Quick Herbed Potato Salad with Fennel (Warm or Cold)
Last updated on October 13th, 2026
This quick herbed potato salad swaps raw onion for thinly shaved fennel, so you get the same fresh crunch without the onion breath. It is mayo-free, built on lemon, olive oil, dill and parsley, and the potatoes cook evenly even when you have a mix of sizes.
It is one of my go-to potato salads for things like networking events, where nobody wants to be self-conscious about onion breath. It is one of two recipes in my full potato salad guide, which also covers a traditional potato salad from southern Germany and the cooking method behind both.
Do Potatoes and Fennel Go Together?
Yes. Raw fennel brings the same fresh, vibrant flavour and crunch that raw onion would, just without the raw onion breath. Once it is tossed with the warm potatoes, oil and lemon, the fennel softens a little but stays crunchy, and loses that really raw edge.
If you are not a fan of fennel, thinly sliced carrot, celery or radish are good alternatives, or you can simply leave it out. Fennel does turn brown once it is sliced, so mix it with lemon juice straight away. Anything acidic will do the job.
Ingredients You’ll Need
You need 1 kg of new potatoes in mixed sizes, half an average-sized fennel bulb, 3 large spring onions, a small handful each of parsley and dill, a lemon, extra virgin olive oil, salt and black pepper. The exact quantities are in the recipe card below.
New potatoes suit this salad because of their starchy texture and delicate skin, and I leave the skins on for the flavour they bring. Varieties change depending on where you live, so do not worry about the exact type. A mix of sizes is what most of us can actually buy, and this method is built for it. If you are unsure whether your potatoes are waxy or floury, my roast potatoes method for any variety covers both ends of the scale.
How to Make Quick Herbed Potato Salad
To make potato salad quickly and easily, start the potatoes in cold water, simmer them for just 3 to 4 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave them in the hot water with the lid on for 15 to 20 minutes. The potatoes cook themselves, so you can prep everything else while they sit.
Start in cold water, then switch the heat off
Use a large saucepan so the potatoes have room to move, cover them with cold water, add a little salt and put the lid on. Starting cold lets the potatoes and water heat up together, gradually. Starting with boiling water cooks the outer layer too fast and leaves the inside raw for much longer.
Bring it to the boil on a high heat, then turn it down to a simmer for 3 to 4 minutes. The potatoes will still feel very raw at this point. Turn the heat off, put the lid back on and leave them for 15 to 20 minutes. The lid keeps the heat in the pan, and this gentle, passive cooking is what gets unevenly sized potatoes cooked evenly.
To check, pierce a medium and a large potato with a fork. Both should go in easily, with just a tiny bit more resistance in the centre of the large one, and no split skins. When I cooked this on camera, I’d say the two sizes were about 5% apart in doneness. Had I simmered them all the way through, the medium ones would have split and gone mushy before the large ones were cooked.
Prep while they sit
Slice half a fennel bulb thinly, from the top down to the base, and mix it with the juice of half a lemon so it does not brown. Slice the green tops of 3 large spring onions as finely as you can. Then prepare the parsley and dill using the herb tips below.
Do not bin the trimmings. Put the herb stalks, the fennel trim and the spring onion trim into the pan with the potatoes while they sit in the hot water.
Drain, cut and dress
Drain the potatoes and leave them to cool naturally for 5 to 10 minutes, until you can handle them. If you do not like potato skins, run a small knife lightly over the surface and they come away easily. I like the flavour the skin brings, so I leave them on.
Cut the potatoes into large pieces, which helps the slices stay whole rather than break apart. Put them in a bowl with the fennel, a little salt, some cracked black pepper and a dash of extra virgin olive oil. I start somewhere between 50 and 100 ml. Mix well so every piece is coated, then add the herbs and spring onions, mix gently and taste.
Tips for the Best Herbed Potato Salad
What Herb Goes Well in Potato Salad?
