Creamy Prebiotic Potato Salad Recipe (Simple, Easy) (2024)

FAQs

Is potato salad good for your gut? ›

Cold cooked potatoes are great for your gut health because they contain resistant starch which help feed the beneficial bacteria.

There's no reason at all, so my advice is to leave the skins on. The skin on a potato adds a nice texture and flavor to the potato salad and it's also the healthiest part.

Whole potatoes contain resistant starch, which gets fermented by bacteria in your colon. That means that spuds are considered a prebiotic, so they feed the "good" bacteria in your gut, according to 2019 research in the American Journal of Potato Research.

You can increase the resistant starch in potatoes by cooking them a day ahead and cooling them in the fridge overnight. Feel free to reheat them before you eat. Like soluble fiber, the resistant starch in potatoes acts as a prebiotic, compounds that are helpful to the bacteria in your gut.

Drop a whole russet into the pot and by the time the outside has cooked through, the inside will still be raw. Larger potatoes should be cubed to ensure they cook evenly (peeled first if desired). Smaller potatoes tend to have thin skins and can be boiled whole, no peeling required.

The thin skins are usually tender after cooking and add color to the potato salad. Dice unpeeled potatoes into uniformly-sized pieces. Place in cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer until tender.

Waxy potatoes are generally considered the best for classic potato salad because they retain their shape, you don't have to peel them, and they have a smooth texture. People who prefer a creamy potato salad that soaks up dressing like a sponge, though, opt for a starchy potato.

Combine the vinegar, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Add the vinaigrette to the potatoes. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and toss.

Should you add salt to water when boiling potatoes for potato salad? ›

Dense potatoes don't absorb seasonings easily, so you'll need to salt the water liberally so that the water the potatoes do drink up also carries in seasoning. And because potatoes are so timid in flavor, they need that salt to bring them out of their shells. Pour some salt in, then keep going.

Add lemon juice or vinegar

Lowering the pH of the potato helps fight off oxidation. Just like you might use a squirt of lime juice to keep guacamole from browning, a bit of lemon juice or white vinegar in the bowl with the potatoes will ward off gray hues.

Potatoes are loaded with nutrients including fiber, vitamin C and potassium – they're also free of fat and cholesterol. No matter which recipe you choose, potatoes are often accompanied by good-for-you veggies and herbs like celery, onions, carrots, parsley, dill and basil.

According to Boyers, the starch in potatoes is resistant to digestion, which means it travels to your large intestine and acts as a probiotic, AKA food source for your essential gut bacteria. It also helps create fatty acids that protect the gut lining and prevent harmful substances from leaking into the bloodstream.

The starch in potatoes can be hard to digest -- it's called resistant starch. So your body changes some of it into short-chain fatty acids that help keep your gut healthy and may help prevent obesity, colon cancer, and diabetes. Cooking does away with some, but it comes back when the potatoes cool.

Research suggests that potassium could have an analgesic and anti-inflammatory effect in people with rheumatoid arthritis. Since potatoes are high in potassium, this further suggests that potatoes do not increase inflammation.