Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad

by Dorothy Reinhold on May 26, 2021


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Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad is a no-mayo, potluck-friendly potato salad chock full of colorful spuds and vegetables, for the best side dish at the BBQ.

We love to eat outside, whether it’s for any old weeknight or weekend meal, or a full-on party such as Memorial Day, July 4 or any of the spring, summer and fall celebrations. There’s just something extra fun and festive when eating outside, isn’t there?

Here in Southern California, we can generally grill all year long, but as BBQ and grilling months heat up for the rest of the country, what should you make on your grill to inaugurate the season?

I’ll let everyone else worry about the main dish. I’m in the camp that can make a meal out of all the BBQ side dishes. Let me pile on my plate the salads, the grains, the vegetables and dips, the bite-sized appetizers and a forkful of dessert of course, and call it dinner. Sure, I like a burger as much as anyone, but given my druthers, I might skip it and go to town on everything else. Are you like this, too? I cannot be alone in this obsession with side dishes.

And nothing is more welcome, more appropriate, more desired, at a BBQ than some kind of potato salad. So today I’ll give you a recipe that will take you through the summer and beyond. It will be perfect alongside nearly anything else you want to serve as a main course — burgers, grilled chicken, steaks, brats — but it can stand in as a main dish for those who are vegetarian or vegan.

Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad in a white bowl with a bandana for a napkin and burlap for table covering
I’m calling it Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad because when I created the recipe, I found myself adding Roy G. Biv foods (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet). Isn’t that some fun inspiration for cooking?

How to make Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad

Ingredients for Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad on a white board -- celery, potatoes, bell peppers, cilantro, onion and capersFirst, assemble your ingredients. For this salad, I’m using lots of veggies:

  • Tri-colored Idaho fingerling potatoes
  • Capers
  • Celery
  • Green onions
  • Red bell pepper
  • Yellow bell pepper
  • Orange bell pepper
  • Cilantro

Purple, red and white fingerling potatoes on a black panini grill with grill marks on them

Microwave the potatoes to get them mostly cooked through. Then slap them on your panini grill to give them some nice grill marks. If all the potato halves didn’t get grill marks, remove those that did, and continue to cook the rest for another minute or so until they get nice grill marks.

Grilled Tricolored Idaho Potato Fingerlings on a white plate

Voila! The potatoes look gorgeous! You might be tempted to eat them like this. But you’ll dice them and add them to a large salad bowl, along with the rest of the chopped vegetables (celery, onion, colored bell peppers, cilantro and capers).

Ingredients for salad dressing for Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad on ShockinglyDelicious.com

Meanwhile, stir together your salad dressing. You’ll need:

  • Good quality extra-virgin olive oil
  • Balsamic vinegar
  • Dijon mustard
  • Crushed garlic
  • Ground black pepper

Dress your salad, put it in a nice serving bowl, and walk it proudly to the buffet table! 

Tips for making Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad

  • Go ahead and add some bacon to it if you want; I won’t judge. (Just don’t label it vegetarian or vegan then.)
  • If you don’t like an ingredient, leave it out or sub something else. Don’t like red peppers? Substitute red radish slices. If you hate cilantro, substitute Italian parsley. You have my permission to tweak this recipe any way you like. 
  • This salad can be made ahead, so it isn’t one of the last-minute things that will clog your mind the day of your shindig.
  • And if you have any leftovers (you won’t, but I’m just sayin’), you could heat it up for breakfast or lunch and top it with a fried or poached egg.

The point is, you can make it your own by putting your own stamp on it.

Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad | Easy Potato Salad recipe stuffed with colorful vegetables (vegan) | ShockinglyDelicious.com
Just make it!

Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 servings

Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad

A no-mayo, potluck-friendly potato salad chock full of colorful spuds and vegetables, for the best side dish at the BBQ.

Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 pounds tri-colored Idaho fingerling potatoes (skin on), cut in half lengthwise
  • 4 tablespoons drained small capers
  • 3-4 ribs celery, thinly sliced
  • 2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
  • 1/2 yellow bell pepper, cut into small dice
  • 1/2 orange bell pepper, cut into small dice
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • Dressing
  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
  • Grinding of fresh pepper

Directions

  1. Make salad: Place potatoes in a microwave-safe container with a lid, and microwave them for 5 minutes on full power. Remove, drain any water that has accumulated, remove lid, and set aside.
  2. Heat panini press, and when hot, add potato halves, cut side up. Close lid and cook for 5 minutes. Remove to a plate, when done, and allow to cool while you work on the rest of the recipe. (If all potato halves didn't get grill marks, remove those that did, and continue to cook the rest for another minute or so until they get nice grill marks.)
  3. To a large bowl, add capers, celery, onion, bell peppers and cilantro. Dice potatoes and add to salad. Stir gently to combine.
  4. Make dressing: In a separate bowl, whisk oil, vinegar, mustard and garlic until well mixed and slightly thick (the mustard will emulsify the dressing). Pour over potato salad and mix gently. Grind some fresh pepper over top, mix again. (You might not use all of the dressing for this salad. If so, save remainder in the refrigerator for a tossed green salad later.)
  5. Place in a nice serving bowl.
  6. Serves 6.

