Sour Cream Potato Salad

Ingredients for Sour Cream Potato Salad

• Potatoes: Waxy taters such as red potatoes, fingerlings and Yukon golds hold their shape well but still absorb dressings without breaking down, making them ideal potatoes for this summer side.
• Italian salad dressing: The secret weapon in this savory potato salad is Italian dressing, which gives it a nice zing and herbaceous taste thanks to its premixed combo of oils, vinegar, spices and cheeses.
• Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs create the chunky nature of this potato salad while sneaking in more protein. Bright yellow, chopped-up yolks also give it a cheery quality.
• Sliced celery: A low-calorie ingredient that imparts plenty of healthy crunch to an otherwise creamy salad.
• Scallions: A sprinkling of fresh scallion tops helps potato salad look and taste homemade, given their slightly spicy, slightly sweet taste and verdant green color.
• Mayonnaise: A classic potato salad binder, mayo lends a rich creamy consistency to warm spuds and keeps everything nice and moist.
• Sour cream: Tangy sour cream and potatoes are a match made in summer salad heaven.
• Horseradish: Prepared horseradish and Italian dressing separate this creamy potato salad from its less flavorful peers. If you like it hot, be liberal with your teaspoon amount.
• Mustard: Some of our most popular potato salad recipes involve a mayo-mustard blend for wet ingredients and this dish is no different.
• Celery seed: Along with fresh celery stalks, ground celery seeds provide an aromatic, earthy character to potato salad and help balance the mayo and sour cream fats.

Directions

Step 1: Cook your potatoes

Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a slow simmer, reduce the heat and cover to cook until tender, for 15 to 20 minutes. Drain well in a colander.

Step 2: Peel the potatoes

Once your potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and slice the spuds adding them to a large bowl. Add the Italian salad dressing and toss gently, then cover and refrigerate the bowl for two hours.

Step 3: Boil the eggs

Boil the eggs and then remove the eggshells. Next, slice eggs the eggs in half, remove the yolks and set them aside.

Editor’s Tip: Hard-boiled eggs do best in salted boiling water so the egg whites solidify faster and don’t leak through a crack while cooking. If you prefer a runner yolk, boil the eggs for 6 to 8 minutes for a harder yolk.

Step 4: Chop the egg whites

Remove the potato bowl from the fridge and chop the egg whites. Add them to the potatoes with the celery and onions.

Step 5: Combine the wet ingredients

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish, mustard, celery seed and salt. Then, crumble the egg yolks and add them to the mayonnaise mixture. Whisk until blended. Spoon the creamy dressings over the potatoes and toss them gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving.

Sour Cream Potato Salad Variations

• Spice it up: Looking to kick this flavor-packed potato salad up even further? Add a few dashes of hot sauce or Tabasco to the bowl. Remember though, horseradish tends to pack a punch on its own so err on the side of caution here.
• Get creative with garnishes: Top this tater salad with crispy bacon bits, chopped nuts or minced pickles if you like your salad on the brinier side. Shredded carrots and peas are another way to work in extra veggies without picky eaters noticing them.
• Add macaroni: Have leftover potato salad and cooked pasta lying around? Combine the two! In Hawaii, “mac salad” merges classic macaroni salad with creamy potato salad for a unique recipe riff that’s downright delicious and will stretch the life of your sides for lunches throughout the week.

How long can you leave sour cream potato salad at room temperature?

Having a food-safe summer potluck means this sour cream potato salad has a two-hour maximum time at room temperature. (Temperatures between 40°F and 140° are the danger zone for bacteria reproduction.) Consider keeping the potato salad and other perishable dishes over a bed of ice to help keep them cold.

How to Store Sour Cream Potato Salad Leftovers

Add any leftovers to an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Ensure it’s well sealed and place it in the refrigerator for two to three days. Since this dairy-based salad contains mayo and sour cream it’s best not to push your luck beyond that.

Sour Cream Potato Salad Tips

Can you peel the potatoes before boiling them, instead of boiling them and then peeling them?

Yes! But red potatoes are easier to peel when they’re cooked, so wait until after cooking them. Also, as a bonus, potatoes boiled whole also tend to keep their shape better. You can also leave the peel on for more fiber and a hint of color.

Is it better to boil or simmer your potatoes for potato salad?

Chances are, you grew up thinking boiling potatoes in hot water was the best way to cook them for potato salad. On the contrary, the French way is to place whole potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water. Then slowly bring the water to a simmer—not a rolling boil—as this keeps the spuds’ texture intact and prevents the hot water from activating the starch, which can produce mealy potatoes. Simmer slowly until they are fork tender and you’ll have the best potatoes for potato salad.