As spring rolls into summer, nothing feels quite as right as a bowl of chilled, lemony potato salad. It’s the kind of dish that belongs at every picnic table, potluck, and lazy Sunday lunch. And while we all have our tried-and-true versions, every once in a while, a recipe comes along that reinvents the classic — and you realize you’ve been doing it the same way for far too long.
Enter: the Creamy-Scallion Potato Salad from Mehreen Karim’s new cookbook, Make It Plant-Based! Southern. This isn’t your average mayo-drenched bowl of boiled spuds. It’s a bold, flavorful remix that draws on Southern roots, Bengali influences, and plant-based ingenuity. The best part? It all starts with crispy, roasted potatoes and a velvety miso-scallion dressing that you’ll want to put on everything.
Southern Traditions, Reimagined
Mehreen Karim knows her way around comfort food. Raised on a Southern-Bengali fusion of casseroles, pies, and spiced vegetables, she brings both reverence and fresh perspective to the kitchen. “The South is home to a rich immigrant history and a surprisingly robust plant-based culinary tradition,” she explains. In her cookbook, she reimagines the staples — cobblers, biscuits, and yes, potato salad — with ingredients that are both accessible and animal-product free.
This potato salad reflects that exact ethos: simple, smart substitutions (hello, silken tofu!) paired with techniques that deepen flavor in unexpected ways.
Roasting, Not Boiling: The Game-Changer
The first thing that sets this dish apart? The potatoes. Most potato salads start by boiling, but Mehreen flips the script: roasting. Tossed with olive oil and kosher salt, baby Yukon Golds roast at 400°F until their edges are golden and crisp, delivering texture and flavor that boiling simply can’t. Sharing the baking tray are scallions, which char and soften, ready to be transformed into the salad’s rich, creamy dressing.
Those roasted scallions aren’t just a garnish — they’re the soul of the sauce.
A Creamy Dressing, No Mayo Needed
Let’s talk about that dressing.
Instead of reaching for mayo, Mehreen uses soft silken tofu as the base, blending it with the roasted scallions, lemon juice, white miso, maple syrup, and a hit of red pepper flakes. A splash of neutral oil rounds it out, adding body and richness. The result is tangy, savory, slightly sweet, and layered with umami — thanks to the miso and caramelized scallions.
It’s the kind of dressing you’ll want to spoon over grain bowls, drizzle on roasted veggies, or dip raw carrots into at 10 p.m. straight from the fridge.
The Build: Crisp Potatoes, Creamy Sauce, and a Hit of Heat
Once the potatoes are done roasting, they’re tossed with about half a cup of the scallion sauce — just enough to coat but not drown them. Reserved raw scallions (the ones you sliced earlier) add freshness and crunch. The result is a dish with contrast: creamy and crispy, warm and cool, comforting and zippy.
And here’s a pro tip: If you’re in the mood to bulk it up into a full meal, just toss in some white beans and a handful of greens. It instantly becomes a hearty, satisfying main dish — and still plant-based.
Keep It, Use It, Love It
The beauty of this recipe is that it’s not just about one dish — it’s about building staples you can use again and again. That leftover scallion dressing? It keeps in the fridge for a month. Smear it on sandwiches. Use it as a dip for roasted sweet potatoes. Or simply keep it on hand for next week’s Emergency Dinner (you know the one).
As for the salad itself, it’ll stay fresh in the fridge for up to three days. Perfect for weekday lunches or low-effort dinners on warm evenings when turning on the oven feels like too much.
A New Southern Staple
At the heart of this potato salad is a celebration of roots — both literal and cultural. It’s Southern soul food redefined through a lens of plant-based cooking and personal history. It’s cozy and nourishing, while still feeling light and fresh. It’s also a small act of joy, the kind that sits quietly in your fridge, ready to brighten your plate when you need it most.
So if you’re in the mood to shake up your side dish game, give this one a try. Your summer table (and your taste buds) will thank you.
Creamy-Scallion Potato Salad
Inspired by Mehreen Karim’s Make It Plant-Based! Southern
You’ll need:
- 6 scallions, trimmed (4 for roasting, 2 sliced for garnish)
- 1½ lbs baby Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 16 oz soft silken tofu
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 tbsp white miso
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with foil.
- Place 4 scallions on one side; toss potatoes with olive oil and 1 tsp salt, and spread on the other side. Roast for 30 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Transfer roasted scallions to a blender with tofu, lemon juice, oil, miso, maple syrup, remaining salt, and red pepper flakes. Blend until smooth.
- In a mixing bowl, toss roasted potatoes with ½ cup scallion sauce.
- Garnish with sliced raw scallions and serve.
Storage:
- Potato salad: refrigerate up to 3 days
- Scallion sauce: refrigerate up to 1 month
Now the only question left is: who’s bringing the lemonade?
