Everyone’s got a favorite potato salad, and this is ours.
I know most are aggressively forgettable, with so much slick and eerie uniformity in their texture that it almost seems that their creators knew people were never going to eat it anyway, so why bother? But if you do–bother, that is–you’re in for a whole other world of crunch, texture, tang, complexity and even, dare I say, flavor. I’ve made them with a slip of horseradish, with chopped hard-boiled eggs, celery and cornichon, I’ve tossed them in a mustard vinaigrette with red peppers, capers and olives, yet I haven’t done any of those things since I came across this one.
Admittedly, I was trying to impress The Russians, or Alex’s people. Looking for something to bring to a backyard barbeque a few summers ago–in those funny days before I knew which part of the kitchen counter to rest my sunglasses on when I came in and before my mother-in-law began casually passing me salads and asking if I could dress them so she could move onto her next dish– I knew this was it by the fact that Epicurious testers had ranked this one within the top three most worthy of their Fork Ratings. (On a site with hundreds of potato salad recipes, that ain’t nothing.) In addition seemed to have all the magical elements present in so many other zakuski–dill, radishes, something, anything brined, onions and potato, though they’re practically an afterthought in this great mass of ingredients–I knew it would not be tossed aside lightly.
Of course I was appalled that it was a two-day affair–“It expects me to MAKE pickles, Alex! Is this recipe insane?!” Now, as we well know, I barely bat an eyelash at this step anymore, but you shouldn’t either because it’s really not time-consuming, and if you make extra, as we always do, you’ll love their lightly-soused crunch in your salads all week. From the pickling on out, it’s cinch city and I promise, even if you’re not trying to win yourself a Russian For Life, it could make a potato salad lover out of you. There are worse things, right?
Dilled Potato and Pickled Cucumber Salad
One of our favorite things about this salad is that it is as much vegetables — crunchy, delicious ones, half of which are lightly pickled — as it is potatoes, so it feels like something you might eat with dinner in warmer weather, and not only as a grilling side dish.
My preference is to assemble potato salads just an hour or two before eating it, so I mix everything and keep the mayo separate until needed. I actually found upon revisiting this recipe that I only needed half the mayo amount to get the salad as dressed as I want it (as dressed as you see here) but as this recipe has been on the site for 10 years and few have complained, I’m leaving it as written.
This makes a lot of salad. It absolutely feeds a crowd.
- 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
- 4 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
- 2 1-pound English (also sold as hothouse or seedless) cucumbers, very thinly sliced
- A few branches plus 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 3 1/4 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes (about 10 medium), unpeeled
- Additional coarse kosher salt
- 1 cup very thinly sliced white onion
- 8 radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
Cook your potatoes: Although you don’t have to, I also like to boil my potatoes the day before, because I like them very cold, and it seems easier to get it out of the way. Boil them in a large pot salted water until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain, then cool completely. I leave them in the fridge overnight.
The next day: Drain cucumber mixture in a colander; if you’ve got an hour, you can drain it that long, but I never do. Discard brine and dill.
Assemble your salad: The original directions called for peeling your cold potatoes but I never do. Cut potatoes crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Place potatoes in large bowl; sprinkle generously with coarse salt and pepper. Add drained cucumbers, onion, sliced radishes, and remaining 3 tablespoons dill; toss to blend.
1 to 2 hours before serving: Stir mayonnaise into salad to taste. Season with additional salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Do ahead: Salad keeps dressed for a day. Salad keeps without mayo for a few days; I add mayo before serving. In both cases, keep it covered in the fridge.
Whoa. I’m not usually a potato salad fan–that slick uniformity you mentioned really turns me off–but THIS looks like something I can get behind.
Great pictures, too!
Oh lordy. I’ve only known your site a day and you’ve already almost convinced me that I, too, can make pickles. This might be a dangerous door to open in my life. :)
It looks delicious – and now I kind of want it for lunch!
Oooh, I just brought home a bag of mini cucumbers. I think I could pickle those instead of an english cucumber. I’ve been avoiding it as recipe after recipe on your site tempts me… I think it’s time for me to make some pickles.
