Fauxtato Salad (Keto-Friendly "Potato" Salad)
Posted: July 25, 2025
Updated: December 4, 2025
Instinct Level 4 – Advanced Technique: Patience and precision shine here: complex steps, longer time, sharper skills required.
Instinct Level 3 – Intermediate Balance: A little layering, some timing, and a dash of judgment — you’ve got this.
Instinct Level 5 – Expert Challenge: Multi‑stage, high‑skill cooking with nuanced judgment — a true kitchen adventure.
Instinct Level 2 – Easy with Guidance: Simple skills, short prep, clear steps — just follow along and you’re golden.
Instinct Level 1 – Beginner Friendly: You’ll breeze through this: quick, easy, no judgment calls, barely any cleanup.
This keto-friendly fauxtato salad tastes just as good as the classic version and is enjoyed by everyone. The salad is also gluten-free and vegetarian (when omitting the bacon), so it is a highly versatile version for potlucks. Even if you still love potato salad (or especially if you do)…I recommend trying this crowd-pleasing dish!
servings – about ½ cup per serving
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Hands-On Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 to 35 minutes
Chilling Time (optional): 30 minutes
Total Time (including chilling time): 1 hour and 15 minutes
Equipment
baking sheet (half-sized or 2 quarter-sized, rimmed)
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Ingredients
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Quantity
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Dressing
Item
Quantity
| mayonnaise | ¼ | cup |
add more if a creamier texture is desired |
| Dijon mustard | 1 | tablespoon | |
| dill pickle juice | 1 | tablespoon | |
| freshly squeezed lemon juice | 1 | tablespoon |
juice lemon(s) (1 medium lemon ≈ 3 tablespoons) |
| Fab Four seasoning blend | 1 | tablespoon | |
| bacon drippings (optional) | 1 | tablespoon |
use drippings from pan-cooked bacon |
Roasted Cauliflower
Item
Quantity
| cauliflower | 1 | medium head |
chop into bite-sized pieces (2 pounds ≈ 6 cups) |
| extra virgin olive oil | 2 | tablespoons | |
| Fab Four seasoning blend | 2 | tablespoons |
Add-Ins
Item
Quantity
| eggs | 3 | large |
hard-boil, peel, and roughly chop. use more eggs for garnish and quarter. |
| dill pickle | 1 | medium |
medium diced (1 pickle ≈ ½ cup) |
| radishes | 5 | medium |
small-medium diced (5 radishes ≈ ½ cup) |
| black olives | 3 | ounces |
sliced (≈½ cup per 3 ounces) |
| celery | 1 | stalk |
small-medium diced (1 stalk ≈ ½ cup) |
| green onions (white & green parts) | 3 | stalks |
sliced (3 stalks ≈ ¼ cup) |
| bacon (optional) | 4 | strips |
cooked, chopped or crumbed |
| fresh dill or chives (optional) | 2 | tablespoons |
chopped for garnish |
The Process
Prepare & Cook
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1.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Ensure that the rack is towards the top of the oven. If not cooking bacon, place an empty sheet tray in the oven to preheat for roasting the cauliflower.
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Cook the bacon (if using): Lay 4 strips bacon on a sheet pan lined in a single layer and place in the oven. Flip bacon slices after about 7 minutes and cook until bacon is crispy enough to crumble (about 15 minutes). Drain on a wire cooling rack or lay on paper towels and allow to cool.
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Make the dressing: In a small mixing bowl, combine ¼ cup mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon dill pickle juice, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon Fab Four seasoning, and 1 tablespoon bacon drippings (if using). Taste and adjust ingredients to your preference. Add more mayonnaise or juice to adjust the consistency – dressing should be thick but pourable (like bottled ranch dressing). Set aside to allow the flavors to meld.
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Hard boil the eggs: Place 3 large eggs (add more if using for garnish) in a saucepan and cover with enough water to cover the eggs by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat (7 to 10 minutes), remove from heat, cover with a lid, and let sit for 15 minutes. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water and submerge completely. Set aside.
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Chop the cauliflower: While the eggs are cooking, rinse 1 medium head cauliflower. Remove the green leaves and stem. Cut the head in half lengthwise (top to bottom), then into quarters in the same direction. Slice off the thick core from each quarter and break the florets apart with your hands or cut them with a knife. Trim any large florets into bite-sized pieces (about the size of a smaller button mushroom). Place into a medium mixing bowl.
