This creamy and easy Healthy Potato Salad is everything you love about a traditional potato salad recipe, except it’s lighter! It’s made without mayo and uses Greek yogurt instead!
Adding dill pickles and fresh herbs gives adds a huge punch of flavor!
I’m guessing if you’re here you are a potato salad lover and are trying to find either a healthier potato salad recipe, OR maybe you just don’t like mayo and your trying to find a Greek yogurt potato salad recipe!
Either way you’re in luck!
For the longest time I didn’t really like mayonnaise, so I switched up most of my creamy salad recipe and substituted Greek yogurt instead.
It works great! Check out my Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad, Greek Yogurt Sandwich Spread, Healthy Apple Salad, and Creamy Strawberry Salad Dressing!
Potato salad ingredients
There are quite a few ingredients in this potato salad recipe, but don’t let it scare you!
Most of them are pretty simple and you probably already have quite a few of them.
I’ll give you suggestions for substitutions…just in case you don’t have something and don’t want to go to the store (or in my case…you can’t)
- POTATOES: Use fresh potatoes. Yukon gold and red potatoes are the best potatoes for potato salad because they hold their shape after cooking and won’t crumble. The flesh of Yukon gold potatoes is yellowish.
- ONIONS: Sweet onions, Walla Walla, White, or Yellow
- EGGS
- PICKLES: Dill is my fave. Sweet pickles can be used too, although it will give the salad a completely different taste.
- PLAIN GREEK YOGURT: Make sure it’s Greek yogurt, regular yogurt is thinner and will give your salad a much different consistency.
- SOUR CREAM: You can use Greek yogurt instead if you don’t have sour cream. I like the flavor of sour cream though.
- VINEGAR: White distilled. You can also use cider vinegar, white wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, or even lemon juice.
- YELLOW MUSTARD: Plain yellow mustard really is the best! You can try dijon if that’s all you have.
- SEASONINGS: Salt, Pepper, Celery Seed, Dill Weed, Paprika (for garnish, optional)
- FRESH PARSLEY: For garnish, optional
How to make Potato Salad
This is an easy potato salad recipe, but you should know that every potato salad is it’s own kind of man!
What I mean, is that you’ll need to adjust seasonings and some of the ingredients to taste.
If it’s bland, add more salt and pepper.
If it’s too thick, add a splash of milk or more yogurt. It will set up and get thicker as it sits so make sure it’s really creamy when you’re making it.
How to cook potatoes for potato salad
- Peel and dice potatoes and onions if you’re using them. Trust me…it adds the best flavor! Red potatoes don’t need to be peeled if you don’t want to.
- Put potatoes in an instant pot (pressure cooker) and cover with an inch of water. Add a teaspoon of salt. I have this Instant Pot pressure cooker and love it!
- Close valve. Set the pressure cooker to high-pressure. Set a timer for 5 minutes. Let cook, and quick release when it’s done.
- Drain potatoes. Cool until just warm.
How to boil potatoes on the stove-top for potato salad
- Peel potatoes and dice in 1/2 inch dice.
- Put potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 tsp. salt.
- Bring to a boil over high heat.
- As soon as potatoes come to a boil, reduce heat just high enough to keep potatoes gently boiling.
- Boil for about 8 minutes. Test to make sure they are soft.
- Drain. Cool until just warm.
NOTE: You can also bake potatoes, cool until just warm, then peel and dice. Then add to potato salad. It’s an easy way of how to cook potatoes for potato salad, but you do have to plan ahead.
How to hard boil eggs in a pressure cooker
- Set eggs on a rack in the pressure cooker.
- Add 1/2 inch of water.
- Close valve, set to high pressure for 5 minutes.
- Cook for 5 minutes, quick release, and leave lid closed for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, take lid off. Drain and cover with ice water to stop the cooking process. Let sit in ice water bath for about 5 minutes.
- Peel.
Mix creamy dressing for potato salad
- Add Greek yogurt, sour cream, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, celery seed, and dill weed to a large mixing bowl.
- Stir until smooth. You can taste test to see if you need to add ingredients.
- Add warm diced potatoes, pickles, and hard-boiled eggs. (Adding warm potatoes helps them soak up some of the dressing and gives the potatoes the best flavor)
- Gently stir until potatoes are coated with dressing.
- Adjust seasonings to taste. I like salty potato salad so I load up!
- How to fix dry potato salad? Add a splash, or two, of milk. Make sure it’s pretty creamy because it will get drier as it sits.
Potato salad will last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Do not store potato salad at room temperature.
Freezing potato salad changes the texture of the salad. I don’t recommend freezing it.
Yukon Gold and red potatoes are my favorite potatoes for potato salad.
Potato salad shouldn’t stay out of the fridge longer than 3 hours. Don’t leave it in the sun. Setting the salad on a bowl filled with ice helps keep it safe.
Other Easy BBQ Side Dishes
BBQ side dishes and salads are a super important part of any potluck or barbecue!
Here’s a list of some of our favorite, super easy, side dish recipes! Oh, and be sure to see all my tips on how to pick, cut, and store watermelon!
- Watermelon Salad
- Cauliflower Salad
- Chinese Cabbage Salad
- Smoked Baked Beans
- 3 Bean Salad
- Slow Cooker Baked Beans
- Cornbread Muffins
- Grilled Zucchini
- Marinaded Cucumbers
Grab my Healthy Potato Salad Recipe
There are a million potato salad recipes, but if you’re looking for a no mayo potato salad…THIS is it!
It’s a healthy potato salad with fresh herbs, and all the classic flavors (hello dill pickles) you love! I can’t wait for you to try it! Best homemade potato salad!