This is a really bizarre comment, but I have to say that the first thing I thought of when I saw the picture (and had already decided to try the recipe): could I replace the sliced ingredients with cubed ingredients? Strange, but I am a bit partial to the nice chunky and uniform sizes in a good potato salad – though I do totally agree that interesting textures are key
Delicious! Family thought it got even better as the meal progressed. Made as written but had no dill so substituted pickle juice and it worked just fine. Liked being able to control the amount of mayo. A real winner!
I abhor cucumbers but something about this seems so right.
I voted for you! To the rest of you out there: you should also register and vote, one reader gets chosen to go too! Deb, if the smitten kitchen wins, you’ll have to put a donation thingy on the site so we can send Alex to grilling school, too (only the blogger gets free tuition, but the blogger’s companion gets a reduced price if there is space).
About the recipe, it looks very, very tasty. I *heart* dill in potato salad. In another nod to the Slavs in this salad story, do you think it would be good with a little sour cream swapped in for some of the mayonnaise?
I’ve been making this one for years. Best potato salad ever! Don’t be afraid of making your own pickles. You just need to plan ahead for the time involved. It’s super simple.
I think you’ve just won ME for life–at least in the potato salad department. I’ve never been a fan, but then again, no one ever told me there could be pickles involved. Potato salad just got much more interesting to me.
Looks like you and the mandoline are doing well together.
I voted once more, because I really, really, REALLY want Jocelyn to bloggysit again. :D
Rachael–I don’t see why not, but it might take longer than a day to pickle a cubed cucumber. It might be worth it to put them up a few days before you want to use them… otherwise, I’m sure it would be delish.
Mary–Haha. I think Alex getting to go to Napa would be more than enough for him. No more begging people for help! I think sour cream would be fantastic in here, and might even try it next time.
Tea–Me and the mandoline are in love. The other three times I’ve made this salad, I’ve always thought, ‘if only I had a mandoline’ followed by a long and dramatic sigh. This time, it was twice as easy to make.
Jelena–Bloggysitting! I didn’t even get that far. I’ll see if I can get her back here; she might have raised her rates! Then again, did you SEE that crepe cake I brought over to her place? She owes me. ;)
Oh dear, now I have to go get more radishes from the farm. And cucumber slices in a potato salad?!? I like the way you think, lady! Always something a little different and edgy. Ever tried roasting radishes? They’re pretty darn tasty that way. Just a little discovery I made last night. :)
Oh I am always available for bloggysitting. Mmmm? What should I make? OOO I can do a summer skybar BBQ special!
Deb, love the website, keep the posts coming.
I to am enjoying my mandoline, however, I the other day I failed to pay enough respect to the blades, and gave myself a nice reminder that one needs to pay attention to where your fingers are in relation to the blades.
Wanted to thank you though, I made a dinner of your Mussels, Bobby Flay Green Onion Slaw, and your Zucchini Arugala and Parmesan Cheese salad, and everything was absolutely delicious.
I love your blog and read it religiously, but if you don’t tell me what was in your martha stewart birthday boxes…I may never forgive you.
I did! I did win a copy of a book! I even got an email from the company asking me where to send said book, so it is not some sort of hoax. I have never won ANYTHING before. Apparently now I will have to go and buy a new grill.
Brilliant use of the small radish… Something I haven’t use a lot!
From your photos, it didn’t look like you peeled the potatoes – did you?
This potato salad looks fabulous. I have to make it.
JennBec — Roasting radishes sounds so cool! Do they get soft? Sweeter? I must find out. Didn’t get to your radish salad after all this weekend, but we bought so many radishes and dill (we have like a tree in the fridge! with roots and everything!) that hopefully I’ll get to it this weekend. Thanks for the inspiration.
Jocelyn — When I first read this, I was like why is she having a BBQ and not inviting me? Um, d’oh. Because I’d be out of town. I’m such a dork. Nice purse, btw! I think it goes with those MJ shoes, right?
