Crispy Shaved Potato Salad

Crispy oven-shaved potatoes meet smoky tofu bacon bits and a creamy, tangy yogurt-pickle salad bursting with dill, cucumber, and radishes. A high-protein, gut-friendly plant-based main that delivers crunch, freshness, and bold flavor in every bite.

Author Sarah Cobacho (plantbaes.com)

PREP TIME25

COOK TIME35

TOTAL TIME1

Servings 2

Course Main Course, Salad

Cuisine American

Keyword BBQ side, crispy potatoes, cucumber, Dairy-Free, garlic, high-protein salad, lemon, maple syrup, plant-based, potatoes, scallions (spring onion), soy yogurt, Summer Salad, tofu, tofu bacon, vegan potato salad

Ingredients

Potatoes

14 oz potatoes
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp garlic powder
1 ½ tbsp olive oil

Shaved tofu

9 oz extra-firm tofu
1 ½ tbsp reduced-sodium tamari
1 ½ tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp olive oil

Salad

1 cup soy yogurt
½ cup pickled cucumbers finely chopped
2 tbsp pickle juice
8 small radishes finely chopped
1 medium cucumber finely chopped
3 cups lettuce finely chopped see notes
3 spring onions finely chopped
⅓ cup fresh dill finely chopped
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 ½ tbsp lemon juice

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C) convection / fan on. Line two baking trays with baking paper.
Shave the potatoes: Remove the peel from the potatoes using a Y-shaped vegetable peeler, then keep peeling each potato to get thin slices (see notes).
Season and bake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the shaved potato and toss until completely coated. Spread onto a baking tray, making sure the slices are nicely spaced out and not piled on top of each other. Bake on the top rack of the oven for 30 to 35 minutes, (or until crispy) stirring the potatoes halfway through.
Prepare the tofu bacon bites: Pat the tofu dry, then use your vegetable peeler to shave it into thin slices. To the mixing bowl you used previously, add 1 1/2 tbsp reduced-sodium tamari, 1 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp smoked paprika, 1 tbsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp olive oil, and mix well. Add the shaved tofu and toss until completely coated. It's okay if it breaks apart a little. Spread the tofu on the second baking tray and bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 25 minutes (see notes).
Prepare the salad: In a large serving bowl, add the yogurt, pickles and pickle juice, lemon juice, dill, wholegrain mustard, spring onions, cucumber, radishes, and lettuce.
Assemble: Toss the bacon bits through the salad. Top with the shaved crispy potatoes and enjoy straight away. The potatoes start softening as soon as they hit the yogurt, so only assemble when you're ready to eat.

Notes

Potato cores: At some point it gets a little difficult to reach the very core of the potato, and that's okay (this was taken into consideration when writing this recipe, and the nutrition information). Just set the core aside to use in another recipe, such as a soup (our Zuppa Toscana is great for this), or my favourite, chop it and bake it along with the rest of the potatoes to add to the salad or keep for later. It's great as a side for tofu scramble in the morning.

Tofu: You need extra-firm tofu for the slices to hold together. There can be variation even within the same brand, and some tofu is just more crumbly. If that's the case, don't stress, just keep shaving, and if it gets a little crumbly, that's okay. They're called bacon bits after all, so they can be any shape you like. That said, the shape and size might impact the cooking time, so I recommend checking at the 20-minute mark just to make sure they don't burn, and continue as needed. We want them to be a dark colour, but not black.

Lettuce: Use any crunchy lettuce you have available.

Sodium: the sodium amount in pickles can vary a lot, if you have hypertension or are trying to reduce sodium, best to check the label, or reduce the amount.

Nutritional Information - Per Serving