Best Potato Salad

Learn how to make potato salad with this easy recipe! The perfect BBQ side dish, it's creamy and flavorful, made with tangy pickles, celery, and mustard.

Potato salad

This potato salad recipe is hands down the BEST I’ve tried. It’s creamy, it’s tangy, and it’s flecked with savory herbs, crunchy celery, and (optional, but delicious) hard-boiled eggs. I’ll be bringing it to every cookout and BBQ we attend this summer. This potato salad recipe is so tasty that I can’t get enough!

It’s essentially the classic potato salad that appeared at every picnic and potluck throughout my childhood, but it has a few key twists. First, I add diced dill pickles for crunch, and I also mix a splash of pickle brine into the creamy mayo and mustard dressing. The extra burst of acidity really makes the potatoes pop. Fresh herbs liven up this recipe too. Dill brings out the tartness of the pickles, and chives add an oniony kick. Try it once, and you’ll never need another homemade potato salad recipe.

Potato salad recipe ingredients

What’s In This Potato Salad Recipe

To make this potato salad recipe, you’ll need these simple ingredients:

  • Potatoes, of course! You’ll need two pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes. Read more about why I love using them in potato salad below!
  • Celery – It adds fresh, savory flavor and crunch.
  • Dill pickles – For more crunch and sour flavor. You’ll use some of the pickle brine in the dressing too!
  • Mayonnaise – It makes the dressing rich and creamy.
  • Apple cider vinegar and yellow mustard – They add sharp, tangy flavor to the potato salad dressing.
  • Garlic – For savory bite.
  • Chives and dill – These fresh herbs balance the rich dressing and starchy potatoes. No chives handy? Thinly sliced green onions would work here too.
  • Hard-boiled eggs – A classic potato salad recipe ingredient! They make it extra-creamy. We love them here, but I list them as optional. Feel free to skip them if you’d like.
  • And salt and pepper – To make all the flavors pop!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

What kind of potatoes are best for potato salad?

Good question! I recommend Yukon Golds.

These yellow waxy potatoes have the perfect texture for potato salad. They hold their shape well after boiling, but they still break down enough to make the salad creamy. They also do a great job soaking up the flavors from the dressing. Plus, their skins are so thin that there’s no need to peel them!

Avoid russet potatoes and starchy red potatoes here. Their high starch content means that they can easily turn to mush as you mix the salad together. I like creamy potato salads, but mushy ones? No thanks.

Whisking creamy dressing in glass bowl

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

Ready to cook? Here’s how to make this potato salad recipe:

First, boil the potatoes. Wash them well and cut them into 1/2-inch pieces. Then, place them in a large pot and cover them with cold water by 1 inch. Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, make the creamy dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the pickle juice, mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper. The dressing will taste sharp on its own, but its flavor will balance once it’s on the potatoes.

Pouring creamy dressing over boiled potatoes

Next, dress the potatoes. Place them in a large bowl and pour on the dressing. Mix well, mashing the potatoes slightly, until the salad becomes creamy.

Potato salad recipe ingredients in mixing bowl with wooden spoon

Then, fold in the other ingredients. Add the pickles, celery, and hard-boiled eggs…

Adding herbs, celery, pickles, and hard boiled eggs to bowl of potato salad

…along with the chives and dill.

Stirring best potato salad in large bowl

Mix well to combine.

Chill the salad for at least 1 hour—and up to 1 day—to allow the flavors to meld.

Finally, season to taste and serve. If you like, garnish it with more dill just before digging in. A little fresh parsley would be a great topping too.

Creamy potato salad with herbs

Recipe Tips

  • Mash it. I like this recipe best when the potatoes are mashed slightly. The salad should be really creamy with some larger potato chunks still remaining. The Yukon Gold potatoes won’t fall apart on their own, so make sure to mash them up a bit as you stir the salad together.
  • Chill it. The secret to the best potato salad is giving the flavors a chance to meld. Chill this salad for at least an hour—and up to a day—in the refrigerator before serving. The potatoes need time to soak up that delicious dressing!
  • Make it vegan. Do you have plant-based guests coming to your cookout? Make this recipe vegan by skipping the eggs and using vegan mayo in the dressing. Alternatively, make this non-traditional vegan potato salad recipe!

