Homemade Amish Potato Salad
Summer is the time for barbecues and picnics. And what's a more perfect summer side dish than Amish potato salad?
Amish-style potato salad and baked beans are two sides that go perfectly with a barbecue dinner.
And this recipe for the best Amish potato salad is deliciously sweet, tangy, and creamy. I can sit and eat a bowl full of potato salad all by itself because it's just so good!
But give me a hamburger or a piece of barbecued chicken, baked beans, and watermelon to go along with my potato salad, and I call it a perfect summer meal.
Recipe for Amish Potato Salad
What is Amish potato salad? Amish potato salad is a combination of cooked and diced potatoes with boiled eggs and chopped pickles. Which are dressed in a miracle whip-based dressing with sweet sugar, tangy vinegar, and mustard.
It's a combination of flavors that creates a unique taste that many people love. And it is a cool and creamy dish that will fill you up.
Amish-style Potato Salad
I have always made my own homemade Amish potato salad and was very skeptical about buying ready-made potato salad.
But last summer we had family visiting from out of state, and we had a busy week. So I decided to buy the Walmart Amish potato salad and hoped it wouldn't taste too terrible.
I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually quite delicious. And to my amazement, it tasted very similar to my Amish potato salad recipe.
So if you enjoy the Walmart Amish potato salad and would like a copycat recipe, then I believe this is the recipe you are looking for. You may enjoy it, even more, when you make it yourself.
How to Make Amish Potato Salad
There are a few steps involved in making homemade potato salad, but it's easy.
For the potatoes: Begin by washing your potatoes and placing them in a pot covered with water. Bring them to a boil over high heat, then reduce the temperature and boil until soft. It takes about 20 - 25 minutes. You don't want them mushy, just fork-tender.
When they are soft, drain the hot water and cover them with ice-cold water. Using a knife, pull off the skins and rinse them with clean water. Cool.
When the potatoes are cold, dice them into tiny bite-sized pieces. If you prefer, you can shred them. I've done it both ways, and I have even used my egg slicer to cut the potatoes before.
Using the egg slicer creates a big shred, and it's not as mushy as having them shredded but also finer than just cutting them. You can totally cut them into whatever size pieces that you want. But I prefer the potatoes cut into tiny chunks.
How to Cook Hard-Boiled Eggs
For the eggs: I like to use room-temperature eggs to make hard-boiled eggs because they will peel a lot easier.
If you have ever boiled cold fresh eggs, you will know what I mean when I say they are a pain to peel. I hate peeling an egg that falls apart when I'm trying to remove the peels. So I usually let my eggs sit on the counter overnight, so that they will be easier to peel.
Boil the eggs, covered in water, for about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat, drain the water, and chill them in ice water. Gently crack the eggs (I crush the eggs against the inside of my sink), peel, and rinse.
If you don't have an egg slicer, cut your eggs into little chunks with a knife. I like to use my egg slicer. I put the egg through both ways, creating little shreds of eggs.
An affiliate link...
Amish Potato Salad with Sweet Pickles
In my opinion, one of the key ingredients to a good potato salad is pickles. I am, however, not a fan of sweet pickles. I like dill pickles and that is what I add to my potato salad recipe.
Dice the pickles and celery into tiny little pieces, you don't want big chunks. But the tiny pieces do add an extra crunchy texture that I love.
If you don't like to bite on any crunchy chunks in your potato salad, feel free to pulse them in your chopper/blender.
Refrigerate
Potato salad is best if it is made at least several hours in advance. Mix it up and refrigerate it for several hours or overnight. It helps to incorporate the flavors. Stir before serving.
Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Amish Barbecues
I think one of the most popular meats to barbecue, when I was growing up, was barbecued chicken. One of our Amish neighbors made a huge barbecue pit with a double rack.
We put the chicken on the grill and placed another grate on top. It was secured in place, then you could flip the rack. This way you didn't have to turn each piece of chicken.
It was an awesome set-up to grill lots of chicken. And they let any of us neighbors borrow it when we wanted to grill for a big crowd.
And about once a year, we had a big neighborhood barbecue. All the neighbors were invited. The hosts grilled the chicken, and everyone else brought a side dish. It was a fun event, and the barbecued chicken was amazing!
And Amish potato salad is a perfect side with barbecued chicken.
More Amish Salad Recipes that go Great with Summer Barbecues...
Amish Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad Recipe
And you may also want to try this Amish baked beans recipe
Amish Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 - 8 medium to large potatoes about 7 cups cooked and diced potatoes
- 6 - 7 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 3/4 c. dill or sweet pickles, chopped
- 1/2 c. celery, chopped
- 2 Tbs. onion, finely chopped
Dressing:
- 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 c. miracle whip
- 5 Tbs. sugar
- 2 Tbs. white vinegar
- 2 Tbs. pickle juice
- 1 Tbs. milk
- 2 tsp. mustard
- 1 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. paprika
Instructions
- Boil potatoes, covered in water, for about 25 minutes, or until fork-tender. Do not over cook. Cool. Peel and dice into small bite-sized chunks.7 - 8 medium to large potatoes
- Boil eggs, covered in water, for about 10 minutes. Cool in ice water. Peel the eggs and dice them into small chunks or cut using an egg slicer.6 - 7 hard boiled eggs, diced
- Chop celery and pickles into small pieces and finely chop the onion.3/4 c. dill or sweet pickles, chopped, 1/2 c. celery, chopped, 2 Tbs. onion, finely chopped
- Mix all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Add celery, onion, and pickles.1 1/4 - 1 1/2 c. miracle whip, 5 Tbs. sugar, 2 Tbs. white vinegar, 2 Tbs. pickle juice, 1 Tbs. milk, 2 tsp. mustard, 1 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. paprika
- Mix all the ingredients and chill for several hours. Stir before serving.
Carin
I just made this too. Really good I know it’ll taste even better after it sits till supper time
Anna
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment.
Doris
My husband loved it. It was easy to prepare.
Anna
Thank you for taking the time to leave a kind comment!
Brian Gray
The recipe calls for mustard. Does that mean prepared mustard such as French's or does that mean powered mustard, such as Coleman's?
Anna
I'm sorry, it's prepared mustard.
Tibby
Making this right now. Almost the same as what I make. I peel and cut potatoes the boil them! A lot faster! Can't wait to eat it!
Kim Billhimer
Love potato salad no matter how it made .But the amish recipe is my favorite.
Jared
Turned out really good! Not a huge fan of miracle whip but nonetheless this is a thousands times better than store bought! Thanks for sharing!
Anna
Feel free to substitute the Miracle Whip for Mayo, if you prefer.
Joyce Buchs
Your recipe for potato salad is exactly the same as mine-my grandparents lived in Pennsylvania near a lot of Amish so she must have gotten recipe from them. At family get togethers my family always requests my potato salad.
Anna
That's awesome!
Julie Kraft
Well,2 reviews but neither have actually made it so I guess that I'm back to square one here.?
Martha Staton
Thank you for sharing the Amish Potato Salad!
My mother also made POTATO SALAD! I have not tried. My mother made her’s like mashed potatoes.
Sandie Simpson
I really enjoy reading your recipes and I'm going to make your potato salad
Anna
I am glad that you are enjoying it. Let me know what you think of the potato salad.