The Best Smashed Potato Salad
The Best Smashed Potato Salad recipe ever and the only potato salad recipe you’ll ever need. Light on the mayo, heavy on the flavor…classic potato salad punched up a bit with fresh herbs and briny pickles. A great addition to your summer barbecue!
Greetings from the Jersey Shore! That’s right, my friends…I am typing this while watching the waves roll in on a sunny Saturday morning. We’re kicking the summer off a little earlier this year and I couldn’t be happier. Memorial Day weekend is in just one week but I couldn’t wait any longer to get to the beach and dip my toe in the salty ocean water. The ocean fixes everything, except unmanicured feet. (I saw that on a sign.) The REAL reason I’m sitting on the beach right now….I’m running my first 8K tomorrow. I’m one of those crazy people that signs up for a race in the winter and then does absolutely not a lick of training whatsoever. Yep, I’m going to call this one my Sunday stroll because I highly doubt my stubby little legs are going to be able to run the entire 5+ miles I’m required to do. I’m already planning a do-over later in the summer. And I won’t be so ambitious…3K it is. 🙂
In the meantime, I’ll stuff my face with The Best Smashed Potato Salad ever. Seriously, I need to carb-load for tomorrow’s race and potatoes are packed with carbohydrates. This salad is pretty stellar….it’s tangy and lighter than most potato salads I’ve had in the past. I used much less mayo and recreated the creamy texture by mashing some of the potatoes. I also left the skin on the potato because the skins are loaded with potassium, iron and niacin….and because I’m painfully lazy. I hate peeling potatoes and so I don’t. But it works in this recipe because of the rustiness of the salad. So…peel, don’t peel…it’s entirely up to you. But wouldn’t you rather save those precious minutes on the beach instead of hovering over a trash can with a vegetable peeler in hand?
A few tricks to make sure you’re making The Best Smashed Potato Salad and not The Best Cold Mashed Potatoes ever.
- Make sure you don’t overcook the potatoes…cook until they are just fork tender.
- Be sure to add the vinegar to the potatoes while they are still hot so they absorb the flavor and it doesn’t just run off down the drain.
- Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature before mashing or they will become…mashed potatoes. Cooling to room temp allows them to firm up a bit so they don’t complete fall apart.
- Fold the ingredients together carefully so you don’t break down the potatoes more than necessary.
I threw in a few fresh herbs because fresh herbs just make everything better. And I have an herb garden now….which is pretty flipping awesome. I can just walk outside and snip off anything I want to punch up the flavor of just about any recipe I’m working on. I even wrote about planting your own herb garden yesterday if you missed it…you can go check it out!
The Best Smashed Potato Salad is great served with these Grilled Lemon and Herb Lamb Chops or anything grilled in this Blueberry Chipotle Barbecue Sauce. Got it??? Pretty easy, right? Like a day at the beach. So…let’s kick off summer…right now…right here. Adios, winter!!!
Get the Recipe: The Best Smashed Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds russet potatoes, cut into uniform cubes
- 4 tablespoons champagne vinegar
- 3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 3 hard cooked eggs, peeled and chopped
- 3 scallions, green and white parts chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped sweet pickles or cornichons
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon fresh ground pepper
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a large stock pot and fill with cold water until the potatoes are just covered. Add 2 tablespoons kosher salt to the water and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked. Drain.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and sprinkle with the vinegar. Allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature.
- Using a potato masher or a fork, mash the potatoes until they break down to smaller bite sized pieces. Don't over mash. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, eggs, scallions, pickles, dill, parsley, salt and pepper to the bowl. Carefully fold all the ingredients until well blended.
- Cover and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Serve sprinkled with additional dill, scallions and parsley if desired.
2 Comments on “The Best Smashed Potato Salad”
Incredibly Delicious! Hubby loves this “smashed” potato salad. I use chopped dill pickle instead of sweet, as that’s his preference. I also salt the water I cook the potato in, rather than add salt to the salad. Perfect!
I salt both but I’m so happy you enjoyed it! One of our fave salads!