Turkish potato salad, aka patates salatasi, is a light but flavor-packed dish that's a little spicy and wonderfully tangy. It's the perfect crowd-pleaser, ideal for any gathering. Perfect for a summer picnic or a family dinner, this salad will quickly become a favorite.

What is Turkish Potato Salad?
Potato salad (patates salatasi in Turkish) is one of the simple and beloved dishes in Turkish cuisine that everyone knows about. It is basically a combination of potatoes, herbs and a spicy lemon dressing.
What makes Turkish potato salad special is that everyone has their own twist on the recipe. Some keep it simple with just potatoes, herbs, and dressing, while others add a variety of vegetables to make it richer. But there’s one thing very clear about Turkish potato salad: it never contains mayonnaise.
Patates salatasi a staple at potluck parties, ladies' afternoon tea parties, and even as a light lunch during summer. It also makes a great side dish to pair with grilled meats. You might even see it on the breakfast table because, in Turkish breakfast, almost anything can be served.

No Mayo, But Full of Flavor!
Patates Salatasi doesn’t contain any mayo, but that doesn’t mean it lacks flavor. In fact, it’s packed with deliciousness thanks to the fresh ingredients and amazing dressing.
The combination of herbs, like parsley and green onions, adds a burst of freshness. The grated carrots and chopped lettuce give it a nice crunch.
The real magic is in the dressing. Made with olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, and red chili flakes, it’s tangy, slightly spicy, and incredibly tasty. This dressing soaks into the potatoes, making every bite flavorful and exciting. So, even without mayo, Turkish potato salad is anything but boring!
The Perfect Dressing for Patates Salatasi
The dressing is what makes Turkish potato salad taste so amazing.

A must-have spice in this dressing is sumac. It adds a tangy, lemony flavor that really brightens up the salad. It’s a key ingredient in a patates salatasi that you don’t want to skip.
Another important spice is Turkish red pepper flakes, known as pul biber. You can use Aleppo pepper for a milder option. If you can't find these, use any red chili flakes you have.
You can find sumac and pul biber on Amazon or at online Middle Eastern shops serving your area.
For the best flavor, use extra virgin olive oil in your dressing. It has a richer taste that enhances the overall flavor of the salad.
Finally, always use freshly squeezed lemon juice.
About the Ingredients
Everyone in Turkey has their own twist on homemade potato salad, and we’re excited to share our way of making it. Here’s what you’ll need:

Potatoes: Use yellow potatoes (the most popular Turkish potatoes) or all purpose potatoes like Yukon Gold. Look for firm ones. Also, you can use waxy potatoes like red potatoes or baby potatoes (new potatoes). They hold their shape well and have a nice texture. If you prefer baby potatoes, you can leave the skins on.
Green Onions: Use both the white and green parts.
Grated Carrot: Adds a bit of sweetness and a nice crunch and color to the salad. If you don't have carrots, you can skip them.
Onion Slices: Red onions are great, but you can use white or yellow onions too.
Lettuce Leaves: Any type of lettuce works, but romaine is ideal. Just a few leave.
Parsley: Use lots of it for that freshness.
Besides the ingredients above, we sometimes add chopped fresh dill and fresh mint in our patates salatasi. If we have leftover red cabbage in the fridge, we just slice it thinly and throw it into the bowl as well.
Also, in Turkey, we love garnishing salads with olives. Throw a few black olives, green olives or kalamata olives on your salad if you like.
So, feel free to add whatever you normally like in your salad.
How to Boil Potatoes
Put the potatoes in a large pot. Cover with water and add a teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20-30 minutes. Check for tenderness with a fork after 20 minutes; cook longer if needed.
Drain and cover with cold water for 3-5 minutes, then drain again. Peel the potatoes while they're slightly warm, and they're ready for your salad!

How to Make This Recipe
(Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!)

