Lightened Up Healthier Potato Salad (Egg & Gluten Free)

This Lightened Up Potato Salad is creamy with perfectly soft potatoes. It has the traditional hint of savory flavor combined with the sweet dill relish pickles, but secretly contains far fewer calories! Gluten & Egg Free

One of Mr. Hungry’s  all time favorite side dishes is potato salad.  In fact, I’m pretty sure that to him, it is really more of a main dish than a side dish.

I don’t have anything against potato salad, but when you cover potatoes with a pound of mayo you’ve got one tasty dish that can clock in at around 300 calories per half a cup.  Make a fist that is probably about a cup, maybe a cup and half if you are a guy.

So 1/3 to 1/2 of that is 300 calories.  If you’ve read my story, you know I’m not a huge advocate of calorie counting, but they do still count. So, I decided to see if I could lighten up his favorite dish.  

Success! The result couldn’t have been better!  Mr. Hungry literally said it was BETTER than the one he gets at Sprouts!

To lighten up this dish I combined a couple of different strategies.  First I amped up the nonstarchy veggies by adding diced celery, onion, carrot, and broccoli.  Next, I swapped laughing cow wedges for some of the mayo and added water to thin the sauce a bit so it would go farther.

I made sure to use all the traditional flavor enhances including Worcestershire and sweet relish.  I also skipped the eggs because Mr. Hungry doesn’t do so well with eggs.  I added turmeric to help give it the color of having eggs without actually having them.  The result was creamy, soft, potato salad perfection!

Okay, let’s talk about the elephant in the room.  Can you believe I’m putting up a recipe with a processed cheese product in it the day after I told you to read all the ingredients in a product before putting it in your cart?!?! What a hypocrite!!!

Take a deep breath, and I promise I’m not a total fraud.  In this instance, even though it is a bit more processed, it is the better choice for us.  Knowing I was going to write yesterday’s post followed by this recipe, I looked up the sodium phosphates concerns at the Center for the Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

The current concern is the general over-consumption of phosphorus in food, throwing off your mineral balance.  Most people get an excess of phosphorus from processed products, soda, is one of the primary offenders.

Here is my point: eggs may not be processed at all (except by a hen), but they will make Mr. Hungry sick if he eats too much.  Yogurt (often used to lighten up recipes with heavy mayo) is okay for him, but again, we keep it to a minimum.

So in this instance, the better option for him is eggless mayo and laughing cow.  Since most of the food we buy has very little additives and we don’t drink soda, I’m okay with buying and using laughing cow frequently.  It is a trade-off that makes sense for us. Also, the greek yogurt flavor has a way of overpowering certain recipes like this one.

Like I always remind my Hungry Hobby RD clients, eating clean and healthy nutrition is very individualized, you’ve got to do what is right for you!

Hopefully, that means enjoying this Lightened Up Potato Salad, because it is delicious!

PS Remember, potatoes, despite their reputation, are one of the healthier foods you could eat. (Potatoes: A Classic and Colorful Staple)  They are packed full of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients our bodies need.   In fact, they are actually potassium and Vitamin C superstars!

[clickToTweet tweet=”#healthy potato salad – a secretly #healthy side dish for your next #cookout or #grill! #eggfree” quote=”#healthy potato salad – a secretly #healthy side dish for your next #cookout or #grill! #eggfree”]

If you are a meal plan subscriber, this recipe will be appearing on your meal plan soon!

Not signed up yet? What to Eat? Meal Plans! are balanced, healthy, gluten-free meal plans designed by a Registered Dietitian (that’s me!) to make healthy eating more convenient. Plus they include delicious recipes from Hungry Hobby like this one! Learn More and Sign Up for a FREE Week!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Save RecipeSaved!

No ratings yet

Healthy Potato Salad (Egg Free)

This Lightened Up Potato Salad is creamy with perfectly soft potatoes. It has the traditional hint of savory flavor combined with the sweet dill relish pickles, but secretly contains far fewer calories! Gluten & Egg Free

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

chill time2 hours hrs

Total Time35 minutes mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Vegetarian

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 169kcal

Author: Kelli Shallal MPH RD

Ingredients

• 2 Large Russet Potatoes
• 1 Piece Celery
• 1/2 small red onion
• 1/2 cup parsley
• 1 large carrot
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• 1/2 cup grapeseed vegan mayo - or regular mayo
• 4 laughing cow wedges
• 2 T water
• 2 T gluten free Worcestershire
• 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp salt divided

Instructions

• Clean and wash potatoes. Place in large pan and cover with cold water. Set covered over high heat until boiling. Once boiling remove the lid and let boil for 10-15 minutes until fork tender.
• Once cooked, let cool and then cut into 1-inch squares.
• Chop celery, red onion, parsley, carrot, and broccoli florets into diced pieces. The easiest way to do this would be in a food processor.
• Combine mayo, laughing cow wedges, Worcestershire sauce, relish, sugar, and turmeric in a small bowl. Cream in a blender or by hand until there are only the relish chunks (laughing cow should not be in chunks.)
• In a large bowl combine potatoes, chopped vegetables, and sauce until well mixed. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and mix well, then repeat with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Let chill 2 hours before serving.

Nutrition

Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 358mg | Potassium: 358mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1785IU | Vitamin C: 22.9mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 2.4mg

Tried this recipe?I'd love to see what you made! Tag me @hungryhobbyRD or tag #hungryhobby if you try this recipe!

Want more recipes?

Bacon Broccoli Slaw

Antipasto Salad