Greek Yogurt Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes (Yukon Golds or red potatoes)
- 1/2 onion
- 6 eggs
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 4 Tbsp sour cream
- 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp celery seed
- 1/2 tsp dill weed or 1 tsp fresh
- 1/2 cup dill pickles chopped
- Paprika optional, for garnish
- parsley optional, for garnish
Instructions
To Cook Potatoes for Potato Salad (Instant Pot)
- Peel and dice potatoes and onions if you’re using them. Trust me…it adds the best flavor! Put potatoes and a teaspoon of salt in an instant pot (pressure cooker) and cover with an inch of water. Close valve. Set pressure cooker to high pressure. Set timer for 5 minutes, Cook, Quick release when it’s done. Drain potatoes. Cool until just warm.
To Hard Boil Eggs for Potato Salad
- Set eggs on a rack in the pressure cooker. Add 1/2 inch of water. Close valve, set to high pressure for 5 minutes. Cook for 5 minutes, quick release, and leave lid closed for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, take lid off. Drain and cover with ice water to stop the cooking process. Let sit in ice water bath for about 5 minutes.Peel.
To Make Potato Salad
- Add Greek yogurt, sour cream, mustard, vinegar, salt, pepper, celery seed, and dill weed to a large mixing bowl.
- Stir until smooth. You can taste test to see if you need to add ingredients.
- Add cooled diced potatoes, pickles, and hard-boiled eggs.
- Gently stir until potatoes are coated with dressing.
- Adjust seasonings to taste. I like salty potato salad so I load up!
- Refrigerate for at least an hour.
Notes
- Red or Yukon Gold potatoes are my favorite kind of potatoes to use in potato salad because they hold their shape.
- I like using peeled potatoes. You can take the rustic approach and leave the peels on, especially with red potatoes.
- Potatoes can be diced and cooked in a pressure cooker, on the stove-top. Or they can be baked in the oven, cooled, peeled, and diced.
- If you like raw onions you can definitely skip cooking them and use add raw diced onions instead. If you aren’t cooking them green onions, or scallions, would be fantastic!
- If you don’t have onions use 1 tsp onion powder instead.
- Onions may be left out if you really don’t like them!
HOW TO STORE POTATO SALAD:
- Potato salad will keep in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- Do not store potato salad at room temperature.
- Freezing potato salad will change the texture of the salad. I don’t recommend it.
Deborah Koziolek says
Can I omit the mayo altogether and just add in more yogurt or sour cream. I detest Mayo!
Amy Engberson says
You are a girl after my own heart! I can’t say I detest mayo but it’s not my favorite! You could experiment with substituting either sour cream or Greek yogurt for the mayo. I think it would work just fine and be heathier too!
Denise Berrett Routson says
Amy!! Pyper just did a post on Facebook about your yummy butterscotch bars! I love to cook and read recipe blogs. I will surely be reading yours now, I had no idea you had a recipe blog! How exciting I think most of the Berrett’s got the “always in 5th gear” gene 🙂 Grandma Berrett would be so proud that some of us are carrying on that trait! ha ha!! I’m excited to try some of your recipes! Do you do an RSS feed so I get e-mails when you post a new recipe?
Amy Engberson says
Denise, glad you found me. I haven’t been blogging for very long. It has been fun. I’m also addicted to reading food blogs. And now I am always on the look out for new recipes…so if you have some to share pass them my way!! I agree Grandma Berrett would be proud of us. We are all movers and shakers. I don’t have an RSS feed, but I need to get one set up. Only if I weren’t so computer illiterate. I will let you know when I do. Since we live close to each other we should get together and go out to dinner or something!!
Denise Berrett Routson says
Amy,
Thanks for the reply! Yes, I would love to get together! Nathan (my husband) ran into Andy the other day at Electrical Wholesale! How far do you live from Rexburg? We live in Lyman (the south side of Rexburg) and we’re adjusting! Nathan works for BYU-Idaho and I think I’m stuck here until I die…because Nathan LOVES his job! Yahoo! I always remind him that he owes me BIG for moving me to the windiest, coldest place on earth! From the sounds of it, you’re stuck here until you die too! I don’t enjoy reading, per say, but I love reading recipe blogs and recipe books (nope, that doesn’t mean I’m a good cook, but I do enjoy it!) There are a couple of food blogs that I enjoy reading (I signed up for their RSS feeds and get an e-mail every time they have a new post). The food blogs are both Mormon moms that love to cook, so their ingredients are generally family, Mormon friendly 🙂 The food blogs are melskitchencafe.com and Jamiecooksitup.net and ourbestbites.com. They have some good recipes. I’ll have to send you some of our favorite recipes! What’s your e-mail and I can send some of them to you?
Denise
p.s. You look AMAZING, especially for having 3 kids! We just have one 6 year-old boy and I’m starting to feel like age 32 is catching up with me, so I can totally relate with your bio!
Elaine Duckett says
This is your Mom finally posting her comments on your blog about the potato salad. I loved all of it. Thanks for your kinds words, I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I am so proud of you and what you are doing with your family. I do know that one of the ways you are sincerely spreading love to your family is through the thoughtful cooking you do everyday, and they will always be grateful to you and thank you for it.
Now that all six of you kids are gone and it is just Dad and I at home, I don’t run all day long like I used to when I was chasing all of you, so even I am going to start making it with some yogurt in it.
Loved the garnishment. It proves to me you were watching me all along, just like I hoped. I am waiting for the blog where you tell everyone “we eat with our eyes.” Maybe later huh.
I preferred the wording all long the bottom of the picture instead of in the circle, so that one gets me vote.
Thanks again for being so complementary to me. So proud of you and your family, and wish you the best with your blog. Keep going and good things will come your way.
Love Mom