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Roast the cauliflower: Generously cover the chopped cauliflower with 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons of the Fab Four blend. Taste and adjust seasonings and oil to ensure that each piece is covered. Place cauliflower in a single layer on the bacon sheet that was used to cook the bacon (or preheated sheet) and place in the oven. Roast for at least 10 minutes, then check on the cauliflower, turning the pan or pieces if needed – pieces should be slightly browned on the outside but still have resistance when pierced with a fork (slightly firmer than potatoes used for potato salad).
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Chop, slice, dice, and crumble the add-ins: Peel, rinse, and rough-chop 3 large hard-boiled eggs (more if using for garnish). Slice (or rough chop) 3 ounces olives, and slice 3 stalks green onions. Dice 1 stalk celery (leaves are okay as well), 1 medium pickle, and 5 medium radishes. Chop or crumble the cooked bacon.
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Taste the dressing again: After dressing has been mixed for about 15 minutes, taste again and add additional seasonings or ingredients based on your preferred flavor and consistency.
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Mix everything together (finally!): In a large bowl (you want it to be larger than the final salad amount so you can thoroughly mix), add the cauliflower, chopped add-ins (setting aside amounts desired for garnish), and the dressing. Mix gently (so as not to mash the cauliflower too much) until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and the dressing evenly coats the cauliflower. Taste and adjust seasonings.
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Serve
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10.
If desired, transfer the salad to a bowl that is just large enough to hold the salad. Garnish the salad by topping with additional sliced hard-boiled egg, green onions, olives, bacon, chopped dill or chives, and sprinkling with smoked paprika or lemon pepper. Ideally, allow the salad to “rest” in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes so the flavors can meld and the salad can chill.
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Notes
Meal Suggestions
Anything BBQ – this hearty Fauxtato Salad pairs perfectly with grilled burgers (both regular and veggie versions), barbecued meats, or roasted chicken for summer gatherings. Serve it alongside couscous salad or Mediterranean dishes like grilled fish for a complete meal. For lunch, add chopped rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken thighs. It's particularly excellent for picnics and potlucks where traditional potato salad would be served (some won’t even notice the difference!).
Shortcuts
Use pre-cut cauliflower florets from the refrigerated or freezer section to save on prep time. If refrigerated, follow the same directions above. If frozen, roast directly from frozen (do not thaw), using the preheated sheet pan. Be sure to spread the cauliflower out as much as possible (using two pans if necessary) so the cauliflower does not steam and increase the cooking time to at least 15 minutes.
Make hard-boiled eggs in batches on meal prep day - they keep for up to one week in the refrigerator, unpeeled and up to 5 days peeled and stored in an airtight container.
Pre-make the dressing up to 3 days ahead and store in the refrigerator; flavors actually improve over time.
Use pre-cooked bacon or bacon bits to skip the bacon-cooking step entirely.
Precut/sliced add-ins such as olives, celery, etc. are a time saver.
Troubleshooting
Dressing too thick: Add more pickle juice or lemon juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Dressing too thin: Add more mayonnaise or sour cream gradually.
Too bland: Increase salt, garlic powder, or add more pickle juice for tanginess.
Cauliflower is too mushy: This can be prevented by keeping an eye on the cauliflower after about 10 minutes in the oven; cauliflower should still have some resistance when pierced with a fork.
Cauliflower is not browning: Increase oven temperature to 450°F or use convection setting; ensure pieces aren't overcrowded on the pan.
Salad seems watery: Pat roasted cauliflower completely dry before mixing and drain any excess liquid from add-ins like pickles. As you chop, consider adding ingredients to a fine mesh strainer.
Make Ahead
The cauliflower and add-ins can be cooked, chopped, and mixed a day in advance. The dressing can also be made up to 3 days ahead of serving. Just wait about 4 hours before serving, mix the chopped items and the dressing, garnish as desired, cover and refrigerate.
Storage & Leftovers
Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. The salad will become less creamy over time since the cauliflower will absorb the dressing, but the flavor will still be there!
Substitutions & Variations
Replace the cauliflower: Roasted rutabaga, radishes, or hearts of palm can be used to replace (or add to) the cauliflower.
Extras: Add-ins and amounts can be adjusted to your tastes or the theme of the dinner – don’t limit your creativity and consider capers, roasted garlic, diced bell peppers, red onions, shallots, crumbled cheese, pine nuts, chickpeas, chicken, and diced ham are all yummy options.
