This healthy vegetarian Russian Salad recipe is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. Smart twists and substitutions lighten the classic recipe without compromising on flavour. Â
Naturally gluten free, easily adaptable to be vegan. Serve with crunchy salt and vinegar Popchips for an exciting and interesting office lunch.
A working lunch at your desk at your desk can be really dispiriting. A flabby sandwich, or bowl of fridge leftovers is no way to set you up for the afternoon, and all too frequently results in a trip to the vending machine for a guilty mid afternoon chocolate bar. But with a bit of thought and preparation, you can brighten your day with a delicious and healthy meal.
This healthy Russian salad is packed with flavour and texture. There’s crunch from carrots, gherkins and radishes, sweetness from frozen peas, a carbohydrate boost from boiled potatoes and an added dose of protein for afternoon wakefulness from chickpeas. Using raw carrot and peas adds to the healthiness of this salad, and gives a crisp, fresh flavour too.
The folks at Popchips are on a mission to put an end to boring and disappointing office lunches and get everyone eating a genuinely interesting desk lunch and enjoy more by adding a bag of their favourite flavour of Popchips of course! We’ve created this recipe for this veggie packed Russian Salad  As well as being packed with colour and crunch this salad is perfect for impressing and inducing envy in your colleagues. The ingredients were put together to be served with a packet of salt and vinegar Popchips – the salty vinegary dressing and gherkins pair perfectly here. Serve with the Popchips on the side, or use them as a canape base with a spoonful of salad on each one, or just scoop the salad straight from the jar with each Popchip.
Popchips are the delicious crunchy, potato based snack that haven’t been deep fried so have 50% less fat per serving than crisps, and are available in fourteen different styles or flavours, so there’s sure to be one you’ll love!
The Russian salad started life in Moscow as rich dish with a strongly emphasis on meat and shellfish, with up to 100 different ingredients. It changed to its current vegetable recipe it spread around the world. It’s particularly popular in Spain, where it’s served as a tapas called ensaladilla Rusa. Our version is healthier than usual, as we have lightened up the dressing by using yogurt as well as mayonnaise. Use a little vinegar from the gherkins to thin the dressing to make it go even further, and coat each ingredient evenly.
How do I make this Vegetarian Russian Salad?
This is a great dish for office lunches. A bit of preparation the night before will save masses of time in the morning.
In the evening, open a tin of chickpeas, rinse, drain, spread out on a silicone mat and freeze. We keep cooked beans and pulses ready in the freezer at all times. Perfect to add to soups or stews, as a base for a bean dip or, as here, in a salad.
Boil 50g of waxy potato per person until just cooked.
Make the dressing by mixing yogurt and mayonnaise, then thin it down with a spoon of the gherkin juice for a lighter dressing than 100% mayonnaise.
Mix cubed carrot, cubed potato, frozen peas and chickpeas with sliced gherkin, sliced radish and the dressing. Transfer to a pot or jar garnish with some dill, and you’re ready to go! Grab a packet of Popchips to add extra crunch – salt and vinegar flavour goes really well with this recipe.
Using frozen chickpeas and peas means that this salad will keep cold until lunchtime if you don’t have an office fridge, then they will gently defrost on your desk all morning.
This healthy Russian salad will keep for 3 days in the fridge so make a big batch for a few day’s worth of work lunches.
How can I vary this Vegetarian Russian Salad?
You can change the vegetables according to what’s available. How about adding sweetcorn or beetroot?
A vegan version of this vegetarian Russian potato salad is easy; just make the dressing using vegan mayonnaise and yogurt.
Or, go the other way and add some cubed cooked chicken, ham, bacon, sausages, hard boiled egg or flaked smoked fish, or you might also like this dairy free pea salad with egg and bacon from Binky!
Why is is this Vegetarian Russian Salad Healthy?
It is packed with vegetables – including the raw carrots and radishes
It contains extra protein from the chickpeas – which will help keep you fuller for longer
We have replaced half the boiled potatoes with chickpeas which reduces the glycemic load
The dressing is lighter and reduced in fat by substituting low fat natural yogurt for most of the mayonnaise. As we have thinned the dressing using the vinegar from the pickles you need less of it to coat all the ingredients.
This healthy vegetarian Russian Salad recipe is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time. Smart twists and substitutions lighten the classic recipe without compromising on flavour. Naturally gluten free, easily adaptable to be vegan.
- 50 g yoghurt low fat
- 20 g mayonnaise
- 1 tsp vinegar from the gherkins. Adjust to taste.
- 1 sprig dill (chopped)
- 100 g potato preferably a waxy variety, boiled and cubed
- 60 g frozen peas
- 1 carrot large
- 0.5 can chickpeas
- 2 gherkins
- 2 radishes
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The night before, mix the dressing ingredients; use a little vinegar from the gherkins to thin to a suitable consistency.
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Boil the potatoes until just cooked.
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If you're going to eat immediately, defrost the peas in some boiling water. Otherwise use frozen.
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Cube the carrot and potato, slice the gherkins and radishes. Mix all the ingredients and dressing.
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Transfer to a jar or plastic pot. Garnish with dill and you're ready to go.
This will keep for a few days in the fridge.