Notes

Recipe source: Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious

https://www.shockinglydelicious.com/grilled-rainbow-potato-salad/

pin this please!Pin the image below for Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad to your Pinterest board to save this recipe

Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad in a white bowl on a burlap map with a wine glass behind it and the recipe title above it

Want more potato salad recipes?

Russian Potato Salad with radishes in a yellow bowlRussian Potato Salad with Anchovy, Garlic and Lemon

Potato Salad in baby bok choy cups on a white curvy serving plateTwo-Bite Potato Salad Cups

This post for Rainbow Grilled Potato Salad was originally published June 14, 2015 and has been refreshed and republished today.

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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }

Alexiana June 18, 2015 at 11:44 am

Great recipe!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 18, 2015 at 2:08 pm

Thank you Alexiana!

Reply

Alida June 16, 2015 at 6:40 pm

This looks so delicious! So colorful and tasty, and I’m a huge fan of no mayo 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:38 pm

Alida,
I know, right? Mayo can sometimes muddy things up.

Reply

sue|theviewfromgreatisland June 16, 2015 at 7:16 am

This is a stunning salad, Dorothy – it’s on our Father’s Day menu – and we love Gallo wines!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:39 pm

Sue,
Wonderful! You will love this for Father’s Day, I predict!

Reply

Shaina June 15, 2015 at 1:07 pm

This is SO pretty. I love fingerlings, especially the colorful ones. I’d make a meal out of this dish alone, I don’t need anything else! SO yummy!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:39 pm

Shaina,
I am with you there…just pile this on my plate!

Reply

CosmoCornbread June 15, 2015 at 8:38 am

This salad is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:41 pm

Cosmo,
Thank you! It did turn out to be quite the looker!

Reply

Cookin Canuck June 15, 2015 at 7:50 am

We grill as many months out of the year as we can (snow or no snow!) We just imagine giving it up over the wintertime. This potato salad is so pretty. What a perfect summertime side dish!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:41 pm

Thanks Cookin’ Canuck. You are from hardy stock to grill in the snow. 🙂

Reply

Laura @MotherWouldKnow June 15, 2015 at 7:35 am

Whether it’s a variation on potato salad, or a variation on chopped salad, this one is a winner in my book. Especially love finishing it off with mustard vinaigrette dressing!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:42 pm

Laura,
You’re right…it did turn into a hybrid of both!

Reply

Lori @ RecipeGirl June 15, 2015 at 7:31 am

Gorgeous! And I absolutely love that it’s non-mayo based. Goes perfect with wine!!!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:42 pm

Thanks Lori! So many things go well with wine, eh? 🙂

Reply

Liz @ The Lemon Bowl June 15, 2015 at 6:03 am

I love all of these gorgeous colors!!!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:43 pm

Thanks Liz! It turned into a bit of an artwork.

Reply

GARIMA June 15, 2015 at 1:41 am

awesome recipe, love it.

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 17, 2015 at 12:43 pm

Garima,
Thank you! Hope you get to make it!

Reply

Deb June 14, 2015 at 3:19 pm

Just made this. It was freaking AWESOME!!! Holy smokes. Yum on top of yum. Thanks for the. Keeper recipe 🙂

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 8:36 pm

Deb,
You just made my day, my week and my year!

Reply

Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere June 14, 2015 at 1:03 pm

We grill all year ’round it Wisconsin too. We may be surrounded by snow up to our eyeballs and wearing a parka, but we’re still grilling! 🙂 Your salad looks delicious. I wan’t to find some of those multi-colored potatoes!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 2:17 pm

Sarah,
These spuds came from Idaho!

Reply

Valerie Cathell Clark June 14, 2015 at 9:42 am

Well we ARE supposed to eat the rainbow, and you perfected it in this beautiful dish! I’m definitely trying this one Dorothy!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 10:42 am

Valerie,
Thanks, and oh, I hope you do!

Reply

Nichole June 14, 2015 at 9:17 am

I love love love potato salad, and this one looks tasty! I love the idea of grilling the potatoes!

Reply

Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers June 14, 2015 at 8:14 am

What a great salad! I love all of the colors! The potatoes look mmm, mmm good!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 8:29 am

Thanks Jennifer! It’s kinda fun to grill spuds.

Reply

SallyBR June 14, 2015 at 8:05 am

That is such a beautiful dish, you really hit a jackpot with this one!

we grill all the time too, thanks to the fact that I can use “we” as in “hubby does it”, since the man was born in Michigan and can take the cold, brush off the snow and face the grill. Moi? I wait for spring… of course!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 8:30 am

Sally,
Thank you! I know what you mean…I usually send my husband out to grill, but it can be oddly therapeutic to do it yourself.

Reply

Betsy @ Desserts Required June 14, 2015 at 7:48 am

I love all the colors of this dish and am with you, completely….the sides ROCK at a bbq!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 7:51 am

Betsy,
I’m thinkin’ with my salad and your dessert, we have our plates full!

Reply

Renee June 14, 2015 at 3:24 am

The most colorful potato salad I’ve ever seen. Great flavors too!

Reply

Dorothy Reinhold June 14, 2015 at 6:48 am

Thanks Renee!

Reply

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