This dill "pickle" potato salad is so different and so delicious, you will love it. It is mayo free, allergy friendly and vegan. The tangy and slightly sweet dressing is made by combining dijon mustard with white vinegar, maple syrup and fresh dill. I put the word pickle in quotes because there are no ready made pickles in the recipe. The "pickle" is actually made by adding fresh cucumbers and red onions to the dressing and making quick pickles. This salad has crunch, tons of flavor and is an original twist on regular mayo based potato salad. I hope you love it as much as instagram did!
What is potato salad?
Potato salad most likely originated in Germany but has become a staple dish in America. Most American potato salad consists of boiled potatoes, hard boiled eggs, mayo and possibly onions and celery. German potato salad usually has boiled potatoes, eggs, onions, bacon or pickles and either vinaigrette dressing or a mayo based one. Potato salad in America has become a classic side dish to accompany a main dish. It is most often seen at barbeques. I developed this dill "pickle" potato salad originally for a Memorial Day BBQ. It was a hit!
A Potato Salad Story
I grew up eating potato salad. My Dad would make a big batch on Summer Sundays to eat over the week. His special potato salad had copious hard boiled eggs, a heavy mayo dressing and raw onions. I had a love/hate relationship with Americana type foods like this. I enjoyed eating them but somehow all that mayo always made me feel heavy. My palette always craved more intense flavor so I always added some Italian dressing to my plate. I think my Dad would approve of this dill "pickle" potato salad even if it is not traditional.
Why is this called dill "pickle" potato salad?
So many people on the internet got mad that I called this salad dill "pickle" potato salad! After all, there's no jarred pickles in there. For some reason, many people did not understand that we are actually making pickles when we make this salad. Pickles do not only come from jars, they are made by marinating cucumbers! This salad has cucumbers and onions that are dressed in a tangy, sweet, vinegar, dijon and dill dressing. This in essence, pickles them. Henceforth the name dill pickle is quite appropriate. Especially if you make this salad a day or two in advance. The longer it sits, the more pickled they become!
Ingredients for dill "pickle" potato salad
This salad has a modest ingredient list. It can be made year round, but will certainly shine brighter in summer. I use English cucumbers here because they release less water than a typical cucumber. They have a few small seeds and their skin is pleasantly crunchy and thin. I leave them unpeeled for color and texture but you can peel them if you like. Red onions are my favorite for this but vidalia will work nicely as well. Those were always my Dad's favorite.
- yukon gold potatoes
- english cucumber
- red onion
- lemon
- white vinegar
- dijon mustard
- maple syrup
- olive oil
- salt
- dill
- green onions
How do you make Dill "Pickle" Potato Salad?
This potato salad is really easy to make! It is basically just a few steps. Boiling, cooling and cutting the potatoes. No peeling necessary! Mixing the dressing. Chopping the veggies and mixing it all together. Voila you have a healthier, mayo free potato salad that every one will love!
- First boil the potatoes. Add them to a pot whole, with skins on and boil until fork tender. This can take 15-30 minutes depending on how large the potatoes are. Pro tip: put the larger potatoes on the bottom and small on top then cover with water and boil. Once tender, drain water and let cool until ok to touch without getting burned. Cut in bite sized pieces. Reserve until last step.
- Make the dill dressing by combining vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, dill, salt and green onions in a small bowl and whisking.
- To a large bowl add the cucumbers and red onion. Add ½ the dressing and toss. Then add the potatoes, the rest of the dressing, a pinch of salt and black pepper and half a lemon juiced. Toss until well combined.
- This salad is good for up to 4 days as the cucumbers and onions get more pickled with time!
Tips for making the best potato salads
These are some pro-tips and tools for making the best potato salads possible. I am including links to buy some of my favorite kitchen tools. These are affiliate links and I make commission. Thanks for supporting my work.
- First, always select the freshest produce for salads. Save ugly, wilted produce for soups.
- Be sure to cut any "eyes" off of the potatoes before consuming. These little sprouted roots are not edible and can make you ill. If your potato has sprouts and is soft or shrivelled do not eat them. But if they are firm to the touch and not slimy, just cut off the sprouted bits.
