This cauliflower potato salad is a delicious (and healthy) spin on a classic potato salad that can be made days before serving on your next camping trip or picnic.

Although I love cooking while camping, I am not a huge fan of prepping salads while on a trip. There are so many small ingredients to pack and it can be time-consuming to chop up all the ingredients, especially on my smaller camping cutting boards.

made ahead camping salad recipe for picnics or outdoor parties

This is where homemade, pre-made salads come in handy when camping. You’ll have a fresh salad ready to serve that still taste as good as the day you made it!

This cauliflower potato salad recipe can be made before your trip and will hold well in the cooler or fridge for a couple of days before serving.

It’s also perfect for a summer BBQ, outdoor picnic, or anytime you want to bring a salad to an event that you can prepare the day before.

And, to be quite honest, I personally like it far better than a traditional potato salad.

Ingredients in Cauliflower Potato Salad

Cauliflower: I LOVE the flavor of roasted cauliflower, so this recipe uses that cooking technique. You can also boil the cauliflower in salted water for about 5 minutes to cook it as well. If you hate cauliflower, use the original star in this recipe, a potato!
Hard Boiled Eggs: I included steps in the recipe for how I hard boil eggs to get the perfect cook that can be easily peeled, every time. Once I learned this method, I haven’t had a bad batch of hard boiled eggs!
Red Onion: Substitute three sprigs of green onion for a much milder onion flavor.
Pickles: You can use any type of pickle for this recipe. I love dill pickles, but you could also sub bread and butter pickles. You’ll need about 1/4 cup of diced pickle total.
Celery: This gives a nice crunch and some freshness.
Fresh Dill: Although this recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons, this little bit of fresh dill adds a ton of vibrant flavor. If you love dill, you can easily get away with adding more!
Mayonnaise: I actually love the taste of mayonnaise, but if you’re looking for a healthier version of the dressing, you can substitute plain greek yogurt for the mayonnaise.

a note from Jenny

Although I absolutely love this recipe and bring it with on many of our camping trips, no one else in my family will eat it.

My kids aren’t huge “picnic salad” fans in general, and then when I add fresh onion to anything, they won’t touch it. More for me!

Looking for more camping salad ideas? I have a post rounding up my favorite salads for camping here.

For now, check out my make ahead Kale Quinoa Chicken Salad or this Mediterranean Bean Salad.

How to make Cauliflower Salad

In this section you’ll find a step by step tutorial of how to make this recipe with photos. The full recipe with exact measurements, steps and a printable card can be found at the bottom of the post.

1. Roast the cauliflower

Roasted cauliflower is one of my favorite foods and my all-time favorite cooked vegetable. When roasting the cauliflower for this recipe, it’s important to cut the pieces in similar sizes so they all cook evenly. You want them to be slightly tender to the bite, but not too soft.

Massage olive oil into the cauliflower florets with a pinch of salt and black pepper.

I personally like them with just a little bit of crunch for this salad, and roasting for 10 minutes at 450 degrees results in this texture. Of course, you can roast for longer for softer cauliflower pieces.

You can also boil the cauliflower instead of roasting. Cook the cauliflower in salted water for about 5-6 minutes until slightly tender. Drain and cool completely.

2. Dice all the other salad ingredients

When dicing the celery, red onion and pickles, aim for diced pieces quite a bit smaller than your pieces of cauliflower.

Mince the dill into small pieces.

Dice the hard-boiled eggs into larger pieces so they don’t fall apart.

3. Make the dressing

Mix together mayonnaise, dijon mustard, pickle juice and lemon juice. Add pepper to taste. I do not find the need to add additional salt to the dressing because the cauliflower is salted before roasting and pickles are quite salty, but you can obviously add it to your taste at the end.

I do not love a ton of mustard in my salads, so the 2 teaspoons in this recipe give a slight hint of mustard flavor without it being too overpowering. Of course, you can add more to your liking.

4. Toss salad with dressing

In a large mixing bowl, toss together all the salad ingredients (make sure you’re using completely cooled cauliflower) and then add the dressing to coat. Place the salad in the refrigerator until ready to pack into the cooler or until ready to serve.

I like to pack my pre-made camping salads in ziplock bags so they lay flat in the cooler.

I hope you enjoy this faux potato salad! Of all the make-ahead salads on my site, this one is my favorite.