Creamy and crunchy and bursting with flavor, Mashed Potato Salad is a backyard BBQ game-changer!
Homemade potato salad is essential to a summer menu; at least I think so! There are lots of great recipes for this favorite picnic and backyard BBQ side dish, but I know people often struggle to keep the potatoes from overcooking and falling apart. I used to be one of those people until I replaced my potato salad recipe with this one for mashed potato salad. Problem solved!
This dish has everything you want in a scrumptious potato salad and nothing you don’t: Because you’re mashing the taters, you don’t have to worry about them falling apart (or being under-cooked, which can also sometimes be a problem). There are so many great crunchy elements in mashed potato salad, like sweet onion, celery, and dill pickles, as well as another wonderful element—chopped up hard-boiled eggs—that you won’t miss the texture of diced or sliced potatoes at all. And these ingredients don’t just add texture: they also contribute to the salad’s incredible flavor, which is rounded out by the creamy sauce—a tart and tangy mix of mayo, sour cream, yellow mustard, and dill pickle juice. Is your mouth watering yet?
While there is a good amount of dicing and chopping in this recipe, once you’ve prepped all of your ingredients, including making your mashed potatoes, the process of making mashed potato salad is a snap. And it’s a great dish to make ahead of time because it needs to chill in the fridge for at least an hour so that all the delicious flavors can meld together.
What is a sweet onion?
This recipe calls for sweet onion, but for some folks, that designation causes confusion, starting with the question: Are onions actually sweet? And if so, which ones are the sweet ones? Never fear! We are here to solve the sweet onion mysteries!
An onion labeled as sweet means that it has a higher sugar content and a less sharp pungency than other types of onions. The most popular sweet onions are Vidalia and Walla Walla: Vidalias are grown in specific counties in south Georgia, and Walla Wallas are grown primarily in the Walla Walla Valley in Washington state, but that area extends into Oregon as well. These sweet onions are milder than standard yellow or white onions, which makes them great for dishes like mashed potato salad because they will add distinctive flavor (and great crunch!) without overpowering the other ingredients.
How do I store leftovers?
Mashed potato salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. We don’t recommend freezing mashed potato salad, as the mayo-based sauce can separate and the freezing process can alter the consistency of the potatoes (and not in a good way!).
Serving suggestions
Something I love about this recipe for mashed potato salad is how customizable it is. If I’m serving something smoky, like these Easy Smoked Ribs (3-2-1 Method), then I love to top the mashed potato salad with crumbled Grilled Bacon and add Smoked Corn On The Cob as another side. I liked to enhance the sweet component of Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken by adding chopped up Bread And Butter Pickles to mashed potato salad, and then round out this sweet and savory meal with Broccoli Slaw. But when we’re having an old-school cookout with Texas Tommy Dogs And Cheeseburger Sliders, mashed potato salad just as it is is the perfect side.
Mashed Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 1/2 medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 large hard-cooked eggs, chopped
- 1/3 cup diced celery
- 4 tablespoons dill pickles, chopped
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2-4 tablespoons dill pickle juice
- 1 1/4 teaspoons yellow mustard
- Paprika, for garnish
Instructions
- Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Drain potatoes, then transfer them to a large bowl and mash with a potato masher.
- Stir in onion, eggs, celery, pickles, salt, parsley, and pepper into the mashed potatoes.
- Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 tablespoons of pickle juice, and mustard together in a separate bowl; pour over potatoes and mix until well combined. Adjust seasonings and add more pickle juice if needed.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish when serving.
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