Potato salad is synonymous with summer and one of our favorite things to eat with grilled meats. Our boys haven’t really been fond of potato salad or anything potato until the last six months. Hockey Guy has suddenly become Mr. Potato and Top Gun isn’t far behind, and part of the reason is this baked potato salad. The combination of colorful potatoes and simple homemade Vidalia onion vinaigrette won over the family, and it’s perfect for cookouts because there’s no dairy and won’t spoil so quickly on a summer day.
We used to buy the bottled Vidalia onion dressing, but since we started making this at home, we can’t go back to store-bought because the flavor is so fresh. And it’s so easy the kids can make it with a little supervision at the food processor.
Here’s how we make it:
Place potatoes on roasting pan and bake, then remove from oven and cut into chunks.
Process the onions and mix in the remaining vinaigrette ingredients.
Pour the vinaigrette over the potatoes and toss gently, then sprinkle on the parsley. That’s it!
Make sure to visit The Kids Cook Monday for more recipes to cook with your kids, and check out the rest of our Kids Cook Monday recipes below.
How Adults Can Help the Kids
- Demonstrate and assist with any tasks that might be new: measuring and pouring.
- Assign the simpler tasks such as cleaning the potatoes and measuring the vinaigrette ingredients to the younger kids, and save the more challenging tasks for the older kids and adults.
Safety Tips
- Make sure an adult is present at all times.
- Young children should not use a food processor by themselves. Make sure an adult or older child or teenager helps.
- The potatoes and will be very hot when they come out of the oven, so teach the children to not touch the hot pan.
- 3 pounds (1.362 kilos) small potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 1 large (8 to 10 ounce/240 to 296 g) Vidalia onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) honey
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (gluten-free brand)
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 3 ounces (89 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- Preheat the oven to 425° F/220° C. Arrange the potatoes on the roasting pan and bake until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 to 30 minutes.
- While the potatoes bake, put the Vidalia onion wedges in the food processor and process until the onion is minced and juicy, about 15 to 20 seconds. Add the apple cider vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, sea salt, and pepper. Process until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, about 10 seconds. While running the processor, drizzle in the olive oil until it is fully suspended, about 5 to 8 seconds. Pour into a pint jar.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool in the pan until they are warm but not burning your fingers, about 5 to 10 minutes. Quarter the potatoes and put the pieces in a serving bowl. Toss about 1/2 cup (120 ml) of the vinaigrette with the potatoes, adding more vinaigrette to taste. Toss in the parsley and serve. The remaining vinaigrette can be used for other salads and will keep in the refrigerator up to two weeks.
bottom of a roasting pan
food processor
Recipe Notes
Prep time includes cooling time for the potatoes.
More Kids Cook Monday Recipes
For the complete list of The Kids Cook Monday recipes, visit my Cooking with Kids page.
Elaine says
August 8, 2012 at 8:50 amThis looks fantastic. I get so many good ideas here. Thank you!
Andrea says
August 11, 2012 at 3:59 pmThanks Elaine! Hope you like it.
Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) says
August 10, 2012 at 5:50 amThanks for linking to my sesame potato salad, which reminds me that I haven’t made it for a while! I don’t think I’ve ever met a potato salad I didn’t love.
Andrea says
August 11, 2012 at 4:00 pmLydia, your sesame potato salad looks so good!
Lauren says
August 14, 2012 at 6:44 amHello Andrea,
I had an abundance of small red potatoes from the farmer’s market, so I stumbled upon this recipe searching for a healthy and yummy way to use them up. I shared with my family, and they loved it as much as I did! So light yet tasty and satisfying…a great summer side dish!! Thank you.
Lauren