Amish Country Potato Salad Recipe

Now that the start of picnic season is here it is time to share my favorite recipe to take to backyard barbecues, potlucks and summer holiday celebrations: Amish Country Potato Salad. Chunks of perfectly cooked potatoes mixed with diced celery, red onion, and hard boiled eggs and tossed in a perfectly balanced homemade dressing.

Although you can simply call it potato salad, for us it is something more. You see, our farm is located just about an hour south of one of the largest Amish communities in the country.

We visit there often and every single time that we head there we stop at one of the local markets. Each store has an amazing display of meats, cheese and cold, creamy salads.

As we walk around the store you can bet that nearly every person has a few blocks of cheese in their cart, along with a tub of potato salad. It is easy to spot the potato salad through the clear plastic container because of its bright yellow color.

It is one of the most popular items purchased at the market and it is easy to understand why. The creamy, slightly tangy dressing that coats the potatoes and crispy diced vegetables make the perfect combination in regards to texture and taste.

In fact, even those individuals who aren’t huge fans of potato salad love it. So now, instead of driving two hours to purchase it, I decided to make it myself. And after testing and adapting several recipes, I have finally come up with a recipe that tastes just like it!

What Type Of Potato Makes The Best Potato Salad?

The first step in making any potato salad is to determine what type of potato to use. For potatoes that become tender yet still retain their shape it is best to use thin skinned potatoes, such as Yukon Gold, golden, or red potatoes.

Although, if you like a smoother side dish then you can use Russet potatoes for this recipe. The potatoes will literally fall apart when you boil and mix your potato salad.

Next, for this specific recipe I recommend that you peel your potatoes. Then cut them into quarters and put them into a pot of water.

Now bring the potatoes to a boil and remove when fork tender and place in an ice water bath. This will help stop the cooking process.

When the potatoes are cool, drain the water and dice into bite size pieces and place in a large bowl. Now it is time to toss the potatoes into our secret ingredient.

Amish Country Potato Salad Secret Ingredient

Once the potatoes are still somewhat warm place them in the serving bowl. Then pour pickle juice on top of the potatoes and gently toss to coat.

The potatoes will begin to absorb the pickle juice as they cool. This gives the potatoes more flavor than if you would add the pickle juice as part of the dressing. This simple step is what provides the Amish Country Potato Salad that delicious, and unique flavor.

How To Eliminate The Strong Onion Flavor In Potato Salad

Nearly every potato salad recipe calls for some sort of onion. To add both flavor and color red onion is used in this recipe. However, the taste of red onions can vary. Some red onions provide a harsh, strong flavor that can overpower the other ingredients in recipes.

Therefore, it is best to give your red onion a quick taste to determine if it is too strong before adding it to the recipe. If you feel like it is a bit on the strong side, there are a couple of ways that you can adjust the flavor.

Soak it: Before adding the red onion to your potato salad, dice it and soak it in a bowl of ice water for 10-15 minutes. This draws out some of the harshness without losing all the flavor.

Sweetener: A touch of sugar or honey can help balance the sharpness of the onion. Mix in a small amount with the dressing and taste and adjust until you get the flavor that you prefer.

Yellow or Sweet Onion: Instead of red onion, try using a yellow or sweet onion. Although they won’t provide that nice visual contrast they have a milder flavor.

Scallions: Scallions provide a delicate onion flavor. They work well chopped or sliced into thin rounds.

Amish Country Potato Salad Recipe

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
• 2 tablespoons dill or sweet pickle juice
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, optional
• 4 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 dill or sweet pickle spears, finely chopped

INSTRUCTIONS – Amish Country Potato Salad

Wash and peel the potatoes and then cut them into quarters. Place the potatoes in a stockpot and fill with enough water to cover potatoes. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender (about 10 minutes).

While the potatoes are cooking cut the onion and place them in a bowl of water. Then prepare a large ice water bath.

Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain and place in ice water bath for 3 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the ice bath and when they are cool enough to handle, dice into small bite size pieces.

Place the potatoes in a large bowl and pour the pickle juice on top. Gently toss and set aside to cool completely.

Now prepare the potato salad dressing. In a small bowl combine mayo, mustard, salt, black pepper, garlic and cayenne pepper (optional). Mix well.

Drain the onions and put them in the bowl with the potatoes. Then add the eggs, celery and pickles to the bowl as well.

Pour the dressing on top and gently stir and fold until thoroughly mixed. Garnish with paprika (optional).

Chill 2 to 3 hours before serving but it tastes even better when you let it chill overnight.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

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