The ultimate creamy potato salad with dill pickles. This potato salad recipe is loaded with chopped dill pickles, fresh dill, and celery seed for layers of flavor perfect for pickle lovers.

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This mash up recipe is the side dish of the summer! It takes my classic potato salad recipe and combines it with elements of my copycat pickle de gallo to make a tangy dill pickle salad.
Serve this mayo-based potato salad with BBQ beef sandwiches, grilled Carolina chicken, or turkey burgers. Or take it to your next potluck!
📖Why My Recipe Works
- Extra Creamy- Adding the dressing, once before chilling in the fridge to let the potatoes absorb all the flavor, then we're adding more just before serving so that it's extra creamy. No one wants a dry potato salad!
- Enhanced Dill Pickle Flavor- Adding the dill pickle juice to the potatoes during cooling allows them to immediately absorb the flavor plus celery seed and fresh dill support that pickle flavor.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Potatoes -Use russet or Yukon gold varieties for potato salad.
- Pickles- You can substitute other varieties of pickles, but the dill flavor is what makes this recipe work so well. I prefer to buy whole pickles because they are crunchier, but you can also use sliced or spear pickles. You will also need the pickle brine. I don't recommend using pickle relish.
- Celery Seed -You can substitute with celery salt, dill seed, fennel seed, or caraway, with slightly different tastes. Alternatively, you can also omit the celery seed, but it does contribute to the overall flavor of the dish, so I recommend using it.
- Onion - Can be swapped with sweet onions or shallots for a milder flavor.
- Celery - I tested omitting celery, and while I did reduce it from my classic version, I think you need the extra crunch even with the addition of pickles.
- Fresh Dill - You can use 1 Tablespoon of dried dill in a pinch, but fresh really amps up the flavor.
- Mayonnaise - Use real mayo, not sandwich spread.
- Evaporated Milk - I will always hold strong to evaporated milk in potato salad, but if you had to substitute,e use half and half.
- Sugar - Just a pinch, you can increase or totally omit based on your personal preference.
- Vinegar - You can substitute white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Mustard -Yellow mustard is the classic choice but Dijon works as well.
⏲️How to Make Pickle Potato Salad
- Boil the potato until tender. Cool on a sheet pan, douse them with the pickle brine.
- Mix the mayo dressing until smooth.
- Add the potatoes (with any residual pickle juice) to a bowl with your crunchy veggies and pickles. Coat with most, but not all the dressing.
- Chill for at least 4 hours. Add the remaining dressing and fresh dill.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Peeling and cutting potatoes into even chunks before boiling helps them cook faster and more evenly.
- Add potatoes to cold, salted water and then bring to a boil. This prevents the outside from overcooking before the inside is tender.
- Spreading the potatoes on a sheet pan to release steam and prevent sogginess.
More Potato Salad Recipes
🌡️Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3-4 days. Before serving, give it a gentle stir to redistribute the dressing. If it looks a little dry, add a splash of the dressing or mayo to loosen it up.
Common Recipe Questions
Yes! My rule of thumb is 1 to 2 hard-boiled eggs per pound of potatoes for potato salad.
📖 Recipe Card
Dill Pickle Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and cut into ¾-inch cubes
- ⅓ cup dill pickle juice the brine from the jar
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1 ½ cups dill pickles finely diced, or increase as desired
- 1 cup white onion finely diced
- ½ cup celery finely diced
- ¼ cup fresh dill chopped
Potato Salad Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Add 1 tablespoon salt to the water.3 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to medium and simmer until the potatoes are just tender when pierced with a fork, about 10-12 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes thoroughly and spread them on a baking sheet to cool completely.
- Once the potatoes have cooled slightly, toss them with the pickle juice to absorb the flavor.⅓ cup dill pickle juice
- Blend together the mayonnaise, evaporated milk, vinegar, mustard, sugar, salt, and pepper.¾ cup mayonnaise, ½ cup evaporated milk, 1 teaspoon sugar, 2 Tablespoons white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Add the cooled potatoes, celery, onion, celery seed, and diced pickles to a large bowl. Pour in three-quarters of the dressing and gently fold until well combined, being careful not to mash the potatoes. The mixture may look soupy at first, but the potatoes will absorb the dressing as it rests.1 teaspoon celery seed, 1 cup white onion, ½ cup celery, 1 ½ cups dill pickles
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight to allow the flavors to meld.
- Just before serving, pour over the remaining dressing and add the dill.¼ cup fresh dill
Notes
- You can whisk together or use a blender to make the dressing.
- My original family calls for ⅓ cup sugar. I find this way too sweet and suggest starting with a ¼ cup.
- For best results, make this salad a day ahead to allow the flavors to develop fully.
Equipment
- Large stockpot
Nutrition
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