Zach G.–Oh no! Zach: 0, Mandoline: 1, I guess. I fear it’s just a matter of time for me, seeing as I am a major klutz. Until then, I’ve been just snacking on the last 1″ of every veg. so I’m not tempted to grate too far. I’m honored you used my dishes for your meal but (I hope not narcissisticly) I think it sounds delicious.
sara –Oops! I’d mentioned it in a comment a few posts back, but duh, how would everyone see that? I received TWO rolls of wrapping paper I’d obsessed over for their patterns alone, one paper bag puppet kit, some grosgrain ribbon AND an entire set of food packaging boxes replete with adorable tissue paper and ribbon. I’ve already used one! I’m in love.
ehme — Yay! I confess that I’m worried they’ll kick me out of the running when they find out I don’t have a grill–yet! But I have access to many. And I love to grill, I’m just not posh enough to be able to afford patio space in Manhattan. Sigh, one day.
Cheryl –Thanks for reminding me! No, I didn’t–sometimes I do, other times I don’t. I scrub them well so that the skins don’t bother us. But frankly, the real reason I didn’t peel these are because I used various Russian fingerlings and they’re so tiny, I thought getting the skins off would be an exercise in bottomless aggravation.
I don’t know if I can handle it – 2 days, pickles… Especially because my husband will settle for no less than his grandmother’s potato salad, and ONLY her potato salad, so help him god. Only she doesn’t have a recipe so that I can try (pitifully) to duplicate it. So I don’t make potato salad, I make pasta salad, and then there are no comparisons.
deb- you have said before that you don’t use unsalted butter in recipes. Am I mistaken? Anyway, I do a lot of baking and wondered if it would make a difference in my recipes that call for unsalted if I used salted instead.
Thanks for your site, I use it all the time.
Also, could I do your guinness cake in cupcake form? I am addicted.
It looks wonderful, but then I have never met a potato salad I didn’t like, unless they added sugar to it.
You know, about ten years ago, when I got my first Mandolin slicer, the VERY first thing that I managed to slice was a tiny portion of a finger. After that, I’ve been much more diligent and careful. It’s now something like lar3ry: 28972. Mandoline 1. I think it’s simply a rite of passage, and I’d be surprised if there is any professional chef that doesn’t have a similar story. It will probably be just a matter of time, but afterward, you and the slicer will have more respect for one another! There’s that expression about something you know (the slicer is sharp), and something you KNOW (there’s a reason they included that knobby thing!). This is just like the first time my oldest daughter (age 4 at the time) decided to steal a slice of jalapeno from daddy’s plate… she learned her lesson the hard way, and fifteen years later, she still asks before she ventures toward my plate.
Thanks, I’m in love with it. It matches the shoes and the dress. I also thought that I could write about my health smoothie protein shake that my trainer told me about. I have been having them for breakfast & lunch as a meal replacement and I’ve lost 10 lbs. Sooooo when do you leave? Obviously the prize is in the bag, you won right?
I’ve been “travelling” across your blog and I enjoyed so much !! All your recipes are so good looking and I’m sure good tasting ! I lived in NY ( in Queens) for 10 years and your stories about the City bring me such memories…..
so did ya, huh, did ya?
Deb, this looks great.
Semi-unrelated question: if not potato salad, what do you normally do with radishes? Just got some great ones from a farm and I have no idea what to do with them. What do you recommend for a beginning radish-eater?
Deb– I made this over the weekend and cannot stop crunching on the cucumbers and radishes that barely made their way into the salad. My boyfriend has been raving for weeks about the recipes I’ve been churning out and all have been from your site– the strawberry rhubarb crumble, the pinkcherry coconut ice cream, but this has outdone them all. I think I’ve finally topped my mother– and his– for the perfect potato salad. Thank you!
Oh, and Jill– I started with radishes sliced and dipped in homemade ranch, but now they go in everything (try them in a goat cheese salad, with veggie cream cheese or in stir-fry).
Deb, I love you girl , you absolutely ROCK!!!! I get the best ideas from your blog EVER, keep up the great work
I made this today and swapped out half the mayo for sour cream. Delish! You can get away with brining for a few hours, instead of overnight if you have a desperate sour cream and dill craving, like I had today. Thanks Deb!
