This dill pickle potato salad recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. It's creamy, tangy, crunchy, and smooth with eggs, pickles, potatoes, and more. Enjoy it this summer with your next BBQ!
My mom always made a huge batch of this pickle potato salad for family gatherings and even purchased a huge bowl specifically to hold the many servings needed. For reference, her potato salad bowl is about 4 or 5 times the size of an average large mixing bowl.
If that doesn't tell you how much we loved eating it growing up, I'm not sure what would, haha.
She was not a fan of mayonnaise and always added mustard to help hide the taste. This is why recipes like this potato salad with pickles and her easy egg salad are both creamy and tangy.
From the tender potato chunks to the acidic pickles and shredded egg in every bite this potato salad is simply perfect. We love to add onions to it for a nice crunch, but feel free to omit them if desired. It tastes great either way!
Why This Recipe Works
- It's very simple. We don't need a lot of ingredients or process steps to make this recipe turn out great.
- You can scale it up or down. Make a large batch for a party or reduce it down to a few servings.
- The pickle taste isn't overwhelming. This dish would be great for pickle lovers and non-pickle lovers because the flavor is present but subtle and not too overpowering. Perfect for everyone to enjoy together!
Jump to:
🥘 Ingredients
Dill pickle spears- Truthfully, you can dice up any dill pickle (hamburger sliced, whole, spears, etc.), but these pickles will add a nice flavorful crunch to our salad.
Pickle juice- Reserve a little pickle juice from the jar. This will keep our potato salad from feeling dry and help to incorporate a little more flavor throughout. If you still have juice left over, try our Pickle Lemonade!
Hard boiled eggs- You will need some hard boiled eggs for this recipe. Check out my Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs for a fool proof recipe!
Russet potatoes- Always russet. They give the best texture and consistency throughout the salad. Other potato varieties like red or yellow will not work nearly as well.
White or Yellow Onion- This is an optional ingredient but one that we all love. When making potato salad for the kids, we usually portion out a few servings without onion into a mixing bowl and then just mix onion into the remaining portion for the adults.
Mayonnaise- I've used Hellmans, Dukes, and several other brands, and the results are all pretty tasty (although I love Dukes most of all). You can use any mayonnaise, but I do NOT recommend miracle whip.
Yellow mustard- French's Yellow Mustard works great for this recipe.
Paprika- Adding a little paprika adds some nice flavor and color, which is great for presentation.
For the exact amounts needed, please see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make dill pickle potato salad with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Wash and peel your potatoes.
Boil until fork tender in a large pot of water and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Then dice into .5-1inch-sized cubes.
Place diced potatoes in a bowl with grated eggs.
Add the mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, onion, and chopped pickles.
Add in one tablespoon of pickle juice.
Mix well and add more if desired.
Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to chill for at least an hour before serving.
Garnish with additional paprika before serving.
🍴 Recipe Tips
This potato salad recipe is pretty versatile. Adding in more or less mayo or mustard to adjust to taste and color or even adding in a little more pickle juice works great.
Why Pickle Juice?
We make potato salad with pickle by making it just a little on the drier side and then add in the pickle juice to get it creamy. The saltiness of the juice helps to bring out the other flavors in the salad and it's always a welcomed ingredient.
Shredding the Eggs
Unlike most recipes wanting you to chop the eggs, we shred them on a cheese grater. I've found out that through trial and error you get a much creamier result when the yolks have been pulverized like they are with the grater. Well worth it.
🧾 Substitutions
Dill pickle relish. If desired, you can skip the chopping and simply use dill pickle relish instead. This will give you much smaller chunks of pickles and save you a little effort.
Potatoes. I love russet potatoes because they soften enough to break down a little when stirred, which I feel totally adds to the overall texture of this potato salad recipe. Letting the potatoes chill in the fridge or cold ater will help them to break down less when stirred.
⏲️Make Ahead Instructions
If time permits, I recommend boiling the potatoes and eggs hours if not a day in advance and keeping them stored in the fridge. This makes the process a lot quicker and keeps your potato salad from feeling too warm.
After assembling the salad I recommend storing it well covered in the fridge for 1-2 hours prior to serving so that it has time to chill. This is also important for helping the flavors to blend together nicely.
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Cut down on dirty dishes by learning how to make potato salad with Instant Pot!
You can prep your eggs and your potatoes in Instant Pots for a faster an easier time. Simply follow the 5-5-5 method for hard boiled eggs.
For the potatoes, wash, peel, and cube then cook in the Instant Pot for 1 minute on High Pressure with a Quick Pressure Release. Then rinse potatoes under cold water to stop the cooking process. Combine potato salad as directed below.
👩🏻🍳 Storage
This dill potato salad recipe can last about 2-3 days in the fridge. Keep it well covered and in an airtight container. Note that it may separate as it sits, so stir it up well before scooping and serving.
Never let your potato salad sit out for more than 2 hours at room temperature for food safety reasons.
💭 FAQs
Yes, this potato salad recipe is 100% dairy free as mayo is made with eggs and not milk. None of the ingredients in this recipe normally contain dairy, so it's perfectly safe fo those avoiding dairy.
I do not recommend freezing potato salad- ever. The consistency and textures when thawed are not the same as when the potato salad is freshly made.
Yes. Feel free to prep this salad the afternoon or evening before an event and keep it well stored in the fridge. It should taste wonderfully and be nicely chilled in time for serving.
More great side dish recipes to try
- Italian Green Beans with Tomatoes
- Old Fashioned Creamed Corn
- Bacon Ranch Brussel Sprouts
- Browned Butter Garlic and Thyme Purple Mashed Potatoes
📖 Recipe
Dill Pickle Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 spears Dill pickles, chopped small (about ½ cup) ($0.24)
- 1 Tablespoon Pickle juice ($0.02)
- 6 large Boiled eggs, shredded ($0.48)
- 4-5 medium Russet potatoes, peeled and diced .5-1inch cubes ($3.24)
- 1 small Onion, diced (about ½ cup) ($0.35)
- ½ cup Mayonnaise ($0.63)
- 2 Tablespoons Yellow mustard ($0.14)
- 1 teaspoon Paprika ($0.10)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Wash your potatoes well and peel them if desired. Place in water. I like to chop mine before boiling but you can do them whole and chop after.
- Boil potatoes until a fork can easily pierce through them. About 20-25 minutes for whole potatoes.
- Drain and rinse potatoes in cold water to stop the cooking process.
- When the potatoes and chilled enough to safely handle, dice into .5 inch cubed pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
- Shred your hard boiled eggs with a cheese grater and place them in the bowl as well.
- Add the mayonnaise, mustard, paprika, onion, and chopped pickles to the bowl too.
- Add in one tablespoon of pickle juice and stir well to combine. Taste and if desired, add a little more pickle juice.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap andplace in the fridge to chill for at least one hour before serving.
- Garnish with a sprinkling of paprika before serving.
Chrissy says
My grandma made this potato salad her entire life. She passed it to my Mother and she passed it to me. Not many people seem to know of it but it is my favorite! I have never shredded the egg but I am definitely going to give it a try.i think it sounds like a great idea. I also found that instead of white or yellow onion I like to add chopped green onions once in a while.