A few spoonfuls of flavor-packed basil pesto give this pesto potato salad recipe its herby, garlicky flavor. Creamy hard-boiled eggs, snappy green beans, and buttery toasted pine nuts round out this quick and easy potluck side dish.
Skip the Heavy Mayo Dressing and Toss Your Potato Salad with Pesto Instead!
With so much flavor packed into each spoonful, using pesto (jarred or homemade!) as the base of this potato salad dressing is a fantastic time-saving trick. And who doesn’t love that?
A little extra olive oil and a touch of mayonnaise make the dressing smooth, creamy, and the perfect glaze for buttery red potatoes, snappy green beans, quartered hard-boiled eggs, and toasted pine nuts. So much flavor with such simple ingredients!
Where most potato salads are best served chilled, this pesto potato salad is equally delicious warm, because if you’re like me, you just can’t wait.
Enjoy!
PS. Love pesto? This pesto pasta salad is another favorite potluck side!
Ingredient Notes
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Baby red potatoes — These creamy potatoes cook quickly, and with their soft skin there’s no need to peel.
- Fresh green beans — Quickly blanched green beans add a fresh, snappy bite to this creamy salad
- Pesto — When basil is in abundance, I make my favorite homemade pesto, but feel free to use a good store-bought brand instead
- Extra virgin olive oil — Added extra virgin olive oil loosens the pesto and makes a dressing that flows evenly, coats thoroughly, and adds moisture to the potatoes.
- Mayonnaise — A few tablespoons of mayonnaise gives the dressing a bit of tang and depth, and helps emulsify the oil and pesto. I don’t recommend using Miracle Whip here because it’s not as creamy and is a little too sweet.
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper — The essential flavor boosters for any dish. If using table salt, cut the amount in half.
- Hard-boiled eggs — I’ve made this salad with and without the eggs, but my family likes it best with their creamy flavor.
- Parmesan cheese — Always use freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the most flavor and salty umami.
- Pine nuts — Creamy and buttery, these nuts taste best when toasted in a dry pan until golden brown.
How to Make Pesto Potato Salad
- Cook the potatoes. Add salt to the water to flavor the potatoes while cooking until tender, about 15 minutes. Reserve the cooking water to blanch the green beans.
- Mix the pesto dressing. Add the extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and black pepper. Mayonnaise adds a little body to the dressing.
Heidi’s Tip: Reserve the potatoes’ hot cooking water to blanch the beans so you don’t have to dirty another pot. I use a spider strainer to transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet to cool.
- Peel and quarter the hard-boiled eggs. I quarter the eggs because I like them chunky. Chop to whatever style you like best.
- Blanche the green beans in the reserved potato water. It only takes about a minute to turn the beans bright green and still retain their fresh snap.
- Chop the potatoes and mix with half of the dressing. Add half of the pesto dressing to the cooked, cut potatoes while they’re still warm to soak up all that delicious, garlicky basil flavor, then dress the rest of the salad later. (If you’re like my mom and always want extra dressing, it’s simple to whisk up more!)
- Assemble the salad. Add the green beans, Parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts, and gently toss with the dressing and hard-boiled eggs.
Heidi’s Tip: As the final step, add the eggs, then toss very lightly so they stay intact.
Ingredient Swaps and Substitutions
- Use small, creamy white or Yukon gold potatoes rather than baby red potatoes.
- Instead of basil pesto in the dressing, try kale pesto, walnut pesto, arugula pesto, or tomato pesto.
- Skip the green beans and try fresh chopped orange, yellow, or red bell pepper for a textural contrast and sweet bite.
- Swap pine nuts for toasted pistachios or walnuts. Always toast them for more flavor and crunch.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below, leave a comment to tell us what you think, and tag me on Instagram @foodiecrush.
Pesto Potato Salad
Ingredients
Potato Salad
- 2 pounds small red potatoes
- 6 ounces fresh green beans
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
Pesto Dressing
- ½ cup pesto
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook the potatoes. Add the potatoes to a medium pot and fill with enough water to cover the potatoes by 1 inch. Then, bring the water to a boil. Add 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt, reduce to a rolling simmer, and cook until tender or when the potatoes can be pierced with a fork or skewer, about 15 minutes. Do not drain the water; instead use a spider or strainer spoon to transfer the potatoes to a baking sheet or bowl.
- While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing. Whisk the pesto with the olive oil, mayonnaise, kosher salt and black pepper. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
- Add the cut green beans to the reserved potato cooking water. Simmer for 1 minute or until the green beans turn bright green. Drain the water, rinse the green beans, and add to a large mixing bowl to cool.
- Prep the potatoes. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them in half or into bite-sized chunks, depending on how big they are. While they’re still warm, drizzle with half of the dressing, and set aside to cool.
- Assemble the salad. Add the green beans, Parmesan cheese, and toasted pine nuts and gently toss with the dressing. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper to taste. Add the quartered eggs and lightly toss. Serve this potato salad warm, at room temperature, or chilled. It’s best served at least an hour after cooking so the potatoes absorb the dressing and flavor.
Notes
Nutrition
What to Serve With Pesto Potato Salad
- Grilled proteins — Grilled Salmon, Greek Marinated Chicken, BBQ Chicken, Garlic Burgers, Grilled Pork Chops
- Potluck side dishes — Classic Macaroni Salad, Cucumber Salad with Dill, Creamy Coleslaw, BBQ Baked Beans, Three Bean Salad
- Mediterranean flavored mains — Mediterranean Grilled Balsamic Chicken with Olive Tapenade, Grilled Greek Chicken Kebabs, Grilled Halibut with Tomato Avocado Salsa
More Potato Salad Recipes
- How to Make the BEST Potato Salad
- No Mayo Potato Salad
- Greek Potato Salad
- Creamy Red Potato Salad
- Roasted Potato Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Nicoise Potato Salad
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John Cikota
Creative! Good Job
Thanks John! It’s super yummy and so easy!