The salad is infinitely variable.  Make it vegan by making the dressing with vegan mayonnaise and yogurt.
Change the ingredients around or leave some out - add different vegetables - sweetcorn of beetroot would be delicious.
Add different proteins - swap in different beans or pulses.  Add cubed tofu or slices of hard boiled egg.
For a non veggie version add cubed leftover meats - chicken, sausages, ham or bacon. Â
Serve with a packet of salt and vinegar Popchips.
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Recipe for healthier vegetarian Russian potato salad commissioned by Popchips. All opinions are our own. Find out more about Popchips here.
Jyothi
I simply looove potatoes in my salad. Can have this all week without getting bored. YUMMY
Helen
Potatoes are so tasty, great eaten cold.
Jill
Can you pack my lunch for me? It’s not lunch time here but looking at these photos is making me hungry. Love that jar and spoon too!
Helen
So easy to make Jill, and lasts three days in the refridgerator.
Tania Sheff
Being Ukrainian myself, I have a special relationship with Russian Salad. I am very intrigued with your version. Saved the recipe for later and I cannot wait to try it!
Helen
Hope you enjoy it Tania.
Traci
This looks like a salad I would make and enjoy any day of the year! Looks delicious and refreshing. Great recipe!
Helen
A tasty and healthy salad, perfect for lunch any day.
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
There certainly are a lot of flavours and textures happening in this salad. I have never used peas in a potato salad, very interesting for sure. We are potato and chickpea lovers….so we just might have to give this a try.
Helen
The peas give added nutrition, and taste great.
Sarah Bailey
Hands up I love a good potato salad, but I try and not eat it to often but with this recipe I may just be able to treat myself a little more often! Thank you.
Helen
This is a healthier version, with lots of good stuff packed in; treat yourself Sarah.
The London Mum
Surprisingly this sounds like a salad I could enjoy. I love the sound of the crunchy textures, and gherkins are my favourite! Plus pop chips are delicious!
Helen
The gherkins are a great addition, such a tangy flavour.
Rhian Westbury
This definitely looks like a much nicer lunch than what I see most people eating x
Helen
So much nicer than sandwiches.
Helen at Casa Costello
What a genius idea for using pop chips as a vessel. I must admit I tend to just dive into the bag and gobble them up.
Helen
They last a little longer if you use them as a vessel, only a little though.
Sam Jeffery
Oh such an interesting lunch choice! It’s good to mix things up a bit, I get bored with my usual work lunch!
Helen
I think if you make lunches more interesting you’re less likely to snack.
Becca Talbot
You mentioned waxy potatoes – I have to ask, what is a waxy potato?? Aren’t all potatoes just potatoes? I’d really like to try this salad for lunch boxes, but wanna make sure I get the right potatoes lol x
Helen
Potatoes have different textures. Waxy are better for potato salads as they stay firmer when cooked and don’t go fluffy and disintegrate. A fluffier potato is better for mash or baked. You can use them interchangeably, but there is an appreciable difference.
Nicolette Lafonseca
My optimistic self is ready for salads in hope the sun will.shine again, it will won’t it i will definately try this one.
I became obsessed with popchips when I was pregnant with baby 1 in Paris I in fact cried when monoprix ran out one day and I made Joe wander the streets looking for some
Helen
That truly is an obession Nicolette, but a worthy one all the same.
Helen
I haven’t seen a Russian salad before but it looks SO tasty! Definitely a lot more exciting than a boring sandwich or crackers. The Popchips will add a great crunch to it all too.
Helen
A very tasty salad with lots of flavours.
Jenni
I havent heard of a russian salad before! This looks delicious x
Helen
Very tasty, and lots of nutrition.
C x
This looks such a vibrant packed lunch option! I love that you offer variants of ingredients as this is very much how I cook – otherwise the store cupboard become unbearably packed!
Helen
My store cupboard is verging on ridiculous as so many clients need one off ingredients!
Nikki
This sounds gorgeous! I am always looking for new ideas for lunches as I tend to eat the same thing over and over again!
Helen
Adding a bit of variety always helps, and I feel stops you craving the stuff we want to avoid.
Fritha
Oh this looks delicious! I need to batch cook more, it’s such a great idea! x
Helen
Batch cooking is ideal for saving time later.
Kerry
A perfect idea for a tasty, healthier work lunch. I hate sandwiches with a passion, and this time of year I don’t like to take soup in. A carton of this salad is perfect.
Helen
I much prefer a crunchy salad to soggy sandwiches.
Matt E
I had something like this in Spain, with ham in it. Very tasty. Nice to see it is so easy to make and your healthier take on the dish means less guilt.
Helen
Less guilt, more enjoyment.
Natalie M
Salads at lunchtime are a must at this time of year. Love the idea of having little mouthfuls in the Pop chips.
Helen
The Pop chips are a nice addition.
Zara Douglas
Brilliant idea for a healthy lunch. I wouldn’t have known what a Russian salad was until reading this. Certainly ticks all my boxes.
Helen
This take on the Russian salad is simple and healthy, of course it can be changed according to preferences.
Robyn
Lovely summer salad recipe, with lots of tasty ingredients. Think I would need to make it with beetroot, that sounds even tastier.
Helen
Beetroot would be so tasty in this salad.