- Do not store potatoes in the refrigerator. They are best kept in a cool dark place for best quality.
- Peeling potatoes is a waste of time and nutrients. Just leave the skins on. But be sure to wash them and buy organic.
- You need proper cooking tools to be a great cook. A sharp knife, a quality cutting board and a big mixing bowl are going to make your life much easier and more efficient.
More vegan Summer side salads
The best vegan potato salad recipe
Dill "Pickle" Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes
- 1 large english cucumber sliced thin
- ½ red onion sliced thin according to your preference
- ½ lemon squeezed
- 2 tbsp white vinegar
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp dill chopped
- 2 green onions chopped white and green parts
Instructions
- First boil the potatoes. Add them to a pot whole, with skins on and boil until fork tender. This can take 15-30 minutes depending on how large the potatoes are. Pro tip: put the larger potatoes on the bottom and small on top then cover with water and boil. Once tender, drain water and let cool until ok to touch without getting burned. Cut in bite sized pieces. Reserve until last step.
- Make the dressing by combining vinegar, dijon mustard, maple syrup, olive oil, dill, salt and green onions in a small bowl and whisking.
- To a large bowl add the cucumbers and red onion. Add ½ the dressing and toss. Then add the potatoes, the rest of the dressing, a pinch of salt and black pepper and half a lemon juiced. Toss until well combined.
- This salad is good for up to 4 days as the cucumbers and onions get more pickled with time!
Aimee Ugarte
Super easy to throw together…and more importantly…DELISH!!!
Sara Tercero
Thank you! So happy you liked it! I appreciate the feedback
Añalisa Siemsen
I love how fresh and punchy this salad is. I can’t stand Mayo and I would always add Dijon and dill relish to ‘traditional’ potato salad to make it tolerable so this recipe feels like the grown up, professional grade version of that. SO delicious and easy—thank you!!
Sara Tercero
Thank you so much, what a great compliment. So happy you liked it!
Natalie
WOW. Super simple and absolutely delicious! I don’t think it’s going to make it to my dinner table! We are eating it too quickly! Thank you for a great recipe!
Sara Tercero
So glad you like it Natalie thanks for the 5 star rating!
Nathan
Absolutely fantastic. Endless compliments and asks for the recipe at the neighborhood cook out!
Sara Tercero
I am thrilled by your positive feedback! So happy you all enjoyed it!
Jen
This salad was a big hit at our BBQ the other day. I will be making this one until the end of time. Per my preference I will add about half the maple syrup to the dressing next time, but I wouldn’t change anything else! Thanks!
Sara Tercero
Yay Jen! So happy to hear that. Thank you so much for the recipe review and the feedback!
Lisa
Just made this and it was so easy and delicious!!!
Sara Tercero
So glad you liked it thanks for the review
Marita
This salad is so good!! I ended up doubling the dressing because I added too many potatoes and the next day the cucumbers and onions were pickled and even more delicious 😋. FYI, I did not have Dijon so just used yellow mustard and did not have maple syrup so substituted honey and it still turned out fantastic! Thanks for such a yummy recipe 😊
Jordan
My family really liked this. I was nervous to try because I have a different potato salad I make that my family loves. But to be honest we didn’t miss the mayo recipe. This was still creamy actually! The dressing and yellow potatoes mixed up beautifully and the starch with the dressing made a fantastic creaminess on its own. I loved the sharp tanginess of the dressing. It was so refreshing and delicious!
Sara Tercero
That is so great! I am so happy you enjoyed it! Great feedback on the creaminess too.
Sara Tercero
I love that you were able to jazz cook and improvise! So happy you liked it, thanks for the great feedback!
Amy
This looks amazing! What can I use as a substitute for dill please? It's not available in my area 😞
Sara Tercero
Hi Amy if you can get dry dill instead that is preferable to subbing a different herb because it will change the flavor profile quite a bit. If you can get dry instead use 1 tbsp only instead of two because the flavor is more strong. If dry dill is not a possibility, you can use fresh parsley. It will be different from the original and less "pickley" but it will be delicious nonetheless. Good luck and keep me posted!