OMG – this recipe is so fabulous!!! I was VERY skeptical because I love eggs in my potato salad, but it is as good as you say it is Deb.
I also made it with fingerling potatoes – but I bought the bag with the blue and red ones too and it adds another great color to the salad. Thank you also for encouraging fresh pickles – so easy and they are so delicious. It was my first time making them and I think I’m in love!
I made this for some friends the other day – everyone loved it. One friend declared it “the absolute best potato salad” he’d ever eaten. I have since had other potato salads, and this recipe completely ruins it for them. This is now the only one that need ever be made. Thanks!
Oh, and congratulations! Your baby boy is simply adorable.
This is now my favorite potato salad too. Delicious. The cucumbers are also good to make on their own as a side dish.
This looks so yummy! About how many servings does it make as a side dish?
Looks and tastes yummy. What do you think of cutting them into smaller pieces and putting them on sandwiches and salads.
Made this for the second time – its GREAT. Used a little olive and a little mayo for a light dressing and it was perfect. Thanks.
At the bottom of the 1st paragraph where you describe the recipe (and tell the story about the rain) you wrote “Just do be concerned if yours looks a lot different.” Did you mean “don’t be concerned”?
Looks like a great recipe, I can’t wait to try it. Radishes and cucumbers! Two of my favorite vegetables!
I want to substitute the mayo for yogurt, do you think I’d still need to assemble the salad so soon before eating it? It seems like yogurt wouldn’t create as much uniformity of flavor and texture as mayonnaise does…
Yes, thanks. I haven’t tried this with yogurt instead of mayo, however.
Update: I tried it with yogurt and it worked out beautifully. Thanks for posting this :)
Wow not many comments, but I think this is the second time I’ve made this (I realized at some point when I was making my shopping list that this sounded familiar). I brought it to a potluck and people liked it a lot. I used fennel instead of dill because that’s what I ended up with from my CSA, and just had people sprinkle it on themselves because my husband is allergic to fennel. I also did not let all of the ingredients sit for an hour before adding the mayo because I ran out of time. The fennel tasted like dill to me. I just used whatever cucumbers they had at the store, probably not english hothouse ones.
I really enjoyed this recipe! My husband said the best part was the overnight pickles. So I guess the worst part about it is that you have to plan ahead. It was so yummy, thanks so much for yet another awesome salad. I’m four for four on recipes from this webiste. You can’t go wrong.
Brought this to a Labor Day BBQ and it was a big hit. Next time I will cut the cucumbers into a thicker slice or perhaps cube them before pickling as I decided the slices were a bit hard to keep flat as I was carefully tossing the potatoes with them. Also, I used 1 Tbsp less salt and added a bit of sugar to the pickled cucumbers, which were delicious and gave the salad a refreshing kick. I added no extra salt to the salad and we all agreed it had plenty of seasoning. So good!
This is ours – and our various BBQ hosts’ – favourite potato salad. The only change I made, which I highly recommend, is to pickle the radishes along with the cucumbers. MMMM pickled radishes.
I made this salad two days ago and with just 4 people, it didn’t even last the day! This is so similar to some of the Russian potato salads I grew up eating (my parents are from St. Petersburg) and yet it’s so different… With my grandparents getting older and my mom and her sister not being kitchen savy what-so-ever, this will definitely be my go-to salad for all family functions to come! It’s spectacular!
PS: I’m *SO* glad you’re married to a Russian, because not only do I love your blog, but a lot of your dishes bring me back to my childhood, and all of my favorite Russian dishes! Between the Russian Black Bread recipe of yours I’ve tried, and this salad, I think I’ll have some solid dishes to pass on to my children <3
this is still my favorite potato salad of all time. perfection. thank you!!!
This salad was a hit! It’s always nice to impress the boyfriend’s family hehe. The only changes I made were adding sliced fennel bulb (added a bit more crunch and great mellow flavor) and used new potatoes instead of yukons and it still worked out perfectly. This one is going in my bookmark folder!
Just throw the onions in the brine and pickle them too :-)
My daughter made this for us this past weekend and she used very small potatoes, leaving the skins on and cut them in half and it was so good!
