This post may contain affiliate links.
Grilled Potato Salad is a warm, mayo free potato salad made from creamy baby potatoes with real grill marks, tossed in a tangy pesto Dijon dressing with melted butter, and the first time I served it at a *backyard cookout* it disappeared before the burgers came off the grill. If you love our grilled asparagus, this is the potato side made for the same summer menu.
It is everything you love about potato salad, made smoky, warm, and completely mayo free.
Grilled Potato Salad Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 10 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽️ Serving: 4 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 178kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Smoky charred potatoes with tangy Dijon, basil pesto, and melted butter
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, a boil then grill side like our grilled asparagus
Quick Answer
Boil small yellow potatoes until fork tender, then whisk apple cider vinegar, Dijon, olive oil, garlic, sugar, pesto, salt, and pepper into a dressing. Halve the potatoes, toss them in the marinade, grill them cut side down over high heat until charred, then toss the Grilled Potato Salad back in the dressing with a little melted butter and serve warm.
Jump to:
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Boil first, grill second. Boiling cooks the potatoes through so the grill only has one job, adding char and smoke in a few fast minutes.
- A double dressing toss. The potatoes soak in the marinade before grilling and again after, so every bite is seasoned inside and out.
- No mayo. The vinegar and Dijon base means this salad can sit out at a cookout without worry, and it tastes brighter too.
- Pesto shortcut. One spoonful of prepared pesto adds basil, garlic, and parmesan without chopping a single herb.
- Butter at the end. Tossing warm grilled potatoes with butter gives the salad a silky, rich finish that clings to every piece.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It is served warm off the grill, a total upgrade from cold deli potato salad.
- It is mayo free and cookout safe, perfect next to our hot honey chicken.
- The pesto Dijon dressing takes five minutes and one bowl.
Key Ingredients
Here is a quick look at the simple pantry ingredients that make this Grilled Potato Salad completely irresistible.
- Small Yellow Potatoes: Creamy baby golds hold their shape through boiling and grilling, look for the small bags at the store.
- Apple Cider Vinegar and Dijon: The tangy backbone of the warm dressing, no mayo in sight.
- Prepared Pesto: One heaping spoonful adds basil, garlic, and parmesan flavor in a single shortcut ingredient.
- Butter: Tossed in at the end so it melts over the warm potatoes, our Texas Roadhouse butter trick for vegetables.
- Garlic, Sugar, Salt, and Pepper: The little seasonings that balance the tang and make the dressing pop.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This Grilled Potato Salad is easy to riff on. Here are a few favorite ways to change it up.
- Add bacon: Crumble crispy bacon over the finished salad for a smoky, salty crunch.
- Make it herby: Toss in chopped fresh dill, chives, or parsley right before serving.
- Add red onion: Thinly sliced red onion or grilled scallions add sharp bite against the creamy potatoes.
- Spice it up: Whisk a pinch of red pepper flakes or a spoonful of whole grain mustard into the dressing.
- Feeding a crowd? Double everything and serve it alongside our totchos for the ultimate cookout spread.
How to Make Grilled Potato Salad
- Rinse the potatoes and place them in a medium pot covered with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook about 20 minutes until a fork slides in with no resistance. Drain and cool until easy to handle.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar, garlic, olive oil, Dijon, sugar, salt, pepper, and pesto until combined.
- Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, add them to the bowl with the marinade, and toss to coat.
- Grill the potatoes cut side down over high heat just until grill marks form, watching closely, it goes fast. Skewer them first if they are small enough to fall through the grates.
- Return the grilled potatoes to the bowl, toss them in the remaining marinade with the melted butter, then taste and adjust the seasoning before serving warm.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Salt the boiling water. Seasoning from the inside out is the first layer of flavor for the potatoes.
- Do not overboil. Pull the potatoes as soon as a fork slides in, mushy potatoes fall apart on the grill.
- Grill cut side down. The flat side takes on the deepest char and the prettiest grill marks.
- Use skewers for small potatoes. Threading the halves keeps them from slipping through the grates.
- A grill pan works too. A screaming hot cast iron grill pan gives you the same char indoors all year.
- Serve it warm. The dressing and butter taste best when the potatoes are fresh off the grill, though leftovers are great at room temperature too.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
This Grilled Potato Salad is the side I make on repeat all summer, it belongs next to burgers, brats, grilled chicken, and everything else that comes off the grill.
Serve it with our honey garlic chicken or an Italian lemon chicken foil packet for an easy all-on-the-grill dinner.
Hosting a cookout? Start everyone with a tray of totchos while the potatoes finish charring.
Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to three days and bring them to room temperature or warm them gently before serving, the flavors get even better overnight.
Grilled Potato Salad FAQs
Yes. Boil the potatoes and whisk the dressing up to a day ahead, storing them separately in the refrigerator. Grill and toss the Grilled Potato Salad just before serving so it is warm and freshly charred.
Small yellow potatoes like baby golds are best for Grilled Potato Salad. They are creamy, hold their shape after boiling, and their cut sides char beautifully on the grill. Baby reds work well too.
Warm is the magic of Grilled Potato Salad. The butter and dressing cling to the warm potatoes, though leftovers are also delicious at room temperature the next day.
Yes. A hot cast iron grill pan or heavy skillet gives the potatoes the same deep char indoors. Cook them cut side down over high heat until well marked.
Store Grilled Potato Salad covered in the refrigerator for up to three days. Because it has no mayo, it also holds up safely on a cookout table far better than creamy potato salads.
Boiling cooks the potatoes fully so the grill only adds char and smoke. Raw potatoes burn on the outside long before the centers turn tender, so the two step method guarantees creamy insides and crisp grill marks.
Firing up the grill again tomorrow? Our grilled asparagus takes five minutes flat.
My creamy red potato salad is another cookout classic.
Grilled Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds small yellow potatoes you can find these in a small bag at the grocery store
- 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced fine (or micro-planed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- cracked pepper to taste
- 1 heaping teaspoon prepared pesto
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Rinse potatoes and place in a medium-sized pot. Fill with cold water to cover the potatoes. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, reduce to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are fully cooked about 20 minutes. When pierced with a fork there will be no resistance. Drain potatoes. Set aside and let cool to the touch.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the vinegar, garlic, olive oil, Dijon, sugar, salt, pepper, and pesto until combined.
- Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Add potatoes to the bowl with the marinade. Toss to coat.
- Grill potatoes over high heat until grill marks form. This is a fast process so watch closely. If you find the potatoes are too small for the grill, you can skewer them ahead of time.
- Once potatoes are grilled, place them back into the bowl with the marinade and toss to coat in any additional marinade that is left. Add butter and toss to coat. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
Follow @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen on Instagram and @danadevolk on Pinterest for more!
