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Do you love potato salad but hate the mayonnaise dressing? This pesto potato salad is a healthier and lighter alternative. New baby potatoes mixed with thinly sliced crunchy radishes, sweet green peas and a sprinkling of chopped bacon, this salad will become a BBQ favourite.

The pesto dressing is loaded with spinach, parsley, cilantro and made creamy with walnuts and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Serve this gorgeous salad with our Best Homemade Burgers!
Pesto potato salad with radishes, peas and bacon

In the season of barbecues and outdoor eating you can’t find a more suitable side dish to a grilled steak or a burger than a nicely made potato salad.

I grew up with my mom’s best potato salad, which made me a bit of a snob. I give no excuses but I do offer recipes and this pesto potato salad is a great one!

Pesto potato salad with sliced radishes, peas and bacon
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Recipe Tips and Notes

  • I absolutely love that this potato salad is made without mayonnaise, which makes it much lighter. This creamy pesto flavoured salad is absolutely packed with nutrients, found in spinach, herbs and vegetables without using cream or dairy of any kind.

What potatoes to use

One of the most important part of making a potato salad is starting with the right kind of potato. There are two types of potatoes that exist. Floury or starchy and waxy. 

The waxy ones are what you are looking for in a potato salad as they cook up soft but still hold their shape. New potatoes are always great as well since they haven’t developed much starch yet. 

Pesto Potato Salad Ingredients

Add Bacon

Another great feature of a potato salad is a contrast of the creamy and the crunchy. In this recipe I paired  sliced radishes and peas with creamy pesto smothered potatoes.

Then I sprinkled everything with bacon because everything is improved by a bit of salty, crunchy bits that bacon brings! 

Pesto Potato Salad with sliced radishes and bacon bits.

Salad Dressing Recipe

The dressing has the basic ingredients for Italian basil pesto but instead of using basil and pine nuts as the base, I am using spinach, cilantro, parsley and walnuts.

I made so much of that pesto, and literally fell in love with the flavour that for the next two weeks I’ve been putting it in everything. My morning eggs, my sandwich and finally potato salad.

pesto potato salad on platter

Making your own pesto is very easy. Just add spinach, cilantro and parsley, walnuts lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, olive oil, salt and chilli flakes to a blender or a food processor and blend until smooth. 

Alternatively, you can buy already prepared pesto. However, I would recommend making your own spinach pesto as its taste is truly what makes this potato salad. 

If you choose to purchase your pesto sauce, go for the refrigerated pesto over jarred ones. They are so much fresher and more flavourful! 

spinach pesto in mason jar

More salad recipes for your BBQs and picnics

5 from 3 votes

Pesto Potato Salad with Bacon

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 6
New baby potatoes mixed with thinly sliced crunchy radishes, sweet green peas and a sprinkling of chopped bacon, then dressed in spinach walnut pesto.
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Ingredients 

  • 4 tbsp spinach pesto recipe
  • 450g / 1 lb new baby potatoes, cut in half or quartered
  • 10 radishes, sliced
  • 250g / 1 cup frozen and thawed green peas or fresh shelled peas
  • 4 strips bacon, chopped
  • 1 tbsp microgreens, optional

Instructions 

  • Cook the potatoes in a large pot until tender but not falling apart, they should be firm. I prefer to cook mine with the skins on. If you are using large potatoes, quarter them after they've been cooked. Let them stream dry and set aside.
  • Coat the potatoes with the pesto sauce while they are still warm. That will allow for the flavours to blend properly. Put in the refrigerator for the potatoes to cool. Cook the bacon, cool slightly, then chop.
  • Before serving toss the salad with sliced radishes, peas and chopped bacon, taste and add salt if necessary. Sprinkle with microgreens or chopped herbs.

Nutrition

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 465mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 520IU | Vitamin C: 33mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Julia from Vikalinka

About Me

Julia Frey is a London based recipe developer and photographer. Julia founded Vikalinka in 2012 with the main mission to provide her readers with delicious and accessible everyday recipes, which could be enjoyed by everyone.

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Recipe Rating




13 Comments

  1. Erin says:

    5 stars
    You are so right. The potatoes you use make the difference in the recipe. I love how creamy and delicious this potato salad is.

    1. Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says:

      Thanks so much, Erin! My potato salad texture improved so much once I realised that waxy potatoes are a must!

  2. Andrea Thueson says:

    5 stars
    Potatoes and pesto = the perfect combo! I loved this dish

    1. Julia Frey (Vikalinka) says:

      Thanks so much, Andrea! I love how much flavour this spinach pesto brings to the table!

  3. katerina says:

    5 stars
    This is totally my kind of salad!! I can’t wait to try it! YUM!

  4. chrisbar24 says:

    Congratulations! Your dedication to providing healthy recipes to others has gotten our attention. We like your awesomeness and invite you to share your culinary creations on our new recipe index site dedicated to recipes such as these, which help to promote health and longevity.

  5. Anastasia says:

    The salad looks divine! I’m also admiring the wood on your background! Gorgeous!

  6. Monique Bartley says:

    If people are trying to pinch your food while you’re back is turned, it’s always a good sign that it smell/looks/tastes amazing!

  7. emanuelle lee says:

    yum!!!

    1. Vikalinka says:

      It really is ;-). Thanks for stopping by!

  8. tinywhitecottage says:

    A wonderful looking…and sounding potato salad.

  9. Sarah says:

    Yum! LOoks awesome. Sometimes being a food snob pays off, huh?

    1. Vikalinka says:

      Yup, just like I said I make no excuses for my food snobbery. lol