Under: “the next day,” did you mean to say, drain the cucumbers?
Yes, thanks. Now fixed.
In your “next day step” do you mean drain the cucumbers? I thought you drained the cooked potatoes prior to refrigerating them?
Yes, thanks. Now fixed.
Hi Deb. In the next day part of your recipe do you mean drain the cucumber mixture instead of potato mixture? I think that is what yuou mean. I can’t wait to try this salad.
Yes, thanks. Now fixed.
Oh lord Deb. It’s been too long since cooked one of your recipes; you are soooo right about this. mega yum. Even with subbing baby bell peppers for radishes and dropping really hot slightly mushy potatoes all over my kitchen floor and then washing them, this was soooooo GOOD!
Hi! This is now my new favorite potato salad recipe, thanks to my unending love for fresh dill (and it’s the perfect way to use the radishes from my CSA that I never know what to do with!). One tip I might offer (taken from Cook’s Country’s recipe for Dill Potato Salad) to make it even more “dill-icious” is to take the leftover stems from your chopped dill and put them in to a sachet (coffee filter + kitchen twine) and put it in the pot with your potatoes while they’re cooking. It’s using up leftovers plus an extra punch of dill…can’t go wrong with that, right?
My people were annoying about this salad- this one doesn’t like mayo, that one dill, the other mayo.
Well, Good news for me! Because I ate this entire bowl all by myself over the span of 3 days and it was divine and I keep thinking about it. Add herring and beets and you’ve got yourself a full-fledged meal.
I took this salad to a 4th of July potluck & it was a hit. I tweaked the recipe, adding some sour cream, as suggested by another commenter here. Also, I used white pepper in place of black pepper. This is a keeper.
I took this to our neighbors’ potluck and afterwards the one neighbor texted my husband, “don’t tell [my wife] but that was the best $*@!# potato salad I ever had.” I’ve made it several times now and it is always excellent. Boiling the potatoes the day before and refrigerating them overnight definitely pays off!
This looks amazing but I can’t eat raw onions. Could the onions be pickled too? Along with the cucumbers or separately?
I definitely think they could be, together or separately.
Would hard boiled eggs hold up in this or is it too liquidy?
Replying to myself, lol, hi drained the cucumbers super well and even blotted them with paper towels, then I added six sliced hard-boiled eggs. Hard to believe that this recipe could be improved upon but the eggs did just that. *chefs kiss*
I chose this recipe day-of and was worried about the pickles not being pickled enough. Instead it got rave reviews and people specifically asked about how to make the pickles. The secret? Leaving it in a hot car for 3 hours. I had prepped all the ingredients separately–the potatoes, the pickles (to which I included the radish and onion as well), and the mayo, and only kept the mayo cool in a tiny cooler on ice. The pickles got super hot in the car and came out amazing. After assembling the salad with the hot pickles and potatoes and cool mayo it went in a fridge for a few more hours. No one got sick. ;)
I made this with pickles (since I didn’t have any cucumbers) and it was delicious. Now it’s the only potato salad my family will allow me to make! My Dad in particular will request it.
Thank you Deb <3
Could I do a vinegar based dressing instead? I want to make this for a party, but it will need to be able to sit outside for a couple of hours.
Thanks!
You could, although unless it’s right in the hot sun, it’s probably fine for a couple hours.
This looks so yum! Can I substitute yogurt for the mayonnaise?
Yes, but the flavor is a little less salad dressing-y.
Hi Deb,
I tried to get the specific cucumbers but no luck here in Dublin, Ireland. Would it also work with normal cucumbers if I take out the seed part in th middle?
Thank you!
Of course, absolutely.
I’m assuming these would work with your fridge pickles, which I am about to make tonight! Any estimate for how many pickles I should add in from that recipe? I’ll plan on 1/2-1 cup unless I hear otherwise. Thanks!
This calls for 2 pounds, so I’d start with at least half as much, 1 pound, of fridge pickles. It uses a lot of cucumbers, but the pickling is a bit more mild.
I like the vinegar in the pickles, probably needs the strength, but I would still make my Kosher new pickles like you get in the Jewish deli.
