This time of year, I love whipping up lemon-y potato salads and am always looking for new variations. So, I was excited to make this creamy-scallion potato salad from Mehreen Karim’s new cookbook, Make It Plant-Based! Southern.
“The recipes in my book are classics — casseroles, cobblers, pies, and biscuits — and they express the cultural influences that I know to be part of Southern cuisine,” says Mehreen, who was born in Alabama and trailed through Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee until her family settled in Georgia. She grew up enjoying Southern fare with Bengali flavors. “The South is one of the most densely populated places for immigrants and refugees, and there’s a thriving plant-based culinary tradition within soul food.”
What makes this potato salad next-level is the crispy potatoes, which are baked, not boiled. “It’s worth it,” says Mehreen. “The potatoes get perfectly crispy, and the roasted scallions add a real depth of flavor.” A splash of maple syrup balances the miso and scallions in the creamy mayo. “This plant-based mayo solves the problem of safely bringing a potato salad to a picnic,” she adds.
And if you’d like to turn the salad into a main dish, you could also toss in white beans and whatever fresh greens you’ve got on hand.
Creamy-Scallion Potato Salad
from Make It Plant-Based! Southern
You’ll need:
6 scallions, trimmed
1 ½ pounds (675 g) baby Yukon Gold potatoes (since they’re sweeter than red or purple small potatoes)
2 tablespoons olive oil 2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 package (16 ounces/450 g) soft silken tofu
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon neutral oil 1 tablespoon white miso
1 tablespoon maple syrup
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a large baking sheet with aluminum foil. Place 4 of the scallions on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Thinly slice the remaining 2 scallions and set aside for garnish.
Wash and dry the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into 1-inch (2cm) pieces and add them to a large mixing bowl. Add the olive oil and 1 teaspoon of the salt and toss to coat. Spread out the potatoes alongside the scallions on the baking sheet. Set the mixing bowl aside (to save yourself from washing it twice!). Bake the potatoes and scallions for 30 minutes, flipping the potatoes with a spatula once halfway through baking. Remove from the oven when potatoes are a deep golden brown and the scallions are brown and withered.
Using tongs, transfer the roasted scallions to a food processor or blender. Add the tofu, lemon juice, neutral oil, miso, maple syrup, the remaining teaspoon of salt, and red pepper flakes and blend for 1 to 2 minutes, until completely smooth. Taste for salt and acidity and adjust to your preference—if it tastes too salty or sour, add more oil or maple syrup.
Transfer the potatoes and ½ cup (120 ml) of the scallion sauce to the mixing bowl and toss to combine. Garnish with the reserved scallions and serve.
Store the potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Store the remainder of the scallion sauce in an airtight container or tightly capped jar for up to 1 month. It’s a great dipping sauce or condiment to have on hand.
Mehreen, thank you so much! Also, Mehreen shares 14 favorite things on Big Salad.
P.S. Eleven readers share their go-to recipes, and a trick for better summer salads.
(Potato salad photo by Emma Fishman. Photo of Mehreen Karim by Kelsey Cherry. Excerpted from Make It Plant-Based! Southern by Mehreen Karim. Copyright 2025 by Mehreen Karim. Reprinted with permission from Workman Publishing. All Rights Reserved.)