Make the dressing healthier: Greek yogurt, avocado, and/or hummus could all be used to replace or complement the mayonnaise.
Minimize food waste: The green stems of the cauliflower can be used too! We found that just chopping pieces the same size as the white part resulted in components that were tough and woody. However, smaller pieces or matchsticks are small enough to tenderize when roasting with the white part. The green parts taste like cauliflower and add extra crunch. Grating onto the salad works too.
Substitutions & Variations – Shelf-Stable & Frozen Ingredients
Pre-chopped cauliflower, green onions, lemons, and bacon can be frozen. The green onions can be mixed into the salad and used as a garnish directly from the freezer.
Substitutions & Variations – Vegan
Omit bacon (or replace with vegetarian versions) and eggs (consider using kala namak (black salt to add some eggy flavor)). Adjust the other add-ins to your taste. Replace the mayonnaise with vegan mayonnaise or aquafaba mayonnaise.
Substitutions & Variations – Vegetarian
Omitting the bacon makes this easily vegetarian – add a protein boost by adding cheese, chickpeas (roasted or straight from the can), extra hard-boiled eggs, or toasted nuts.
Safety Tips
Keep the salad cool when serving: Salad should not be out of the refrigerator for longer than 2 hours (1 hour if it is really hot – like 85 degrees or so). When serving in a warm environment, ice baths or ice packs are helpful to keep the food safe and more palatable (a great way to reuse the ice packs from meal delivery services).
FAQs
Q: Can't I use actual potatoes?
A: Of course, the add-ins and the dressing are riffs on classic versions. Just replace all (or some) of the cauliflower with peeled and boiled potatoes.
Cost
10 servings
| Ingredient | Per Serving | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mayonnaise | $ | 0.03 | $ | 0.32 | |
| Dijon mustard | 0.01 | 0.15 | |||
| lemon juice | 0.01 | 0.12 | |||
| Fab Four Blend | 0.02 | 0.20 | |||
| bacon | 0.04 | 0.40 | |||
| cauliflower | 0.40 | 3.99 | |||
| oil | 0.04 | 0.36 | |||
| Fab Four Blend | 0.04 | 0.40 | |||
| eggs | 0.09 | 0.90 | |||
| pickles | 0.02 | 0.20 | |||
| radishes | 0.05 | 0.50 | |||
| olives (black) | 0.14 | 1.35 | |||
| celery | 0.02 | 0.20 | |||
| green onions | 0.10 | 1.05 | |||
| bacon | 0.34 | 3.40 | |||
| chives (fresh) | 0.04 | 0.36 | |||
| Total | $ | 1.39 | $ | 13.90 |
At $1.39, this is a good versatile, cost-effective option for potlucks.
Nutrition Facts
serving size: ½ cup
| calories | 203 |
% daily value*
| total fat | 17.0 g | 22% |
| saturated fat | 4.1 g | 21% |
| trans fat | 0.1 g | 0% |
| polyunsaturated fat | 2.0 g | 0% |
| monounsaturated fat | 5.2 g | 0% |
| cholesterol | 68.2 mg | 23% |
| sodium | 710.5 mg | 31% |
| total carbohydrates | 6.0 g | 2% |
| dietary fiber | 2.2 g | 8% |
| sugars | 0.0 g | 0% |
| protein | 8.5 g | 17% |
micronutrients
| vitamin a | 55.0 mcg | 6% |
| vitamin c | 29.8 mg | 33% |
| calcium | 64.9 mg | 5% |
| iron | 2.2 mg | 12% |
| vitamin d | 17.3 mcg | 87% |
| magnesium | 20.2 mg | 5% |
| potassium | 299.9 mg | 6% |
| zinc | 1.0 mg | 9% |
| phosphorus | 91.5 mg | 7% |
| thiamin (b1) | 0.1 mg | 12% |
| riboflavin (b2) | 0.1 mg | 11% |
| niacin (b3) | 1.0 mg | 7% |
| vitamin b6 | 0.2 mg | 12% |
| folic acid (b9) | 47.8 mcg | 12% |
| vitamin b12 | 0.3 mcg | 11% |
| vitamin e | 2.9 mg | 20% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet; your needs may differ.
Nutrition information is estimated using USDA databases and may vary based on ingredient brands and preparation methods.
The 2,000-calorie reference is used as a general guide. Individual calorie needs typically range from 1,600-2,400 calories per day for adult women and 2,000-3,000 calories per day for adult men, depending on age, activity level, and other factors.
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