In this recipe, parsley and dill. Pick the parsley leaves from the large main stalks, which can be woody. Bunch the leaves together and roll them under your fingers, pushing into the board slightly, until you have a kind of parsley cigar. Take fine slices from that compact bunch, then give the pile a 90 degree spin and chop through it a few more times. The idea with most herbs is to chop them as little as possible, so a technique like this helps when you want them reasonably fine.
Dill is more delicate, so I treat it differently. Pick the fronds from the woody stalks and tear them with your fingers. Chopping with a knife tends to break dill down too much, and it ends up coating everything in the salad. Torn dill gives you little pockets of flavour here and there rather than the same dill flavour in every bite.
Eat it warm or make it ahead
To eat it warm, add the herbs and spring onions while the potatoes are still a little warm, mix and serve. The only downside is that the green ingredients lose a lot of their freshness and colour if you add them warm and then save the salad for later.
To keep it, let the potatoes cool completely and mix in the herbs about an hour before you want to serve it. That gives them time to build some flavour, while the onions and herbs keep their freshness.
Taste and balance before serving
The potatoes soak up a lot of the oil and lemon juice, so taste and adjust. You may need more olive oil, more lemon juice for acidity, or more salt and pepper to bring everything to life. When it is right you can taste the lemon and the olive oil, but it does not feel greasy.
What to Serve With This Potato Salad
It could go with just about anything. It is a great addition to a barbecue with some fish, or as a side plate in the middle of the table, and a very good alternative to the standard potatoes and mayonnaise. It also works warm next to chicken: my pan-seared chicken breast is served with a similar warm potato salad with peas and spinach.
Quick Herbed Potato Salad with Fennel (Warm or Cold)
Equipment
- Colander
- Mixing bowl / Bowl
- Chef’s knife
- Chopping board
- Digital scales
- Measuring jug
- Saucepan
- Fork
Ingredients
- 1 kg new potatoes mixed sizes
- 3 large spring onions green tops finely sliced
- 1/2 bulb Shaved fennel average-sized bulb
- 1 small handful Dill leaves picked
- 1 small handful Parsley leaves picked
- 1/2 lemon juiced plus extra juice to taste
- 50-100 ml extra virgin olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper cracked
Instructions
- Add 1kg of new potatoes to a large saucepan, cover the potatoes with cold water and add a little salt to the water.
- Place the pan on the stove over high heat and cover with a lid.
- Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 3-4 minutes.
- After 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat, put the lid back on, and let the potatoes sit in the hot water for 15-20 minutes.
- While potatoes cook, thinly slice half a bulb of fennel.
- Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the fennel to prevent browning, then mix and set aside.
- Pick the leaves from a small handful of parsley and a small handful of dill, removing the woody stems.
- Roll the parsley leaves into a tight bunch and slice finely, then give the pile a 90° turn and chop through a few more times.
- Tear the dill fronds into smaller pieces with your fingers.
- Trim and finely slice the green tops of 3 large spring onions.
- Save the parsley and dill stems, fennel trimmings, and spring onion scraps.
- Add the saved herb and veg scraps to the saucepan with the potatoes (still sitting in hot water).
- After about 15-20 minutes total in hot water, check doneness by piercing a medium and large potato with a fork – they should be cooked but firm.
- Drain the potatoes and let them cool for 5-10 minutes until they can be handled.
- (Optional) If you don’t like skins, scrape them off gently with a small knife.
- Cut the potatoes into large chunks.
- Add the potatoes to a bowl with the sliced fennel.
- Season with a little salt, cracked black pepper, and 50-100ml extra virgin olive oil.
- Mix thoroughly to coat all potatoes with seasoning and oil.
- Add the chopped parsley, torn dill, and sliced spring onions.
- Mix everything together gently.
- Taste and adjust seasoning – add more olive oil, lemon juice, salt, or pepper as needed.
Video
Nutrition
[bg-nutrition-label id=”8656″]
