Potato Salad that’s creamy, fresh, and perfect for summer!
Creamy, Chunky, Easygoing Grilled Onion Parsley Potato Salad
Summertime always makes me long for the creamy goodness of my Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato Salad. This potato salad is the perfect cold side for family events, backyard picnics, or just a good old BBQ dinner night! The parsley adds an herby bite, and the grilled onions and celery add color and char to the dish.
Choose the right parsley
I recommend using fresh italian flat leaf parsley over curly leaf parsley or dried parsley. Italian flat leaf parsley is very flavorful and versatile as a fresh herb. Curly leaf parsley is far less flavorful and more often used as garnish. Dried parsley will work in a pinch, but if you have access to fresh use that.
Italian flat leaf parsley is often sold next to cilantro and kind of looks like cilantro.
Let the salad chill!
Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato salad is a cold dish! The fresh boiled potatoes will be quite warm at first, so you’ll want to refrigerate the salad before serving. This also gives important time for the parsley flavor to meld into the salad. If you taste the salad right after mixing, you’ll find the parsley tastes sharp and separate from the rest of the salad. After an hour in the fridge, you’ll find the flavors have mellowed and blended together.
Other Eggcelent Additions
This salad is relatively simple and straightforward, but is ripe for customization. Some inspirational ideas:
- Cubed, hard boiled eggs: A hearty fan favorite
- Diced apple or pear: This can add a fruity, fresh bite.
- Nuts and/or cranberries: Turns the salad fruity, crunchy, and colorful
- Carrots: shredded, thin sliced, or grilled and sliced add more color and vegetables to the dish
What to serve Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato Salad with
I love to serve potato salad with all my bbq dishes, in particular it goes great with:
- Smoked Pot Roast : Juicy beef goes great with creamy potatoes
- Smoked St Louis Ribs : Smokey tender ribs
- Smoked Boston Butt: Pulled pork is a picnic BBQ staple.
Let’s make some Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato Salad
Start a pot of water boiling, using a pot big enough for 2lb of chopped potatoes. While the water is heating up, wash and chop the potatoes. Chop the potatoes in the size you want them to be in the finished salad, I go for about 1” cubed.
Boil the potatoes for about 10 minutes, until tender and easily put a fork through. Drain the potatoes and cover. Do not mash or rinse them.
While waiting on the water or potatoes, get your grill going.
Onions: Because I don’t want the onions to fall through the grate, I put a cast iron pan directly on the grill and let it heat up too. If you don’t have a grill or do want to bother with it, you can cook them on the stove in a cast iron pan with medium high heat. To get a nice char (on the grill or stove), don’t add oil to the pan.
Peel your onion and cut off the top and bottom, then slice into sixths (like you would a pizza). Then break the onion chunks into individual segments.
Celery: Grill the celery stalks directly on the grill and the onions in the cast iron pan. Stir the onions occasionally until they have nice char marks and smell fragrant and cooked.
Wash your celery and chop into long stalks. Flip the celery until it has nice char marks.
When done, chop the celery into bite size chunks.
Now chop your parsley. Cut out the thickest ⅔ of the stalks, leaving the leaves attached. The thinnest part of the stalk is fine to leave. Chop the leafy matter in 1cm strips.
Now mix the dressing. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well. You can use half the quantities here for a decent amount of dressing. Since I used low calorie sour cream and light mayo, I used more dressing for a creamier salad.
Combine the salad! Mix the potatoes, grilled onions and celery, parsley, and dressing in a large bowl and gently mix it together. Don’t mix aggressively enough to crush the potatoes, but make sure the salad is evenly mixed. Refrigerate until chilled, at least an hour.
Serve and enjoy 🙂
Recipe for Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato Salad
Grilled Onion and Parsley Potato Salad
Equipment
- 1 Grill
- 1 Pot
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 lb Potatos Russet or White
- 1 Large Red Onion Or sweet onion
- 1 bunch Celery
- 1 bunch Italian Flat Leaf Parsley Use dried if you don't have fresh
- ½ Cup Light Mayo or full calorie
- ½ Cup Light Sour Cream or full calorie
- 2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
- 2 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
- 2 Tbsp Minced Garlic
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Wash and chop the potatoes into 1" cubes. Boil for 10 minutes until tender enough to put a fork through. Drain and set aside.
- Slice the onion into wedges and break apart. Grill in a cast iron pan on the grill without oil until slightly charred.
- Cut the celery into sticks and grill until slightly charred. Chop into bite sized pieces after grilling.
- Now chop your parsley. Cut out the thickest ⅔ of the stalks, leaving the leaves attached. The thinnest part of the stalk is fine to leave. Chop the leafy matter in 1cm strips.
- Now mix the dressing. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
- Combine the salad! Mix the potatoes, grilled onions and celery, parsley, and dressing in a large bowl and gently mix it together. Don’t mix aggressively enough to crush the potatoes, but make sure the salad is evenly mixed. Refrigerate until chilled, at least an hour.
