Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing Recipe (2024)

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Why It Works June 2014 Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing Ingredients Directions Make-Ahead and Storage Read More FAQs References

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Potato Salad

Creamy fingerling potatoes seasoned with dill, red onions, and a tangy sour cream-based dressing.

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

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Updated March 21, 2023

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Why It Works

Adding salt and vinegar to the potato cooking water not only seasons the potatoes deeply, but the vinegar also prevents them from falling apart as they cook.
Seasoning the potatoes with more vinegar while they're still hot is key to deep flavor penetration and a light texture on the palate.

Dill, potatoes, and sour cream go hand in hand. Just ask any Scandinavian and they'll tell you. That said, most Scandinavian-style potato salads tend to be extraordinarily creamy. This version uses only the barest touch of sour cream, instead relying on good technique to pack the potatoes with plenty of flavor and brightness.

Back when I used to work at a hotel restaurant, it was part of my job to prepare all of the food for the overnight cooks to serve on the late-night room service menus. This means lots of pre-formed turkey club sandwiches, a big pot of lobster bisque, a few dozen dumplings, and lots and lots of potato salad. The bad news? I spent a good year and a half of my life making potato salad nearly every single day. The good news? There was no set recipe, which meant that I was allowed to exercise a good degree of poor judgment when preparing it.

Most nights, it was good stuff—in fact, it was during this time that I experimented and perfected most of the techniques I employ inmy classic potato salad. But I also had my share of failures. The time I decided to blend cilantro into the mayonnaise as I emulsified it in the Robot Coupe and the salad ended up a delicate shade of pastel green. The time I tried substituting wasabi for my normal choice of whole grain mustard and the salad ended up a completely different but equally delicate shade of pastel green (and I'm sure the hotel patron's faces probably matched the salad once they had a taste).

Point is, I've madehundredsof potato salads in my life, and it's not always that I make one so good that it's worth repeating, and even more rare that it's worthwriting downandsharing. This version is one of those.

At its base, it's not dissimilar from my classic potato salad recipe. The key steps are still there: adding the sliced potatoes (creamy fingerlings in this case, though Yukon golds will do) to cold salted water then bringing them to a boil helps them cook evenly and become seasoned throughout. A dash of vinegar ensures that they soften while still retaining their shape (vinegar slows the breakdown of pectin, the organic glue that holds potato cells together).

Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing Recipe (3)

As soon as the potatoes are tender, I take them out of the pot, drain them well, and transfer them to a rimmed baking sheet, which helps them cool quickly and promotes evaporation of excess liquid. You want to get rid of as much moisture as possible so that your dressing won't get watered down. At the same time, you want your potatoes to be deeply seasoned. Sprinkling them with vinegar while they're still hot allows that vinegar to soak deeply into their core. This is the real trick to getting those potatoes to taste great without having to rely on too much gloppy cream or mayonnaise.

Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing Recipe (4)

To finish off the salad, I dress the potatoes in a mixture of sour cream, olive oil (the good stuff!), a little more vinegar, some chopped red onion and scallion, and a big ol' pinch of fresh dill.

How good is this potato salad? Let me put it this way: It's the kind of potato salad that it's worth paying a 70% premium plus mandatory $10 tip to have delivered to your door at 3 a.m.

This recipe originally appeared as part of the column"The Food Lab Turbo."

June 2014

Recipe Details

Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing

Active15 mins

Total30 mins

Serves4to 6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fingerling potatoes (such as La Ratte or Russian Banana), cut into 1/2-inch disks
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar, divided
1 tablespoon whole grainmustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, diced (about 3/4 cup)
2 scallions, finely sliced (about 1/4 cup)
2 tablespoons mincedfresh dill
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon vinegar, and 3 cups tepid water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally until salt is dissolved. Reduce to a bare simmer and cook until potatoes are completely tender and show no resistance when poked with a paring knife or cake tester, about 17 minutes. Drain potatoes. Immediately toss potato pieces with 1 tablespoon vinegar, spread in a single layer in a rimmed baking sheet, and allow to cool to warm room temperature, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine mustard, sour cream, olive oil, red onions, scallions, dill, and remaining 1/2 tablespoon vinegar in a large bowl and whisk together. Add potatoes and toss thoroughly to combine. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as necessary. Serve.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Potato salad can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.