I have made this two years in a row for my family 4th of July weekend (this year 14 people). It is an absolute hit. I doubled the recipe but probably could have gotten away with just one batch. The benefit of doubling the recipe, however, is that everyone got an additional helping the next day. Love all the flavors and the ease of assembly.
Shortcut hack! This arrived in my inbox and I wanted to make it that night. Not enough time to make pickles. What to do? Buy new pickles at the farmers market, slice thin then let them sit for an hour or so with the vinegar, dill, and scallion whites then drain. Also added raw sugar snap peas when assembling the salad. Delicious!
I made it last Friday as a trial run for tomorrow’s 4th of July family BQ- and all I can say that this is one of the best potato salads that I’ve ever eaten.
The lovely sour & crispy crunch of the pickled cucumbers, the wet crunch of the radishes, contrasted so nicely with the soft potato slices..
It was a big hit with my family..
I am never making a different potato salad! After mixing it all together and tasting it for seasoning, it was very difficult not to just dig into the bowl with a spoon.
On the suggestion of another commenter, I added the juice from a container of (very good, fermented) dill pickles that I already had in the house to the cucumbers. Hard to say how much of a difference that made, but it certainly didn’t hurt! I didn’t adjust the amount of vinegar since I figured I would drain it all anyway so the extra liquid wouldn’t make a difference.
I’m one of those people with a family recipe she’s completely satisfied with. I like my potato salad so much that I don’t really like to share it. It’s my dad’s Boy Scout recipe, mayo-heavy with lots of onion and sweet pickle relish. I learned to boil potatoes without turning them into mush making this salad.
Anyway when you say this is your family’s favorite potato salad, it gets my attention. I decided to try it and boy, we weren’t disappointed. It has all the texture and bright flavor I’m used to, without so much mayo. And switching to the dill side of things makes it seem really really different!
I was probably more generous with onion, and used just enough mayo to bind everything together – it doesn’t need much. Love this recipe!
Decided to try this during this really hot week. It’s fantastic! I love the pickled cucumbers and all the fresh dill. It tastes so nice and light – unlike most heavy potato salads. Thank you for helping me add a new salad to the repertoire!
Made this for the Fourth of July and it was a huge hit. Everyone raved about it! Sadly, there were barely any leftovers for the next day even though I had made “too much, as usual” (my husband). My husband and inlaws are also Slavic (Slovak)—I’ll be making this a lot! Love your recipes and stories, Deb.
This is my new favorite potato salad. I made it with homemade mayonnaise to bring to a cookout, and was so happy with how it came out, despite forgetting the radishes. I will definitely be making this again.
This was really good! But I found that my potatoes really broke/fell apart even before mixing the salad all together. I’m planning to double this and make it for my sisters Bridal Shower luncheon party. I’d really like it to have a better presentation, especially the potatoes! Thank you in advance :)
Might they have been cooked a minute or two too long?
I think that’s all it was! My potatoes were different sizes. About to serve this for my sisters bridal shower! Thank you :)
I made this for the second time and it was fabulous, as before, but instead of using the plain mayonnaise I used the slaw dressing from Not Your Mama’s Coleslaw on this site. I put the radish and onion with the cucumbers in the pickle per my own preference and I also did the quick pickle in just a few hours by setting the bag with vinegar in a sunny location. Favorite potato salad recipe ever!!
I’ve made this lots of times and yesterday I just made the quick pickle because I even like that part so much!! I add the radishes AND onions to the quick pickle because I like those things better pickled anyway.
This is hands down my favorite potato salad I’ve ever had. My husband objects to it being called potato salad- he says it should be called pickled vegetable salad with potato but obv the ratio of picked things to potatoes it what makes it so wonderful! I always pickle the onion along with the cucumbers because I’m not crazy about raw onions but can eat my weight in them when pickled.
This recipe does make A LOT. I usually eat leftovers for days, but there are enough vegetables mixed in with the potatoes that I have no problem eating a bowl by itself for a cold, summery meal. I find the dressed salad lasts for several days in the fridge no problem.
