This creamy dill potato salad is the perfect dish for your summer BBQ. It’s fresh, light and hearty making it the perfect pairing with grilled meats and vegetables.
This creamy dill potato salad is the perfect side for any BBQ. The earthy taste of charred meat with the gentle flavour of the potato salad and fresh herbs are the perfect pairing.
Potato salad comes in many, many forms. But to me, there are only two kinds. The mushy type where you can’t quite tell if you’re eating potatoes and the kind where the potatoes are the star of the dish. Here, we present the latter. No mushy potatoes!
We use whole potatoes, cut them into chunky pieces and add the freshest ingredients to bring out the best of this starchy vegetable.
A Family Dish
This creamy potato salad is also popular with kids. The flavour of yogurt is familiar and the delicious dill and the other fresh herbs are mild but tasty.
My youngest, who is 8 months old, loves the dressing so I mash the potatoes, without the skin, and make sure to mix in extra just for her.
Preparing Creamy Dill Potato Salad
Ingredients
Dairy
Greek yogurt: Greek yogurt is yogurt that has had the whey and other liquids strained from it. It’s thicker and creamier than other types of yogurt.
Sour cream: Sour cream is made from cream from dairy milk. Lactic acid bacteria is added to sweet cream creating a thick, tangy and creamy substance.
Mayonnaise: Mayo is made from eggs, oil and usually vinegar or lemon. When mixing these at high speeds you get a white creamy texture, just like the ones you see at the grocery store.
Herbs and Spices
Onion powder: Onion powder is made from dehydrated ground onions. White, yellow or red onions can be used to make onion powder. It is a very common spice that is used in many spice mixes.
Dill: Dill is a herb that has soft almost feathery leaves that are often used for medicinal purposes as well as to flavour food. Dill adds nutrition with high vitamin C and A content and moderate iron content.
Parsley: Parsley is a dark green herb that is used as a garnish or as a flavouring. The two varieties that are most common are flat-leaf and curly parsley. They are very similar in flavour however their leaves and texture are different. As the names suggest, flat-leaf parsley has flat leaves that are very similar to cilantro, whereas curly parsley has rougher and curly-looking leaves. Both are very rich in vitamins C and K and antioxidants, among other nutrients.
Chives: Chives are a close relative to onions, shallots and garlic but are themselves a herb. The ‘leaves’ are long and green and have a spear-like shape. Chives have a relatively mild flavour and are typically eaten raw.
Produce
Lemon: Lemons are a citrus fruit loaded with vitamin C. These somewhat oval, yellow fruit are packed with flavour. They are sour and sometimes tart and add freshness to recipes.
How to Make Creamy Dill Potato Salad
The most important aspects of this recipe are that the potatoes are cooked right and that you use fresh herbs. Get these two things right and you’ll have an amazing creamy dill potato salad.
Prep the Potatoes
Start with the potatoes. You always want to chop the potatoes before boiling for the perfect potato salad.
Cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add them to a pot with water.
I like to leave the skin on for two reasons. It makes for a prettier salad, and the flavour of the potatoes is much better with the skin on.
NExt, boil the potatoes until they are cooked through. About 30 minutes on medium-high heat.
Tip: If you want to prevent your potatoes from boiling over, place a wooden spoon or spatula across the top of the pot while they cook.
Make the Dressing
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the dressing.
Start by prepping the fresh ingredients.
Wash and chop the fresh herbs. I like to finely chop them but this is totally up to you. If you are serving this potato salad to young kids, I’m sure they will appreciate the herbs chopped finely.
Zest the lemon and juice it, or just squeeze the juice through your fingers right into a bowl. And grate the parmesan cheese.
Now, add all of the dressing ingredients to a small bowl. Stir together well until evenly combined.
Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and let them cool for at least 20 minutes.
How to tell if potatoes are cooked?
Take a fork and pierce a potato through the center. If the fork goes through with minimal resistance the potatoes are ready. If the pieces are not even, find the largest piece to check doneness.
Note: If the pieces are not even you will end up with some potatoes that are cooked just right while others will be overcooked.
You know potatoes are overcooked if the fork goes right through the potato without any resistance. It may even crumble a little. At this point, just make mashed potatoes.
Once the potatoes are cool, add them to a medium bowl and top with the dressing. Stir gently using silicone spatulas making sure not to smush the potatoes. Mix until all the potatoes are coated in the dressing.
That’s it!
Substitutions
Potatoes: You can use any kind of potato for this recipe. Red potatoes are my favourite because of the beautiful colour they add. But I usually have yellow potatoes on hand so that ends up being my default. You really can’t go wrong as long as you cook the potatoes just right!
Chives: Green onions (or scallions) can be used as a substitute for chives. Use only the green parts of the scallions for a milder taste.
Dairy: We used a combination of sour cream, yogurt and mayonnaise in certain proportions but this is entirely up to you. If you find the recipe is too sweet, reduce the amount of mayo. Is it too sour? Reduce the amount of sour cream. Too tart? Reduce the amount of yogurt. Play around with it to see what you like best.
Serving Creamy Dill Potato Salad
In my opinion potato salad is the perfect meal on its own. But there is nothing that deserves this sidekick more than grilled meats or vegetables. The char you get from grilling is the perfect balance to this refreshing potato salad.
Try it with our yogurt marinated chicken drumsticks, or honey glazed pork chops. Both complement this creamy potato salad beautifully. I also love it on the side of our peri peri chicken, which you can bake or bbq.
Let us know in the comments if you have any questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for appetizer ideas to serve before dinner? Check out our recipes:
Creamy Dill Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
- Medium pot
- Medium bowl
- Microplane or fine grater
Ingredients
- 2 lbs potatoes note 1
- 8 cups water
- ½ tbsp salt
Dressing:
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 ½ tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp fresh dill
- ½ tbsp parmesan
- ½ tbsp fresh parsley
- ½ tbsp chives
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
- ½ lemon zest and juice
Instructions
- Wash and cut the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, leaving the skin on. Try to keep them all a similar size to make sure they cook evenly.2 lbs potatoes, 8 cups water
- Pour 8 cups of water into the pot and add the cubed potatoes. Boil the potatoes until you can pierce a fork through them. Approximately 30 minutes.
- While the potatoes boil you can make the dressing. Wash and chop the herbs, grate the cheese and zest the lemon. Add the dressing ingredients to a small bowl. Stir together well until combined.½ tbsp salt, 1/3 cup sour cream, ¼ cup mayonnaise, ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 ½ tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp fresh dill, ½ tbsp parmesan, ½ tbsp fresh parsley, ½ tbsp chives, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, ½ lemon zest and juice
- Once the potatoes are cooked through – poke a fork through one of the pieces to make sure it goes through the center with minimal resistance – drain them and let cool for 15 minutes or so. You want to make sure the potatoes are not overcooked.
- Once cooled, add the potatoes to a medium bowl, top with the dressing and toss to coat.
- Serve cold with your favourite mains, as an appetizer or on its own as a snack.