After boiling, cooling, and peeling the potatoes, chop them into large chunks and place them in a big bowl. Add chopped green onions, grated carrot, sliced onion, chopped lettuce leaves, and parsley to the bowl.
In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sumac, and red chili flakes to make the dressing. Pour the dressing over the potatoes and vegetables. Toss everything together gently until well combined. Taste the salad and adjust the salt if needed. Serve immediately.
Version with Hard Boiled Eggs
You can make Turkish potato salad even heartier by adding hard boiled eggs.

Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Add 4 eggs and reduce the heat slightly. Cook for 8 minutes, then drain the eggs and cool them under cold water. Peel the eggs and slice them.
You can either mix the sliced eggs into your patates salatasi or use them as a garnish on top or on the side just like we do in piyaz (Turkish white bean salad). The eggs add extra protein and make the salad more filling.
Serving Suggestions
Turkish potato salad can be served in many delicious ways. On a meze platter, it pairs beautifully with other Turkish appetizers like mucver (zucchini fritters), haydari (yogurt & feta dip), and Turkish hummus.
At afternoon tea parties, it's a perfect match for dishes like kisir (Turkish bulgur salad), borek, and yaprak sarma (stuffed grape leaves).
Patates Salatasi is also one of the best Turkish side dishes to serve with meats like kofte (Turkish meatballs).
Storage
Place the leftover potato salad in an airtight container and keep it in the refrigerator. It will stay fresh for 3-4 days. We don't recommend keeping it longer than this, as the taste won't be as good.
Before serving, let the salad sit on the counter for 15-20 minutes to come to room temperature. This helps bring out the flavors. Give the salad a good toss to redistribute the dressing and flavors.