I made this for dinner last night, along with the chicken gyro salad (that I make all the time) and strawberry summer cake (the original version that I’ve made before). We were originally expecting friends over, but they got sick and I made it all anyway. This is probably my new favorite potato salad. I didn’t realize and I cut the potatoes before boiling them, which cut down on the cooking time. I tasted the pickles before mixing the salad and I thought it might be a little too salty, but it’s not; it’s perfect. I did use red onion because that was all I had. If I had white onion, I would have pickled them along with the cucumbers, but otherwise I wouldn’t change a thing. Another winner!!
Deb, this was absolutely delicious! I really like “my” potato salad, but your recipe intrigued me and I love trying new things, so we had this yesterday with our 4th of July BBQ. I have to admit, when I tasted it I ended up standing over the bowl with a fork and just kept tasting, it was that good. I made one very small change…used 1/2 cup mayo and 1/4 cup sour cream. I’m peddling it off to friends and neighbors today since there are only 2 of us. If it makes 8 servings that would be for 300 pound linebackers. Seriously, I would say 12 servings. Thank you for another winner…will definitely be making this again:-)
Do you think sour cream would work in place of the mayo? I’m not a HUGE mayo fan…..
Is there a way to make this using a vinegrette for a dressing? I can’t eat mayonnaise. Thank you.
Yes. And you can try yogurt instead of mayo, too.
Are you slicing the cucumbers BEFORE the pickling process?
Yes.
So yummy! I had to add egg because I’m Russian! I only had the pickles in the fridge for a few hours but they turned out great! I used a ball jar instead of plastic bag for the pickling. I also misread the instructions and put chopped dill in the pickles, so I didn’t add any extra dill later. Overall a delicious salad! Very filling! I might pickle the radishes next time too!
Made this over the weekend and it was amazing! This will be my go to potato salad from now on. I used half a cup of mayo and – truth be told – could have used even less. What I loved the most about it is that with the right mayo (I used avocado mayo) it’s Whole30 compliant so I felt like I was eating a total infulgence food yet it was compliant!! Woot!!!
This was the best summer meal I’ve made in years. Use less mayo and a bit of yoghurt for some tang. Just amazing recipe. Thank you!
I can’t seem to get this right. The cucumbers always come out waaaaay too salty, ruining the whole dish. :( Too bad, because I usually love anything pickled.
What kind of salt you are using? Have you tried using less? Brands vary by saltiness; I usually use Diamond and then don’t find that the salad needs a lot of added salt.
This was absolutely brilliant! Didn’t have vinegar so we made it with lemon juice instead and it turned out wonderfully. Also used green garlic instead of regular garlic which worked well. Thank you for this recipe!
Can you use russet potatoes instead of Yukon gold? Also- how much less mayo would you use (coming from a family who are not huge mayo fans)?
Russets aren’t my favorite for potato salads because they’re a little more floury i.e. can fall apart. But it can be done if you boil them to just the right point. It can help to fully chill the potatoes for a day before using them; they get a little more “packed”. For the mayo, just add it to taste — I mix a big spoonful at first, only add more if it seems to need it.
Has anyone made this but with the onions and / or radishes pickling with the cukes?
Delicious, easy to prep ahead, and a delight to eat in these too-hot-to-cook days! I’m cooking for just two, so I made one third of the recipe and got 6 generous servings. In this proportion, I used one heaping tablespoon each of mayo and sour cream. This was great for about two days and just started to suffer on the third, which was when we finished it. I also only had dried dill, but I used about a third as much and it worked out fine.
I made this over the weekend and it was so good. The pickles make the recipe for sure, but the combination of flavors and textures puts this salad at the top of my list. Three days later the salad tastes great, I just added a sprinkle of kosher salt and more pickles to pump up the flavors. Great new staple for my family!
I just made this and it is soooo good. I used fingering potatoes because I liked have lots of skin. My pickles were a little salty so I didn’t add any to the finished salad. Could I reduce the amount of salt while making the pickles?
I make many of your recipes. Love everything. Also I love your IG stories with your kids!
