American Potato Salad with Egg and Pickles Recipe
American potato salad is a classic of picnics, barbecues, and family garden gatherings. It’s creamy, slightly tangy from the mustard and pickles, and filling thanks to the eggs. It’s a bit similar to Polish potato salad, but has a simpler ingredient list and a more delicate dressing.
American potato salad is the essence of backyard cookouts in the USA – simple in ingredients, but with a distinct, creamy-tangy dressing based on mayonnaise, yogurt, and mustard. Pickles and celery add crunch and freshness, so it doesn’t feel heavy despite the eggs and mayo. Compared to the Polish version, it has fewer ingredients but a bolder, more “picnic-style” character.
Chef's tips
Cook the potatoes in their skins and make sure they are fully cooled before cutting – if they’re warm, they’ll soak up too much dressing and the salad will turn mushy. It’s also best to cool the eggs completely so they slice neatly and don’t crumble in the bowl. After mixing, taste the salad and remember that in the fridge the flavor of salt and vinegar will mellow a bit, so seasoning it slightly more at the start works in your favor.
How to serve
It’s best to prepare it a few hours before serving and chill it – then it tastes fantastic as a side for grilled pork neck, roasted sausages, or burgers. For summer garden gatherings, you can serve it in a large bowl next to a bowl of green salad and garlic bread so everyone can help themselves. It also works well as a lunchbox meal for work – just add a few lettuce leaves and a piece of roast chicken.
Ingredients
- potatoes - 800 g
- egg - 4 pieces
- pickled cucumber - 3 pieces
- celery stalk - 2 stalks
- onion - 0.5 pieces
- mayonnaise - 150 g
- mustard - 1.5 tablespoons
- plain yogurt - 80 g
- vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- dill - 2 tablespoons
- salt - 1 teaspoon
- black pepper - 0.5 teaspoons
Preparation
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cook them in their skins in salted water for about 15–20 minutes, until tender but not falling apart. Drain and set aside to cool completely.
- Cook the eggs until hard-boiled (about 9–10 minutes from the moment the water starts boiling), then cover with cold water and leave to cool.
- Cut the pickled cucumbers into a small dice. Wash the celery, trim the ends, and also cut into a small dice.
- Peel the onion and chop it very finely so it doesn’t dominate the flavor.
- In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, yogurt, mustard, vinegar, salt, and pepper until you get a smooth dressing.
- Peel the cooled potatoes and cut them into cubes of about 1.5 cm. Peel the eggs and cut them into similar-sized cubes.
- Put the potatoes, eggs, pickles, celery, and onion into a large bowl. Gently mix so the ingredients combine but the potatoes don’t fall apart.
- Add the mayo-yogurt dressing and the chopped fresh dill, then gently mix again. Taste and, if needed, season with a bit more salt or pepper.
- Refrigerate the salad for at least 1 hour so the flavors meld and the dressing thickens slightly.
Storage
Sałatkę przechowuj w szczelnym pojemniku w lodówce. Przed podaniem po wyjęciu z lodówki zamieszaj i w razie potrzeby dodaj łyżkę jogurtu, jeśli sos zgęstniał.
