Amish Potato Salad
Amish Potato Salad is a creamy, sweet and tangy side dish made with tender potatoes and a creamy dressing. The perfect blend of flavors you want in a potato salad!
A 15-Minute Prep Side Dish
Amish Potato Salad is a classic side dish that’s known for its blend of sweet and tangy flavors. It comes together pretty quickly and is not just good for BBQ’s and cookouts but simple enough for everyday dinners too. I think it tastes even better after chilling in the refrigerator before serving, so that makes it perfect to toss together in advance too!
Frequently Asked Questions:
They both have a lot of the same ingredients, but Amish Potato Salad brings a bit more sweetness. It’s that sweet and sour combo that Amish Potato Salad is known for and it’s also very creamy. If you want a more standard potato salad recipe, please see my Southern Potato Salad recipe here.
Serve as a side dish to any barbequed or oven-roasted meats. It is great to take to potlucks or parties. Though sometimes it is nice to just have a small bowl of it as a snack.
Yes, you can make it 24 hours in advance. It needs the chill time of at least 1 hour as it is, making it in advance and giving it more chill time allows the flavors to come together even more.
If you prefer to have the skins on your potatoes, you can leave them and just dice them.
If you would like to serve it warm directly after making it, you can. Just be sure that it does not stay out at a warm temperature for more than 2 hours, or you will need to discard it. I do not recommend heating it after it has been chilled.
Amish Potato Salad should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Serve chilled. You can mix it up again before serving if you feel that the potatoes on the top are drying out. Do not recommend freezing as the base will separate.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- russet potatoes– Yukon Gold are also a good option. Red potatoes are a little waxier and don’t like to soak up the dressing as well so I wouldn’t use those if at all possible. It will still taste good, it just will be more dressing since the potatoes won’t really soak it up.
- large eggs – If you are allergic to eggs or don’t like them in your potato salad, you can leave them out.
- mayonnaise – folks always ask me about using Miracle Whip (which is a dressing, not a mayonnaise). I am not a good person to ask about that because I personally do not like the taste of Miracle Whip at all. After writing recipes for 16 years, I have found it is very much a generational thing. If you love it and want to use it, then by all means, please use it.
- granulated sugar – This is what sets apart Amish potato salad from the standard potato salad. If you are really against adding it, then don’t but you’re basically not making an Amish potato salad anymore. I am sure you could use a sugar substitute, I just haven’t personally tested it out.
- apple cider vinegar – I tried this with regular vinegar, red wine vinegar and a seasoned rice vinegar and we all preferred the apple cider vinegar but you can certainly use what you prefer.
- yellow mustard– Dijon mustard is another option. The yellow mustard is going to really add to that punch of tanginess that Amish Potato Salad brings. It is meant to be a sweet and sour type salad.
- celery stalks– don’t like celery? Just leave it out.
- onion– A yellow, white, or Vidalia onion are all good choice. But you can use a red onion if you would like to add a pop of color.
- sweet pickle relish – you can use dill pickle relish instead if that’s what you prefer. This is your potato salad, do what you want.
How To Make Amish Potato Salad
Add your potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook for 10-15 minutes, until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Place your eggs in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the eggs to a boil over high heat. Once they reach a boil, cover the saucepan and turn off the heat, allowing the eggs to sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a medium bowl filled with ice water. Let them sit in the water for 5 minutes. Peel and dice the eggs.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sugar, apple cider vinegar, mustard, salt, and pepper. Stir in the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, onion, and relish.
Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
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Amish Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 4 celery stalks, finely diced
- ½ small onion, finely diced
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish (can use dill pickle relish)
Instructions
- Add 2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and diced to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook for 10-15 minutes or until fork-tender. Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- Place 4 large eggs in a small saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring the eggs to a boil over high heat. Once they reach a boil, cover the saucepan and turn off the heat, allowing the eggs to sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl filled with ice water. Let them sit in the water for 5 minutes. Peel and dice the eggs.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Stir in the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, 4 celery stalks, finely diced, 1/2 small onion, finely diced, and ¼ cup sweet pickle relish.
- Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I have now found my new favorite potato salad! My husband thought it was so weird that I was putting sugar in potato salad, but I’m glad I did. It added such a balance of flavors. This will definitely be made all summer long.
Made this yesterday and we all loved it! It tastes JUST like I remember when I was younger. My Grandma would’ve never used Miracle Whip so I am glad you mentioned that lol. That stuff is disgusting and no self respecting cook would use it instead of real mayonnaise. My Grandma made her own mayonnaise and it was the best! I am 75 years old and I would say I am a pretty good cook but I could never get it to taste exactly like hers. This is the closest I have come, thank you! Keeping it simple like it should be. Too many people add too much these days and I miss the simple but good recipes.
Thank you Cindy! So happy you liked it and I can’t tell you how happy that makes me to hear that you thought it tasted so close to your Grandma’s. You are right, we do tend to overcomplicate recipes these days and I also miss those simpler times with only a handful of ingredients. Sometimes simple really is better. My Grandma made her own mayonnaise as well. It’s really not hard, I don’t know why I don’t do it more often!
I think this is the exact same recipe as my Mee Maws! So good and a family favorite for over 70 years! Hi from Pennsylvania!
Love hearing that Terry! No one can beat a good recipe from Grandma 🙂