What to Serve with Potato Salad

This potato salad recipe is a must-have at a BBQ! Serve it with any of these classic cookout mains:

Round out the meal with other summer side dishes like grilled vegetables or grilled corn, vinegar coleslaw, and fruit salad. Enjoy!

Best potato salad recipe

More Favorite Summer Side Dishes

If you love this creamy potato salad recipe, try one of these summer side dishes next:

Want even more summer side dish ideas? Check out these 33 Best BBQ Sides!

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Potato Salad

rate this recipe:
4.91 from 53 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Chilling Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves 6
The BEST potato salad recipe! Perfect for picnics and BBQs, it's creamy, tangy, and flavorful. Bonus: it tastes even better if you make it ahead.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until fork-tender. Drain and set aside to cool to room temperature.
  • Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a medium bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, pickle brine, apple cider vinegar, mustard, garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper.
  • Place the cooled potatoes in a large bowl. Add the dressing and stir to coat, mashing the potatoes slightly so that the salad becomes creamy.
  • Fold in the celery, chopped pickles, chives, dill, and hard-boiled eggs, if using.
  • Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 1 day.
  • Season to taste and serve. Leftover potato salad will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

88 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Kara S
    07.31.2023

    5 stars
    This potato salad will be on rotation for sure! Love adding the pickles to it! Added local Grillo pickles and brine and topped with herbs for a delicious dish.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  2. ErinDominy
    07.31.2023

    5 stars
    Potato Salad made with yellow mustard is a childhood favorite and this recipe takes it to another level with the pickle brine. Perfectly tangy and herby! This will definitely be a BBQ staple.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m glad you enjoyed it!

  3. Bridget Cassun
    07.31.2023

    5 stars
    Delicious; loved the tang of the dill pickle brine and the fresh herbs! Made it with the vegan mayo to keep it vegan. Perfect for a BBQ side dish!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  4. Mik
    07.30.2023

    My wife and I made this recipe ( and keep making it). It is so lovely; the gherkins ad a lovely and mild sourness to the sauce, and it feels like a well-made mayo hybrid with a tartare sauce. We left the skin on for the potatoes to add an extra layer of texture. Truly a delicious recipe, thanks, Jeanine!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  5. Natalie Vassallo
    07.29.2023

    5 stars
    This potato salad is the BEST! I have to be honest that I was a little skeptical of all of the dill but the balance is perfect. We added some leftover chives and celery seed for just a little something extra. Can’t wait to make it again!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m so glad you loved it!

  6. Stevie Smith
    07.28.2023

    5 stars
    Made this with vegan mayo and it was great! Really like the fresh herbs and pickles!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      08.01.2023

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it!

  7. Lacy Fry
    07.27.2023

    4 stars
    Great recipe! I added a bit of Greek yogurt to the mayo and added more hard boiled eggs 😉 Love the dill and pickle juice additions, I definitely prefer tangy potato salad and this delivers!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      07.28.2023

      Hi Lacy, So glad you loved it! Tangy potato salad all the way!

  8. Laurie Bettini
    07.27.2023

    5 stars
    A very creamy, super delicious potato salad! To add some spice, I used my pickled jalapeno juice and minced jalapenos with the pickles. The dressing makes the perfect amount, and I love the addition of the fresh dill! So good!

  9. Melissa Olin
    07.26.2023

    5 stars
    Thi was a big hit with my husband and 10 yo daughter. Traditional potluck fare has been making a come back this summer and this was another great side to compliment dinner.

  10. Melanie Petersen
    07.25.2023

    5 stars
    This Potato Salad was so good. I had to make a couple of adjustments since I am vegetarian. Used Vegan Mayo and Avocado (instead of eggs). I also added some red onion. The tang and flavor was on point.

  11. Connie Schrider
    07.25.2023

    5 stars
    Easy to make, delicious and fresh with a bold flavor. It reminded me of our family picnics growing up in the West Coast, we used eggs and dill pickles in our potato salad. YUMMY!

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.