Fennel Potato Salad Recipe

Fennel Potato Salad is creamy, flavorful, and so easy to make! It features ingredients like new red potatoes, crunchy fennel, green onions, fresh dill weed, and a creamy potato salad dressing.
5 from 2 votes
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closeup of potato salad in a wooden bowl

No picnic or backyard barbecue would ever be complete without some kind of a potato salad. However, instead of grabbing a container from the plain old potato salad from the deli section, shake things up a little with my favorite fennel potato salad.

The salad features new red potatoes, which essentially just means they are young, small red potatoes. Young potatoes have thinner skin and their flavor is subtle and slightly sweet.

Another unusual flavor in this potato salad is the fennel. It’s a great fresh end of summer ingredient and goes very well with potatoes. Overall, it give the salad sweeter notes and a hint of anise.

ingredients for fennel potato salad on the cutting board

What Does Fennel Taste Like?

Fennel is a member if carrot family. It has a large white bulb and flowering long green shoots that resemble larger dill weed in the way they look. Fennel has a pretty strong anise (licorice) aroma, but the flavor is mild.

It has a slightly sweet anise flavor that pairs wonderfully with savory and earthy vegetables. It also adds a very pleasant crunch to salads. Fennel is popular in both Mediterranean and Italian cuisines.

Tips For Working with Fennel and Making Potato Salad

Do not cut the potatoes! Leave them whole, and rinse them and place them in a pot with cold water.

Salt the water generously. Cook the potatoes in the salted, simmering water until fork tender, but not falling apart, or they won’t hold up in the salad.

Save fennel stalks: You probably don’t want to eat the actual stalks because they are tough and fibrous, but you can use it to flavor homemade soup broths. The green whiskers can be used as an herb to flavor dressings and salads. They have a similar flavor as the bulb, but are a bit milder and more citrusy. Also, even though it looks like it, it does not taste like dill weed. Discard the root.

Make ahead tip: refrigerate the dressing and potato salad separately. Then mix the dressing and salad together just before serving. This will help keep the fennel and scallions crisp.

mixing potato salad in a white mixing bowl
scooping out some potato salad from the bowl

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closeup of potato salad in a wooden bowl

Fennel Potato Salad Recipe

Fennel Potato Salad is creamy, flavorful, and so easy to make! It features ingredients like new red potatoes, crunchy fennel, green onions, fresh dill weed, and a creamy potato salad dressing.
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 488kcal
Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 lbs new red potatoes
  • 1 medium fennel
  • 1/2 red onion
  • 2 stalks of scallions (green onion)
  • 2 tbsp minced fresh dill weed

Potato Salad Dressing:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 – 1 1/2 tbsp white granulated sugar
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp black pepper to taste
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  • Rinse potatoes and place them in a pot (do not cut the potatoes!). Fill the pot with cold water, making sure potatoes are covered.
  • Add a generous amount of salt to the water. Cook potatoes in salted, simmering water (over medium heat) until fork tender but not falling apart. Drain off the water and cool potatoes completely before cutting.
  • Cut potatoes half or quarters (depending on the size) and add to a large mixing bowl.
  • To cut fennel: Place the white fennel on its side on the cutting board and cut off the green shoots close to the white bulb. Cut the fennel bulb in half, lengthwise. Place the bulb half cut side down and slice it across, thinly, like you would an onion. Discard the root.
    Note: you can use the fennel shoots to flavor the water while cooking potatoes. Just add 2-3 stalks.
  • Slice red onion thinly, chop scallions, and mince dill weed. Combine vegetables and potatoes in a mixing bowl, season with some salt, and mix with the dressing until evenly coated.
  • You can choose to serve this potato salad still warm or cold.
  • If you want to serve it cold, don't add the dressing to the salad but refrigerate both separately. Mix the potato salad with the dressing right before serving. This will help keep the fennel and onions crisp. (Note: cut the onions and fennel only about 2 hours before serving or it will start to get wilt.)

Notes

Make Ahead: cook potatoes, cool them, and mix with fennel, celery, onion, and dill weed. Whisk together potato salad dressing as well. Refrigerate the dressing and potato salad separately. Then mix the dressing and salad together just before serving. This will help keep the fennel and scallions crisp.
Storing: Store the potato salad in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator. Properly stored, it should last 3-4 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 488kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 18g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 321mg | Potassium: 1063mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 142IU | Vitamin C: 23mg | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!

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top view of the mixed fennel potato salad in a bowl

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All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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2 Comments

  1. Daisy's Kitchen says:

    5 stars
    Look yummy recipe. i can try recipe 🙂 thank you willcook

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