More Turkish Salads
- Turkish Chicken Salad
- Turkish Shepherd Salad
- Russian Salad
- Turkish Eggplant Salad
- Sumac Onions
- Green Olive Salad
- Turkish Pasta Salad
- Mevsim Salatasi
As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!
Sign up for the FREE GiveRecipe Newsletter to get the new recipes into your inbox! And stay in touch with us on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube and Instagram for all the latest updates.
📖 Recipe
Patates Salatasi - Turkish Potato Salad
This Turkish potato salad recipe, patates salatasi tarifi is a light, flavorful dish made with fresh potatoes, herbs, and a tangy dressing. Perfect for any occasion, it can be served as part of a meze platter, at tea parties, or as a side dish with meats. Simple to prepare and packed with flavor, it's a crowd-pleaser that everyone will love!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Combining
- Cuisine: Turkish
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 pounds (1 kilo or 4-5 large) potatoes
- 4-5 green onions, chopped
- 1 medium-sized carrot, grated
- 1 medium-sized onion (red or white), thinly sliced
- 4 lettuce leaves (Romaine), chopped
- ½ cup chopped parsley
For the Dressing:
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons sumac
- 1 teaspoon (or less) red chili flakes (pul biber)
Instructions
- Cook the Potatoes: Put the potatoes in a large pot. Fill the pot with water until all the potatoes are covered. Sprinkle a teaspoon of salt over the potatoes. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Partially cover the pot and cook for 20-30 minutes. After 20 minutes, check the potatoes with a fork. If they are tender, remove them from the heat. If still firm, continue cooking for another 5-10 minutes or until tender but not too soft. Drain the potatoes and cover them with cold water. Let them cool for 3 minutes, then drain again. The potatoes can be slightly warm while peeling.
- Prepare the Potatoes: Peel the potatoes and chop them into large chunks. Transfer the chopped potatoes into a large bowl.
- Add Vegetables: Add green onions, grated carrot, onion slices, chopped lettuce leaves, and parsley to the bowl with the potatoes.
- Prepare the Dressing: In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, sumac, and red chili flakes to make the dressing.
- Combine and Serve: Pour the dressing over the potato salad. Toss well to combine. Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use baby potatoes if you prefer, and you can leave their skins on. Their cooking time will be shorter, so check them after 15 minutes.
- It is easier to peel the potatoes when they are slightly warm. After draining, let them sit in cold water for 3 minutes, then drain again.
- Always taste the salad before serving and adjust the salt if needed.
- You can make Turkish potato salad with eggs if you want. Fill a saucepan with water and bring it to a boil. Place 4 eggs in it and reduce the heat slightly. Cook for 8 minutes, then drain and pour cold water over them. Let them cool for a few minutes, then peel and slice them. Add the sliced eggs to the potato salad.
- Store the salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 308
- Sugar: 7.4 g
- Sodium: 688.7 mg
- Fat: 11.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 49.5 g
- Protein: 6.7 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Mediterranean Turkish Cook says
Zerrincim, super bir patates salatasi bu. Gercekten de kahvalti, gunun her saatinde cok guzel oluyor. Ozellikle vaktimiz olmadigi zamanlarda. Ellerine saglik.
Lauren says
I love that I learn so much about Turkish culture from your blog! So interesting about what makes a "breakfast." I wouldn't consider most of those foods to be typical breakfast food at all!
This potato salad looks nice- I'm always on the lookout for ones that don't include mayo.
lisaiscooking says
Your breakfast for dinner looks great! The olive oil and red pepper flakes on the salad and eggs looks so delicious.
Christelle Vaillant says
Humm, simple enough and looks tasty, adopted! 🙂
Tangled Noodle says
I enjoyed your explanation of the concept of 'breakfast' in Turkey and how it refers more to the food rather than to the time of day. I would gladly have this 'breakfast' any time!
Zerrin says
Jenn- Oh I forgot to say that this salad is an indispensable food for our picnics too. thank you for reminding.
Leesie- Thank you so much for your so kind words. My camera is Fuji Finepix S5600, I bought it last year as a start to take the photos of landscapes. I'm really interested in photography and try to learn it in detail. Since I started this blog, I've been using my camera for food photography as you see. And of course I still have a lot of things to learn.
You really made me feel so happy by complimenting my English. Well, I studied English literature at university and I'm now
teaching English at university.
OysterCulture- I'm sure your potato salad will be perfect with lamb. And I'd love to be there and see the reactions when you use that expression in a conversation. 🙂
Sophie- You know me 🙂 I'm just crazy about eggs.
Natasha- Sumac is a wonderful spice for boiled potatoes.
Reeni- Glad you love it. Maybe, we can start a new movement called "breakfast for dinner". lol
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says
Wow, what a gorgeous potato salad! I love the sumac and pepper flakes here - how delicious!
Reeni says
I love eating breakfast for dinner! Here in the U.S. that usually means eggs, pancakes or french toast. This potato salad looks delicious, I would be quite happy with it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
OysterCulture says
Oh my gosh, Zerrin, you've outdone yourself. This potato dish looks amazing. I am making some to serve with some leftover lamb, and now I want to start over and make what I see here.
I cannot wait to use the expression "The Egg Pushing the Door" in conversation. I love it, and the drawing to accompany it is wonderful!
Leesie says
P.S. I've never heard of sumac either. I did a quick search of it and it sounds interesting. The only sumac I know of here in the U.S. is poison sumac (http://www.apinchof.com/sumac1114.htm) - makes your skin break out in a rash and you itch like crazy!
Thank you for teaching me new things.
Leesie says
Your pictures are so pretty! What kind of camera do you use and what lense? I think I need to get myself a nice camera, because I'd love to take some beautiful pictures, for instance, when I travel! I've never seen such crystal clear, vibrant pictures since I started reading all kinds of food and travel blogs. Zerrin, your English writing is amazing (and I'm assuming you speak it beautifully just as well) - did you learn English while going to school in Turkey? Did you go to a university in Turkey?
jenn says
Yum! Potato salad. Always great in the summer at picnics and gatherings. That looks delish!!
Zerrin says
Thank you Vanessa. Sumac is a kind of Asian spice which gives a savory taste to foods. For more information you can visit here: http://oysterculture.wordpress.com/2009/02/11/special-ingredients-sumac/
Sophie says
MMMMMM...Zerrin, this potato salad looks cute & so delicious!!
You & the love for eggs,....!!
vanessa says
this looks amazing. I have never cooked with sumac, what is is like? I digg'd it and stumbled this. Yumm!