MJ
Fresh and delicious!
Sara Tercero
So happy you liked it! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Trenya
This is fantastic! I loved it! Definitely making this again and again.
Sara Tercero
I am so happy to hear this! It is definitely one of my most popular recipes ever.
Nikki F
I made this salad for dinner this evening and loved it! It was so delicious. I’m sure I will be making this a lot over the coming summer. I can’t wait to try more of your recipes. Thanks very much from the UK.
Sara Tercero
Hi Nikki so glad you liked it! Thanks so much for the 5 stars!
Marcia Voegele
I won't add the maple syrup next time. Detracts from flavors to create a dill pickle taste. I would also marinate the cucumbers and red onions in a dill pickle juice overnight to give it more punch. Then maybe the syrup would be OK.
Sara Tercero
Hi Marcia! Thank you for the feedback! I think for some folks the dressing might be too tart without the maple syrup. But we all have our preferences which is why I love when people take my recipe and make it according to theirs. I think marinating overnight to give more of a punch is definitely doable or if you are looking for a really big punch, why not skip the marinating and just use pickles instead of the cucumber? If you meant to give zero stars that's ok, but I think sometimes people don't realize that the starring system is important to google and just leave it blank thinking that it doesn't matter. If you could consider adding the stars I would really appreciate that.
oribo
I made it for the 4th time over the weekend it's always a hit with everyone at the party. The recipe goes well with any type of food because it's light and tangy. I find the salad much tastier once you let it sit for about an hour after all the flavours sink in. Best potato salad recipe.
Sara Tercero
Thank you! SO happy you liked it!
Mel
This is phenomenal. The dressing is the perfect mix of sweet and tangy with the mustard and vinegar. Feels a little high-end/fancy with the fresh dill and appealing color contrast but really really simple to make. Will be our new side go-to, no doubt!
M Bee
Made this salad for a potluck! Everyone absolutely loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Brittany
Love how zesty and fresh this potato salad tastes. Its perfect to cut the heaviness of burgers & hot dogs.
Sara Tercero
That's exactly what it is intended to be! Thanks for the feedback and 5 star rating!
Sara Tercero
That's great news. Thanks for the feedback and the 5 stars!
Sara Tercero
That is so awesome to hear! Thanks so much for the feedback and 5 stars.
Marie Goff
I made this salad for our 4th of July picnic. Everyone loved this disk. We are all dill pickle lovers. This salad goes well with everything. Thank you for your creativity!
Dill we eat this again!
Sara Tercero
Hi Marie thanks so much for the feedback and 5 star review! So happy you liked it.
Erika
Wonderful and a fav for my friends that don’t like mayo. I will say that this does need a little bit of added seasoning. So I add in 2 tablespoons of actual pickle juice, garlic, extra salt, and pepper.
Kristen
This potato salad is so delicious!! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Sara Tercero
So very happy you liked it! Thanks for the 5 stars!
Sara Tercero
Hi Erika, it makes me happy that you are altering my recipe to suit your own tastes. This is my hope, and the reason I always tell people to taste as they are cooking. Bravo and thanks for the feedback.
Amanda
Made this recipe to serve at a gathering with a person who is vegan in our midst. It will be my new go to potato salad recipe. Yum!! Thanks for another wonderful recipe!
Sara Tercero
That's awesome Amanda, so happy you liked it! Thanks for the feedback.
Keri Loewen
I make this once a week because I love it so much. I’ve swapped the cucumber for fennel a couple times when I need it to last a few days and it’s so good. This is a great recipe for those doing the Starch Solution diet, just skip the olive oil in the dressing, it’s still drinkable! 🤤
Sara Tercero
Wow that sounds amazing with fennel! Thanks so much for the excellent feedback and rating. Happy cooking!
Andrea Smith
OMG we absolutely loved this recipe! Such a nice twist and very satiating. My husband raves about all the salads I make and I can't even take the credit for the recipes! Every single one that we've tried has been outstanding.
Sara Tercero
Thanks so much for the rating Andrea!