This easy potato salad recipe is made using a few traditional ingredients including carrots, peas, pickles, eggs, meat, and mayo. This is a very traditional potato salad recipe in Eastern Europe. This salad is a must at holidays, big or small gatherings, and just any day of the week. A perfect potato side dish that goes so well with any main meat and fish dishes.
There are many different versions of this potato salad. It is also known as Russian Salad, Olivie salad, and Ruska Salata (in Bulgaria). It can also be enjoyed on a toasted piece of bread, and it is just delicious. This potato salad is very versatile as most of the ingredients can be substituted with whatever you have in your pantry or fridge.
This version is one that I grew up with and I make often for my family and friends now. It’s the best potato salad you will ever taste and bringing this salad to any gathering, will be a huge hit!
This easy potato salad is not your ordinary potato salad. It is unique, delicious, and a crowd-pleaser. It is the perfect side dish for any Holiday gathering. Think Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, or any other Holiday!
Why you will love making this easy potato salad recipe
- One of the best things about this recipe aside from the taste, is that it is very easy to make. I have found ways to make this traditional salad even quicker by using canned carrots and peas and not boiling those myself. It saves time and it does not alter the flavor in any way. You can also use frozen peas instead of the canned ones.
- Versatile – this potato salad recipe is so versatile. You can substitute almost every ingredient with items you have on hand. You can use a combination of mayo and mustard, you can add cubed ham, kielbasa sausage, or salami instead of the cubed hot dog. You can add corn, green onion, and dill. As you’ve made it a few times, you will begin to adjust the recipe according to your taste or keep it as is. Traditionally, all the ingredients are diced in the same size. Personally, I prefer to mash my potatoes, rather than cube them. Feel free to customize it to your liking!
- Unique – If you are used to making a traditional potato salad, and you are looking for a new recipe, you will love this one! The flavors blend so great together and this creamy potato salad can be made for small or large gatherings. It can be made ahead of time, and it can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
Ingredients
- Potatoes – use your favorite potato for this recipe. I prefer to use Yukon gold or Russet potatoes. I prefer to mash mine after they are boiled. It is much easier and faster to make this potato salad that way. You can also cook the potatoes a little bit less and chop/cube them instead of mashing them.
- Pickles – any brand will work, use your favorite. I love using Mt. Olive Pickles, baby pickles or regular pickles work fine.
- Carrots and peas – you can use fresh or frozen peas. And you can also boil your own carrots, but I have found that using a can of mixed carrots and peas, works great for this recipe. It saves me time and does not jeopardize the flavor of this delicious potato salad at all. This is the can I prefer to use.
- Meat – any cooked meat will work for this recipe. You can use cubed ham, kielbasa sausage, salami, or hot dog to name a few. I prefer to use hot dogs for this recipe. Our favorite ones for this recipe are Oscar Meyer hot dogs.
- Eggs – hard-boiled eggs bring such a great layer of flavor and texture to this recipe.
- Mayo – use your favorite brand of real mayonnaise. You can also add a bit of mustard if you’d like.
- Salt, pepper, and parsley are the only spices I use for this potato salad. It does not need anything else as all the ingredients marry so well together.
How to make this easy potato salad (European style)
Start by peeling and then boiling the potatoes. I find it easier to peel them before they are cooked. Boil the eggs as well in a separate pan. While the potatoes and the eggs are boiling, chop the rest of your ingredients. You can cut them as small or big as you would like. I prefer small to medium dice for all the ingredients, so they are as uniform in size as possible.
Cook the potatoes until done. I like to mash my potatoes, so I make sure that they are very soft but if you’d like to have them cubed instead, cook them a little bit less so they keep their shape and do not fall apart when dicing them. Mash the potatoes and start adding all the diced ingredients. Mix in the mayo and the spices, stir all to combine well together, and chill in the fridge before serving.
What to serve with this easy and delicious potato salad
This creamy potato salad can be served as a side dish that can accompany many meat and fish dishes. It can also be enjoyed on a toasted piece of bread, and it is just delicious. Here are a couple of recipes you can make as a main dish that this salad is the perfect side dish for.
Oven-baked salmon in foil packets
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Easy Potato Salad (European style)
Ingredients
- 6-8 large yellow potatoes peeled and boiled
- 4 eggs hard-boiled
- 6 pickles diced
- 1 can 14.5 oz of peas and carrots drained
- 5 hot dog links or 1 cup of meat of your choice, diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise or more depending on preference
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and boil them in salted water until soft. Remove from water and let them cool.
- Cook eggs until they are hard-boiled, peel, and set aside to cool.
- While the potatoes are cooking, dice the hot dog (meat), pickles, and eggs.
- In a large bowl, mash the potatoes, add the drained carrots and peas, the diced pickles, hot dogs, eggs, mayo, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Stir all the ingredients really well until evenly coated with mayonnaise.
- Chill the salad in the refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours. Serve cold.
Notes
I highly recommend this food chopper. It is perfect for this recipe!
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