Creamy potato salad with caramelized onions is a make-ahead side of waxy potatoes, sweet onion and tangy yogurt dressing, ready in about 55 minutes. It serves 6, and it tastes even better after a short rest in the fridge.
Why This Recipe Works
Dress the potatoes while they are still slightly warm. Warm potato starch is open and thirsty, so it soaks up the dressing instead of letting it sit on the surface. The salad tastes seasoned all the way through.
Fry the onion slowly over medium heat. The sugars in the onion brown gently and turn sweet. High heat scorches the edges first and leaves the onion bitter.
The dressing leans on pickle brine and yogurt, not just mayonnaise. The brine adds sharp salt and acid, the yogurt keeps it light, and the single spoonful of mayonnaise gives it body. Together they cut through the starchy potatoes.
Creamy Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions Ingredients
For the salad
- 5 medium potatoes
- 1 large yellow onion
- 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
- 10 to 12 cornichons (small pickles), chopped
- 1 carrot, grated
- 2 roasted red peppers (such as Kapya), chopped
- 1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped
For the dressing
- 6 to 7 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- 1/4 cup (about 60 ml) pickle brine from the cornichons
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 level teaspoon black pepper
How To Make Creamy Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions
Cook the potatoes and onions
- Boil the potatoes: Put the potatoes in a pot with their skins on and cover them with water. Boil until a knife slides in easily. The skins keep the potatoes from soaking up water, so they stay firm.
- Cool slightly: Drain the potatoes and let them cool just a little. They should be warm enough to dress, but cool enough to handle.
- Caramelize the onion: Slice the onion into rings and fry them in the olive oil over medium heat. Keep going until they turn soft and deep golden. Slow heat gives you sweet onion, not bitter.
- Add the carrot: Stir the grated carrot into the onion and sauté it briefly. A short cook softens it and blends its sweetness into the onion.
Assemble the salad
- Peel and chop: While the potatoes are still slightly warm, peel them and cut them into bite-size pieces. Warm skins slip off far more easily than cold ones.
- Combine: Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the onion and carrot, roasted peppers, cornichons and dill.
- Make the dressing: In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, pickle brine, salt, sugar and pepper until smooth.
- Toss: Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well, so every piece of potato gets coated.
- Rest: Let the salad sit for a few minutes. The potatoes keep drinking in the dressing as it rests.
- Chill: For the best taste, cover the bowl and chill the salad for 30 minutes before serving. The flavors settle and the dressing thickens as it cools.
Recipe Tips
- Pick waxy potatoes: Yukon Gold or another waxy potato holds its shape when you toss it. Floury potatoes break down and turn the salad mushy.
- Keep the skins on: Boiling the potatoes whole in their skins stops them from waterlogging. A watery potato dilutes the dressing.
- Chill before serving: Thirty minutes in the fridge lets the flavors settle and the dressing thicken. The salad tastes noticeably better cold.
- Taste before serving: Pickle brine varies from jar to jar. Taste after the rest and add a pinch of salt or a splash more brine if it needs it.
What To Serve With Creamy Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions
Serve this potato salad cold or at room temperature next to grilled chicken, sausages or roasted meat. It also works alongside a simple tomato salad or on a picnic table.
How To Store
- Fridge: Keep the salad covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Stir it before serving, since the potatoes will have absorbed some of the dressing.
- Freezer: Do not freeze it. Potatoes turn grainy and the yogurt dressing separates when thawed.
- Make ahead: Cook the onions and potatoes the day before, then dress the salad a few hours before serving.
FAQs
Can I make creamy potato salad ahead of time?
Yes. It holds well in the fridge for up to 3 days, and the flavor improves after the first few hours. Stir in a spoonful of yogurt before serving if it looks a little dry.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt?
Yes, Greek yogurt works and makes a thicker dressing. Thin it with a splash of pickle brine if it feels too stiff to coat the potatoes.
Is this potato salad vegetarian?
Yes, nothing in the ingredient list contains meat or fish. It is not vegan, because the dressing uses yogurt and mayonnaise.
Why is my potato salad mushy?
Usually the potatoes were floury, overcooked or peeled before boiling. Use waxy potatoes, boil them in their skins just until tender, and toss gently.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving (1 of 6), worked out from the ingredients.
- Calories: about 210 kcal
- Total Fat: 10g
- Total Carbohydrate: 27g
- Dietary Fiber: 3g
- Protein: 4g
Creamy Potato Salad with Caramelized Onions
6
servings20
minutes35
minutes55
minutesA tangy potato salad of waxy potatoes, slowly caramelized onion, carrot, cornichons and roasted peppers in a yogurt and pickle brine dressing. It serves 6 and keeps well for 3 days.
Ingredients
- For the salad
5 medium potatoes
1 large yellow onion
3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil, for frying
10 to 12 cornichons (small pickles), chopped
1 carrot, grated
2 roasted red peppers (such as Kapya), chopped
1/2 bunch fresh dill, chopped
- For the dressing
6 to 7 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
1 teaspoon mustard
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 cup (about 60 ml) pickle brine from the cornichons
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 level teaspoon black pepper
Directions
- Boil the potatoes: Put the potatoes in a pot with their skins on and cover them with water. Boil until a knife slides in easily. The skins keep the potatoes from soaking up water, so they stay firm.
- Cool slightly: Drain the potatoes and let them cool just a little. They should be warm enough to dress, but cool enough to handle.
- Caramelize the onion: Slice the onion into rings and fry them in the olive oil over medium heat. Keep going until they turn soft and deep golden. Slow heat gives you sweet onion, not bitter.
- Add the carrot: Stir the grated carrot into the onion and sauté it briefly. A short cook softens it and blends its sweetness into the onion.
- Peel and chop: While the potatoes are still slightly warm, peel them and cut them into bite-size pieces. Warm skins slip off far more easily than cold ones.
- Combine: Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Add the onion and carrot, roasted peppers, cornichons and dill.
- Make the dressing: In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, mayonnaise, mustard, garlic, pickle brine, salt, sugar and pepper until smooth.
- Toss: Pour the dressing over the salad and mix well, so every piece of potato gets coated.
- Rest: Let the salad sit for a few minutes. The potatoes keep drinking in the dressing as it rests.
- Chill: For the best taste, cover the bowl and chill the salad for 30 minutes before serving. The flavors settle and the dressing thickens as it cools.