I just made this for dinner tonight, and it was absolutely perfect. I’m currently pregnant and craving potato salad and pickles, but wasn’t feeling an eggy, mustardy preparation. I admit I was skeptical of the limited ingredient dressing, but the pictures sold me, and it was delicious. I used half the amounts of radish and cucumber, as that was all I had, and I definitely won’t skimp next time around because they were the best part! (I also did half mayo and half cultured sour cream as the dressing, while trying to use up fridge contents, #covidcooking, and it was wonderful.) Next time I may double cook the pickles and potatoes, and just keep it in the fridge to mix up for bowls here and there, since it is so simple to throw together once the parts are prepped. Thank you for another excellent recipe.
This is SO good! The one small tweak I made was to let the white onions and radishes sit in some white vinegar for a little while (like 45 minutes while I cooked and sliced the potatoes– I didn’t have these done the day before) just because when I took out my pickled cucumbers, they read much more salty than vinegar-y and I wanted a little more vinegar in the potato salad. Excited to make it again!
Why do you promote the use of a resealable plastic bag for marinating when the world is awash in toxic plastic and a bowl will do the job even better?
This recipe is 14 years old on this site, and while, yes, we do use reusable plastic bags (though I prefer jars or glass containers) these days, I do often rinse out and reuse disposable ones — works just fine.
I made this for a party last year. It was popular, but I forgot all about it. Just got an invite for another with a request that I being this salad again! That’s a pretty strong endorsement an entire year later in my opinion!
Can you use regular cucumbers
Yes, but the seeds can be less pleasant when pickled.
Oh yum! This was a hit even with the family members I didn’t expect to enjoy it.
I only brined the cukes for a couple of hours, which is usually how I make quick pickles – no problem.
Not a huge mayo fan, so I subbed a mix of 10% milk fat greek yogurt, lemon juice/zest, salt, and the white/light green parts of 2 fat scallions. Sorry, didn’t keep track of proportions, but basically enough juice:yogourt to achieve a thickness you can work with, salt to taste. I made a half recipe and would guess I used the juice of 1/2 lemon. Tasted bright and creamy and complemented the other salad ingredients beautifully.
Instead of the white onion, I used what I had on hand – green parts of the scallions and some quick-pickled red onion, which added pretty colour. Probably less Russian-tasting but I’ve no such in-laws to impress.
Delicious salad that is now our go-to potato salad. I substituted plain Greek yogurt for mayonnaise as I have an emotional allergy to mayo (Translation: It creeps me out).
This has been my go-to potato salad for a few years now. The tang of the pickles and crunch of the radishes give such a good balance to the texture and flavor of the salad. Even my mayo hating brother requests this salad.
Excellent and delicious. I’m smitten with all of the recipes! This is a winner.
So yummy! I just made a halved version of this (still a large portion) with some slight modifications. Added a sliced carrot for additional color and crunch. And only a 1/3 C of mayo, adding in a little rice wine vinegar (not a huge fan of lots of mayo).
One question, my cucumbers came out way too salty. I even rinsed and let them drain longer than recommended. Even then I needed to make sure I had a good cucumber/carrot/radish/potato ratio in each bite. It is as simple as adding less salt to the brine? Let them sit in the brine for a shorter sound of time? *pickle newbie*
You might just want to use less salt. It could be about variances in salt brands, which are always a headache.
Wonderful salad! My family hates mayo do I make this with sour cream or crème fresh and it’s divine. Also add extra dill on top because we love the grassy freshness of it.
We’re not radish fans unless its Japanese pickled ones. What can I substitute for it?
Made this last night. Family loved it. It will become a regular side this summer!
This potato salad was soooo good! I had to cut back the amounts as I made it for two, and I used scallions instead of onion because that was what I had. Delicious! I had it for supper, an evening snack and I plan on finishing it off at breakfast. Thank you!
Made this with a few tweaks last night and was delicious. Needed to use up a few small red potatoes, so I subbed in those instead of gold. Didn’t have any white vinegar around, but had just finished a jar of pickles, so just stuck my cucumbers in the pickle juice for a few hours. Would it have been even better if I had let my cukes pickle overnight? Maybe! But it was so delicious as-is. Looking forward to the leftovers tonight. :)