, and a little more parsley to the top. 15 whole Kalamata Olives, 2 large eggsRight before serving, spoon the reserved dressing over the top.
French potato salad is even better when you make it the day before. This gives enough time for all the flavors to develop.
Always add a generous amount of salt to your boiling water.
Do not over-boil your potatoes. To prevent this, reduce your heat and use a low boil.
I highly recommend using organic eggs as the color of the yolk will be much more deep & vibrant.
When making your hard-boiled eggs, pay attention so you don’t over boil. Once you see the water start to boil, turn off the burner and move the eggs off the heat.
Serving: 2cups | Calories: 252kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 924mg | Potassium: 659mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 636IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 2mg | Net Carbohydrates: 21g
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About The Author
Sondra Barker is an established culinary writer, photographer, and recipe creator. She is a published cookbook author and worked as a nutritional counselor, personal trainer, and pilates instructor for 10 years. Her expertise, culinary reviews, and recipes have been featured in Good Housekeeping, Modern Luxury, Fox News, and many more. When she is not writing about restaurants she is traveling to wine country, on a cruise, or spending the day at Disneyland.
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