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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.
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
First, 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
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.
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).
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.
Just make it!
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
- 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.
- 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.)
- To a large bowl, add capers, celery, onion, bell peppers and cilantro. Dice potatoes and add to salad. Stir gently to combine.
- 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.)
- Place in a nice serving bowl.
- Serves 6.
Notes
Recipe source: Dorothy Reinhold | Shockingly Delicious
Pin the image below for Grilled Rainbow Potato Salad to your Pinterest board to save this recipe
Want more potato salad recipes?
Russian Potato Salad with Anchovy, Garlic and Lemon
This post for Rainbow Grilled Potato Salad was originally published June 14, 2015 and has been refreshed and republished today.
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At ShockD, you’ll find scrumptious, tried & true, "scary good" recipes, tips and coaching to make YOU a fabulous home cook! Don't blame me if you need a 12-step program to wean yourself away!
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Great recipe!
Thank you Alexiana!
This looks so delicious! So colorful and tasty, and I’m a huge fan of no mayo 🙂
Alida,
I know, right? Mayo can sometimes muddy things up.
This is a stunning salad, Dorothy – it’s on our Father’s Day menu – and we love Gallo wines!
Sue,
Wonderful! You will love this for Father’s Day, I predict!
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!
Shaina,
I am with you there…just pile this on my plate!
This salad is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!
Cosmo,
Thank you! It did turn out to be quite the looker!
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!
Thanks Cookin’ Canuck. You are from hardy stock to grill in the snow. 🙂
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!
Laura,
You’re right…it did turn into a hybrid of both!
Gorgeous! And I absolutely love that it’s non-mayo based. Goes perfect with wine!!!
Thanks Lori! So many things go well with wine, eh? 🙂
I love all of these gorgeous colors!!!
Thanks Liz! It turned into a bit of an artwork.
awesome recipe, love it.
Garima,
Thank you! Hope you get to make it!
Just made this. It was freaking AWESOME!!! Holy smokes. Yum on top of yum. Thanks for the. Keeper recipe 🙂
Deb,
You just made my day, my week and my year!
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!
Sarah,
These spuds came from Idaho!
Well we ARE supposed to eat the rainbow, and you perfected it in this beautiful dish! I’m definitely trying this one Dorothy!
Valerie,
Thanks, and oh, I hope you do!
I love love love potato salad, and this one looks tasty! I love the idea of grilling the potatoes!
What a great salad! I love all of the colors! The potatoes look mmm, mmm good!
Thanks Jennifer! It’s kinda fun to grill spuds.
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!
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.
I love all the colors of this dish and am with you, completely….the sides ROCK at a bbq!
Betsy,
I’m thinkin’ with my salad and your dessert, we have our plates full!
The most colorful potato salad I’ve ever seen. Great flavors too!
Thanks Renee!