Classic Potato Salad Recipe
Creamy Vegan Fingerling Potato Salad Recipe
Yukon Gold Potato Salad With Tarragon Pesto and Pickled Onions Recipe
5-Ingredient Smoked Salmon and Potato Salad Recipe
Potatoes 101: All You Need to Know About Common Spuds

Potato Salad
Vegetarian Sides
Dill
Fingerling
Vegetable Sides

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
129	Calories
3g	Fat
25g	Carbs
3g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	129
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 3g	3%
Saturated Fat 1g	3%
Cholesterol 3mg	1%
Sodium 245mg	11%
Total Carbohydrate 25g	9%
Dietary Fiber 3g	9%
Total Sugars 2g
Protein 3g
Vitamin C 16mg	81%
Calcium 20mg	2%
Iron 1mg	3%
Potassium 474mg	10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Easy Fingerling Potato Salad With Creamy Dill Dressing Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you keep potatoes from getting mushy in potato salad? ›

Start with cold water, not boiling. According to Love Potatoes, dropping them into cold water instead of boiling water (and letting the potatoes and water heat up together) will prevent the outside from cooking faster than the inside.

Learn More ›

Should you cool potatoes before making potato salad? ›

When using vinaigrette, don't let the potatoes cool before dressing them. And when making a mayonnaise-based potato salad, stay away from dressing warm potatoes. The hot potatoes will cause the mayonnaise to melt and become oily.

Learn More ›

Should you rinse potatoes in cold water after boiling for potato salad? ›

Rinsing potatoes helps remove excess starch, so it is recommended to rinse the potatoes before cooking. To ensure even more starch is out of the way, it's recommended that they even be quickly rinsed after boiling. We recommend using hot water for rinsing after boiling and cold water prior to boiling.

Know More ›

Is it better to boil potatoes whole or cut up for potato salad? ›

Drop a whole russet into the pot and by the time the outside has cooked through, the inside will still be raw. Larger potatoes should be cubed to ensure they cook evenly (peeled first if desired). Smaller potatoes tend to have thin skins and can be boiled whole, no peeling required.

Know More ›

How can I keep my potato salad from getting watery? ›

Potatoes can retain moisture. To prevent this, drain the potatoes very well in a colander or pot. Allow all the steam to escape the potatoes before mixing them with the dressing and other ingredients. Steaming the potatoes instead of boiling them is a good way to ensure that excess moisture isn't trapped inside.

Tell Me More ›

Which type of potato is best for potato salad? ›

Russet, Yukon Gold, or red potatoes (new potatoes) are all excellent for potato salad. They do cook at different rates so be sure to adjust cook time depending on which type of potato you select.

Get More Info Here ›

What if I put too much mustard in my potato salad? ›

You've got two options. The first option is to cook more potatoes and make more potato salad, adding more of every ingredient except mustard. Doing so will get the mustard content in equilibrium with the rest of the flavors in the salad. Your other option is to adjust the seasonings to compliment the…

Learn More Now ›

Why does my potato salad taste bland? ›

If it's a potato salad, be sure to let the potatoes cool (the starch cells close up) before adding any dressing or salad mixture. Warm potatoes will soak up the liquids. Taste an hour after mixing and see if the spices need tweaking. Mashed potatoes do the same thing if you add in the garlic or cheddar cheese too soon.

What is in Walmart potato salad? ›

POTATOES, MAYONNAISE (SOYBEAN OIL, WATER, EGG YOLKS, VINEGAR, SALT), MUSTARD (WATER, VINEGAR, MUSTARD SEED, SALT, SUGAR, SOYBEAN OIL, TURMERIC, PAPRIKA, GARLIC POWDER, SPICES, ANNATTO EXTRACT (COLOR], XANTHAN GUM, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL FLAVOR), DILL PICKLE CUBES (CUCUMBER VINEGAR, SALT, CALCIUM CHLORIDE, NATURAL ...

Show Me More ›

Why is my potato salad gummy? ›

Not Getting The Cook Time Right

If you overcook them, the result is a mushy, grainy mess. And if you undercook them, you end up with crunchy (not in a good way) potatoes. It's a delicate balance to achieve soft, tender potatoes for that just-right potato salad texture.

How to keep potatoes from falling apart when making potato salad? ›

To keep your salad from falling apart into mush, it's important to use the best potatoes for potato salad. Skip the russet potatoes and use a waxy variety instead, like Yukon gold, red potatoes or fingerlings. Learn more about which types of potatoes you should use for different recipes.

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How to fix hard potatoes in potato salad? ›

I just made a potato salad, and I undercooked the potatoes- they are semi hard...and I aready mixed everything together, is there anything I can do to fix it, without throwing it out? Microwave it for about 30-40 sec until they soften how you like them. Make sure to refrigerate after and cool before eating.