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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Then, fold in the other ingredients. Add the pickles, celery, and hard-boiled eggs…
…along with the chives and dill.
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.
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:
- Best Veggie Burgers
- Black Bean Burgers
- Portobello Mushroom Burgers
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
- Vegan Hot Dogs
Round out the meal with other summer side dishes like grilled vegetables or grilled corn, vinegar coleslaw, and fruit salad. Enjoy!
More Favorite Summer Side Dishes
If you love this creamy potato salad recipe, try one of these summer side dishes next:
- Creamy Coleslaw
- Easy Pasta Salad
- Best Broccoli Salad
- Tortellini Salad
- Watermelon Salad
- Mexican Street Corn Salad
- Chickpea Salad
- Or any of these 51 Best Salad Recipes!
Want even more summer side dish ideas? Check out these 33 Best BBQ Sides!
Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into ½-inch pieces
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons dill pickle brine
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 2 garlic cloves, grated
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- ½ cup diced dill pickles
- ½ cup chopped fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped, optional
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.
This is a really good potato salad
Served it with portobello mushrooms burgers
The salad was a big hit
It was really good I loved it so much
Saving this recipe as one of my favorites. Made mine zingy and creamy, so good!
This recipe is amazing. We always used my mother’s recipe in the past, thinking that was the only way. This recipe has so much more flavour!!! Thank you. Looking forwward to showing it off at our next party.
I’m so glad you loved it!
Once additional secret I learned from Julia Child is to reserve 1 cup of the cooking water. After the potatoes are drained stir in little by litte the cooking water. Do it a bit at a time until the potatoes are creamy. You may not need it all. After the potatoes have cooled down but are still warm continue with the recipe.
thanks for the tip!
This potato salad had awesome flavor. From the tang of the pickle, juice, and vinegar to the use of fresh dill, which I love and always put in my potato salad. I use green onions instead of chives. That’s the only thing I changed. It was just for the convenience of not having nine down chives in the grocery store. I served it with grilled, vegan Italian sausage from my vegan friends and merguez for my meat, eating friends. Everyone loved it!
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it!
It’s a good thing this is called the “best” potato salad. Because it really is!
I’m so glad you loved it!
I love the zing of vinegar and pickles … the added bonus of mustard and fresh herbs makes this a homerun! Delicious!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This was delicious. Loved the addition of the hard boiled eggs.
I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
Yumalicious. Great with bbq ribs.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
This potato salad was tangy and bright! I make a beloved family potato salad recipe that my family loves so it was fun to serve this recipe to my family for a picnic themed dinner. They really enjoyed this recipe and I will definitely make again. I really loved the fresh herbs especially what the dill brought to this dish.
Adding pickles and brine is 100% the move with salad. Don’t be afraid to try it out!!
*this
I’m so glad you loved the pickles and brine!
This is my new favorite potato salad! I love the dressing and how tangy it is. I subbed out some of the mayo for greek yogurt and it worked perfectly. Great summer recipe!
I’m so glad you loved it!
This recipe was a HUGE hit at a family picnic! Perfect summer side dish!
I’m so happy to hear!
LOW CARB VERSION – July’s POTATO SALAD
I made a low-carb version of the July recipe for Potato salad, to fit with my diabetic dietary issues. I simply substituted steamed cauliflower (in small bite sized pieces), to replace the potatoes. Everything else was the same as the Love and Lemons posted recipe for July.
Its DELICIOUS!!!
Hi Sharon, how creative! I’m glad you enjoyed it with cauliflower – I’ll have to try it.
This potato salad is a new favorite! I can’t believe how easy and delicious it is. It will be on repeat this summer because I have a dill plant going crazy and am always looking for more ways to use dill!
I’m so glad it was a hit – and a good use for your dill!
This recipe was so good. I have made potato salad the way my mother-in-law taught me 38 years ago and this is the first time in all those years I used a new recipe! My favorite part is using pickle brine to think the sauce and adding chopped up dill pickles!!
I’m so glad you loved the pickles in here!
We loved it! Made it vegan due to egg intolerances but it was amazing. I’m keeping this one in my rotation.
I’m so glad you loved it!
AMAZING Flavor and easy to make! I’ve been trying for years to find a recipe that doesn’t have sugar and I actually like this one much more than my mother’s traditional southern potato salad with sweet pickle relish! (Don’t tell her!) LOVE this recipe!! Thanks so much!
Ha ha, I won’t tell her, I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Such a fun recipe for a Summer Dinner Date Night outside!!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!