Dive into a creamy side dish with irresistible sour cream potato salad! Bursting with tangy flavors, tender potatoes, and a rich, velvety dressing, this classic side dish will elevate any picnic, bbq or summer dinner.
Plus, it's really easy to make - you just need a few simple ingredients.
When a classic potato salad recipe is decades old, it has to be good, right???
I still have memories of eating this traditional potato salad in a lawn chair on my grandparents farm.
It's old school and is soooo good! Now here’s the twist.
This creamy potato salad recipe is made with sour cream AND mayo.
So while this is certainly a traditional potato salad recipe with the classic flavors, it has just a touch of a little different spin.
The sour cream adds a nice little tang to break up the mayo.
And let’s be honest, this potato salad recipe uses a healthy amount of mayo.
We're also using Yukon gold potatoes instead of russet potatoes, which is one update I made to the recipe. These potatoes are thin skinned which means you don’t need to peel them.
Easy peasy is always the way to go!
Ingredients
Of course our potato salad has, well...potatoes. Gold potatoes, as I mentioned.
For the creamy dressing, you'll use:
- mayonnaise - this is probably the only time you'll hear me say you can use Miracle Whip if you prefer. You're welcome, salad dressing fans!!
- sour cream - use any extras to whip up a batch of this sour cream cookies recipe!
- sugar
- apple cider vinegar - you can also use white vinegar if you prefer
- yellow mustard
- dried minced onion
- celery seed
- salt & pepper
Optional ingredients but highly recommended: In my opinion, a good potato salad needs some hard boiled eggs on top and a good dash of paprika.
How to make potato salad with sour cream
It's really quite simple...
Cook your potatoes on the stovetop by boiling in water, or you can make them in your Instant Pot.
Yes, you heard that right. My recipe includes instructions for making your potatoes in a 6 quart or larger Instant Pot or other programmable pressure cooker instead of boiling them in water. That's a huge time and effort saver!
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You know I love finding shortcuts for you...
Mix the sour cream salad dressing in a separate bowl until combined.
Pour over the cooled (or partially cooled) potatoes and stir gently to combine.
It's gonna look like there's too much dressing, so I don't want you to freak out. Cover and refrigerated the potato salad for a few hours or overnight.
This gives the potatoes a chance to soak up all that goodness.
YUM!
When you're ready to serve up your potato salad, top it with a sprinkle of paprika for color, and if you'd like, some hard boiled egg slices.
And that's all there is to this creamy potato salad recipe. Super easy, right???
FAQS
How much potato salad per person?
Some of this is going to depend on how large your spread is, meaning if there are lots of options, the number is gonna be lower.
If you have tons of food like my family always has, I'd say go with ½ cup per person.
If your spread is limited, for example baked beans, burgers and potato salad, I'd run that number a little higher up to 1 cup per person. I know it sounds like a lot, but if you measured it out you'd be surprised!
Recipe variations
You can put your own spin on this classic potato salad. Here are a few ideas...
- use Dijon mustard instead of plain yellow mustard
- replace some of the regular mayo with chipotle mayo for a little spicy kick
- add pickles for some zing
- garnish with green onions or chives
What to serve with creamy potato salad
How about servings potato salad alongside Cheeseburger Sliders, Sloppy Joes or grilled Turkey Burgers?
Other easy recipes you'll love
- Mayo Free Potato Salad
- Asparagus & Green Bean Salad
- Quick & Healthy Pasta Salad Recipes
- Easy Summer Corn Salad
- Easy Cucumber Tomato Salad
- Broccoli Salad with Craisins
This post was originally posted in 2019 and updated in June 2023.
Grandma's Sour Cream Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 pounds Yukon gold potatoes washed
- 1.5 cups mayonnaise
- ⅔ cups sour cream
- 3 Tablespoons sugar
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 hard boiled eggs sliced to top, optional
- 1 teaspoon paprika for garnish
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Instructions
To cook the potatoes (traditional method)
- Cut potatoes into bite size pieces. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then cook for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
To cook the potatoes (Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker method)
- Add 1 cup of water and trivet to the Instant Pot. Place whole potatoes in the pot atop the trivet. Most should fit in a 6 quart or larger pot, but do not exceed the fill line. Prick potatoes with a sharp knife. Set pressure to manual for 20 minutes, then let them naturally release. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into bite size pieces.
To make the dressing for the potato salad:
- In a medium sized bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, dried minced onion. Stir until all ingredients are combined, then fold into the diced potatoes, gently folding until incorporated.
- Mixture will be very creamy but will soak into the potatoes as it sits.
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Stir before serving and top with hard boiled egg slices and paprika.
Notes
Nutrition
This Farm Girl Cooks 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.
Heather Wilson says
Hands down the best potato salad I’ve ever made and ever eaten!! Not a lot of additional ingredients in this one, only the main players-and the dressing is just the right amount to keep it from drying out 2-3 days after initially making it. This is the recipe you need to have on hand always!!
Deanne Frieders says
Thank you, Heather! We love it too, and it is a great recipe. I have Grandma to thank for that 🙂
Daniel B says
Good recipe, I also add 4 slices of crumbled bacon or bacon bits. Add bacon/bits and mix well.
Deanne Frieders says
Bacon makes everything better 🙂