With Labor Day right around the corner, I’ve yet to come to terms with the fact that summer is coming to a close. I’m in denial. I can’t deal. I’m not ready to give up my morning iced coffees, tanned legs and sundresses.
To ease my pain, I’m whipping up this Potato & Green Bean Salad with Dill Ranch Dressing on repeat. You know you needed a killer potato salad to add to your repertoire. Welp, consider this your ticket to barbecue/beach cookout stardom. Go out with a bang this Labor Day. Hearty Yukon Gold potatoes, bright and crunchy green beans (because green stuff makes it virtuous, am I right?), and the best vegan ranch dressing – heavy on the dill. I dare you not to gobble it up, or go back for seconds.
My fave potato salad dressing used to be a simple mix of olive oil and apple cider vinegar. That is, until I took my favorite vegan ranch and poured it all over our go to potato and green bean combo. I can’t go back. I won’t.
Cashews and full fat coconut milk comprise the base of the dressing. (Check out my past ratings of popular coconut milk brands to get you started.) Soaked and pureed cashews provide just the right amount of richness and coconut milk adds creaminess, while both are neutral enough in flavor to allow the fresh garlic and trio of herbs – dill, chives, and parsley – to be the stars of the show. If you’re not a huge fan of dill, leave it out completely and up the chive and parsley quotient. Add more lemon juice for a tangier dressing or throw in an extra garlic clove if dragon breath is your thing.
Another virtue of this salad is how easily it comes together. All you need is a pot of boiling, salted water and a blender. Serve alongside a Watermelon and Arugula Salad with Cornbread Croutons and Cucumber Lime Spritzers and tell fall to back the heck off.
- 1½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into large chunks
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed
- ⅓ cup green onions, chopped
- ½ cup raw unsalted cashews, soaked for 2 - 24 hours
- ½ cup light or full fat coconut milk (add ¼ cup more for a runnier dressing)*
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh chives, roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add green beans and blanch for 2 minutes. Remove using a large slotted spoon and place in an ice bath or run under cold water to halt cooking. Roughly chop green beans.
- Add potatoes to boiling water and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Combine drained cashews, coconut milk, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper in a high speed blender. Mix until very smooth, about 2 minutes, then add dill, chives and parsley. Blend for 10 seconds more.
- Spoon a ½ cup of dressing over green beans and potatoes. Gently stir to coat. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with green onions.
Shelltel says
Delicious side recipe! Omg we could not stop eating it!! Instead of dragon breath, we added some left over roasted garlic to the dressing! It was magical! I have a few bulbs of black garlic, so, next time I am going to try it with some black garlic in there instead. Thank you for sharing your scrummy recipe! 💖
Anna says
This souce was delicious, what a great alternative to mayo! I’ll be coming back to this recipe, thanks for sharing 💖