Vegan Cajun Potato Salad

Summer is quickly approaching and this is hands down the BEST vegan potato salad you’ll ever eat. I know that’s a huge claim and everyone says that but I was stunned by the results. I tasted a similar Cajun potato salad at a local natural food store from their deli department and theirs was so good, I knew I had to recreate it. I dare say mine is a bit better (sorry, not sorry!).

I started to think about how I really could infuse this potato salad with a lot of flavor. Since it was a Cajun style, I thought about a crab boil. What’s a crab boil? It’s a boiled pot with seafood and potatoes and corn cooked in a spicy flavorful broth and is a very quintessential Cajun dish. That led me down a rabbit hole to find a boil in a bag spice mixture and when I did, it was a game changer. There’s a few brands out there for crab boil bags but I used Zatarain’s which is available in the spice section of a lot of grocery stores. If you can’t find it, you can order it on Amazon. I have a link at the end of this recipe for my Amazon store. If you want to use your own spice blend, you can wrap spices in cheesecloth and add to the pot but these bags are so much easier to use. You need to salt the boil mixture well too as it adds flavor to the potatoes and corn. Potatoes need a lot of salt. If you don’t add it to the water and try to salt the salad later it will just taste salty.

Let’s talk about Cajun seasoning. There’s also a lot of brands out there. Some are spicier than others and some have their own take on Cajun spice. I chose to use Penzey’s brand (because that’s what I had on hand), but remember that if you choose a brand with no salt, you’ll need to add it to your final dish. Notice there’s no vinegar in this recipe which is common to a lot of potato salads. I don’t like adding vinegar unless it’s for a German style salad without mayonnaise and my original inspiration salad did not have it included either. I don’t actually like the edge it brings in this or macaroni salad. Heresy to some but it’s more savory and delicious without it in my opinion.

The rest of the ingredients cast are quite simple. Potatoes, corn (fresh cobs are best, but frozen could work in a pinch), jalapeños, green onions, more Cajun spice and mayonnaise (I used plain Veganaise). Pretty standard, but boiling the potatoes and corn in that spice mixture is the key to this entire dish. I like to use Yukon gold potatoes but red would work fine as well. You want a waxy potato for this not a baking potato (which are drier and have less moisture) like an Idaho. You can double this recipe for a really big crowd, but I ate this myself over the course of three of four days and the basic recipe will feed quite a lot of people.

I cooled my potatoes and corn overnight in the fridge but if you don’t have that kind of time you should at least cool them for a few hours before mixing with the other ingredients. This also tends to taste better the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld together so plan ahead if you can. I hope you enjoy this. It really is amazing. Trust me!

Vegan Cajun Potato Salad

Recipe by Kreg

5.0 from 5 votes

Servings

10

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

This is the most incredible vegan potato salad with a spicy Cajun kick!

Ingredients

• 3 lbs Gold or red potatoes (see notes), scrubbed clean and left whole

• 2 ears fresh corn (or 1 1/2 cups frozen)

• 1 crab boil seasoning bag (see notes)

• 2 tablespoons Kosher salt

• 3 green onions, white and green part, chopped

• 1 small to medium jalapeño pepper, ribs and seeds removed and diced

• 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning blend

• 1 cup vegan mayonnaise

• salt and pepper to taste

• Cayenne pepper, optional

Directions

• In a large pot, add the scrubbed and clean potatoes whole, the 2 ears of corn, the crab boil seasoning bag and the salt. Add enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a rolling simmer and cook for 20 minutes or until a fork pierces a potato easily. Drain, toss the spice bag and cool potatoes and corn completely (at least a few hours in the fridge or preferably overnight).
• In a large bowl, scrape the corn kernels off the cob and dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces. Add the remaining chopped veggies, the mayo and the Cajun spice and fold them in gently. You don’t want to break up all of the potatoes.
• Depending on the saltiness of your Cajun spice, you may need more salt and pepper and if you really like it spicy, add cayenne to taste.
• Refrigerating overnight is best but let it rest for at least an hour in the fridge before serving. Enjoy!

Notes

• Use only waxy firm potatoes. Drier baking potatoes are not recommended.
  
• If you can’t find the spice bag, you can add some of the following spices to a piece of cheese cloth: Mustard Seed, Coriander Seed, Cayenne Pepper, Bay Leaves, Dill Seed, Allspice. I would add a few teaspoons of each spice and a few bay leaves.

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