Mashed Potato Salad
Y’all, let me tell you, this Mashed Potato Salad is like a big ol’ hug from the fridge. It takes everything you love about classic potato salad and makes it even easier by starting with frozen hash browns. Yep, no peeling and chopping raw potatoes until your arm falls off. Just boil, mash a lil,’ and mix in all that creamy, tangy goodness.
If you’re a fan of creamy comfort, you’ve gotta check out my Loaded Baked Potato Salad, The Best German Potato Salad, and Creamy Cucumbers Salad!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Mashed Potato Salad
- Ready In: 260 minutes
- Serves: 8
- Main Ingredients: 32-ounce package cubed frozen hash browns, boiled eggs, chopped, diced onion, chopped sweet pickles, mayonnaise, sweet pickle juice, heaping teaspoon yellow mustard, salt
- Why You'll Love It: Mashed Potato Salad is a creamy, comforting twist on classic potato salad. Made with cubed hash browns, sweet pickles, mayo, mustard, and boiled eggs, it’s the perfect make-ahead side dish for potlucks, BBQs, or Sunday suppers.
It’s got the eggs for richness, mustard for a punch, mayo for that creamy texture, and sweet pickles because… well, sweet pickles belong in potato salad if you ask me. This is the kind of dish that shows up at family reunions, church picnics, and backyard cookouts, and somehow, the bowl always comes back scraped clean.
Before You Get Started
- Don’t over-mash the potatoes. Lumps make this salad extra good.
- Chill time is key! This needs a good few hours in the fridge to let the flavors come together.
- Keep it sweet. Sweet pickles really do make the difference, but dill lovers can swap if they like.
Recipe Ingredients
- Pepper
- Cubed frozen hash browns
- Boiled eggs, chopped
- Diced onion
- Chopped sweet pickles (or sweet pickle relish)
- Mayonnaise
- Sweet pickle juice
- Yellow mustard (or Dijon mustard for extra tang)
- Salt
How to Make Mashed Potato Salad
1. Cook the Potatoes
Place hash browns in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until tender. Drain well.
2. Mash
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl and mash lightly with a potato masher. Leave it lumpy. This ain’t mashed potatoes, it’s potato salad!
3. Make the Pickle Relish
In a blender or small food chopper, pulse the chopped onion and sweet pickles until very finely minced.
4. Mix it All Together
Add mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard, minced pickles and onions, salt, and pepper to the potatoes. Stir until combined, then gently fold in the chopped eggs.
5. Chill
Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy!
Storage
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- Potato swap: I’m just using hashbrowns to make life easier, but you can use regular potatoes instead. Just chop them into small cubes before following the instructions. I recommend Yukon Gold potatoes.
- Add celery: Many mashed potato salad recipes include 1/2 cup of diced celery, so feel free to chop that up when you finely dice the onion and sweet pickles.
- Use leftover potatoes: This is a great recipe to use if you have leftover roast potatoes or leftover mashed potatoes.
- Onion swap: Feel free to swap the yellow onion for sweet onion, red onion, or green onion.
- Other substitutions you can make? Swap yellow mustard for Dijon mustard, add a tablespoon of vinegar for extra tang, and swap half of the mayonnaise for 1/2 cup of sour cream or Greek yogurt instead. You can also use Miracle Whip for a sweeter, zingier salad dressing flavor.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make this ahead of time?
Yes! In fact, it’s better the next day after all those flavors have had a chance to mingle.
Do you have to put eggs in a potato salad?
The short answer is no. I don’t believe Thomas’ mashed potato salad had eggs in it but personally, I just love boiled eggs in potato salad. If you love them, be sure to add them in. If you don’t, feel free to leave them out. For me, they just make it extra special.
Can I use dill pickles instead of sweet pickles?
So, since posting this recipe, I’ve heard from A LOT of people that… a) feel confident Thomas’s used dill pickle instead of sweet pickle or b) can’t bear the thought of sweet pickle in a potato salad and prefer dill. So I just wanted to pop in and reiterate that this is my version of the recipe and as a person who really, really loves sweet pickles, that is what I naturally used. You, of course, are welcome to substitute dill if that is what you prefer. There is a good chance that is what Thomas’s used since they served dill pickle spears with some of their entrees. Just go with whatever cranks yer tractor.
What do you serve with mashed potato salad?
This is a great side dish to pair with so many different main meals. Here are some recommendations:
- Butter Roasted Chicken
- North Alabama-Style Pulled Chicken
- French Dip Sandwiches Recipe (With a Twist)
- Baked Ham With Easy Brown Sugar Glaze
- Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven
How do you make Amish potato salad?
Add diced celery and 1/4 cup of granulated sugar to this recipe and you have Amish potato salad.
Ingredients
- 1 32-ounce package cubed frozen hash browns
- 4 boiled eggs, chopped
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/3 cup sweet pickle juice
- 1 heaping teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place hash browns in a large pot and add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, allow to cook for ten minutes or until tender.1 32-ounce package cubed frozen hash browns
- Drain potatoes and place them in a large bowl. Mash all of this up a bit with a potato masher, but leave them lumpy.
- Place chopped sweet pickles and chopped onion into a blender, chopper, or small smoothie blender and pulse a few times until very fine, almost like a relish.1/2 cup diced onion, 1/2 cup chopped sweet pickles
- Place mayonnaise, pickle juice, mustard, finely minced pickles and onions, salt, and pepper in the bowl with the potatoes. Stir until well mixed, then stir in the chopped eggs just until incorporated.4 boiled eggs, chopped, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/3 cup sweet pickle juice, 1 heaping teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours or until cold. Enjoy!
The original Thomas BBQ place was owned by a relative of my Daddy. His mom was a Thomas. I do not remember the exact relation but i do remember eating there as a child when we visited Alabama. I still have relatives in the area. Thanks for sharing. Made me think of my Daddy who died January 2nd. He was such a family man and loved going to family reunions in A.labama
I am so sorry for your loss Rhonda, it is always so hard to lose those we love. I hope you get a chance to make the potato salad soon and savor some of those precious memories of your Dad enjoying friends and family!
What was your Grandma’s name. I am related to the Thomas BBQ folks.
I can hardly wait to try your recipe this weekend. Love to use sweet pickles. I’m also happy to learn about using frozen cubed potatoes to save time and the trouble. Could you use sweet salad cubes since they will be chopped finer in blender? My arthritis in my hands is so bad I have to use all shortcuts. Love all your recipes. Good Job Christy.
You sure could, just make sure you have enough juice in the jar for the recipe. That is the main reason why I used whole sweet pickles. I feel your pain with arthritis! I’ve had it pretty good in my hands since I was thirty. Thank you so much for being here Margaret! You just made my day 🙂
I use relish and also buy the little gerkins for hubby and keep the liquid just to add to potato salad… in fact when there is only a little mayo left in the jar when I make it I just put the relish and some pickle juice from the sweet little pickles in it and shake… gonna put some seasoned salt in next time too…
That potato salad sounds wonderful. Thank you so much for the recipe. I will make it tomorrow. Christy, you are a blessing to me.
Oh my goodness Linda, thank you! You are a blessing to me, too!
Where do you find hash browns that you boil? I’ve only ever seen frozen ones. I love that I don’t have to peel potatoes so I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks for posting!
I buy the Southern-style cubed ones from the frozen section at Walmart. Hope that helps!!
I live in Houston, Tx, and for a long time, no one here ever heard of Dukes Mayo, but it finally made it down this way, and I love it. However i can only find it at one local store, and it’s $4.00 a jar. I have no idea why Walmart doesn’t carry it. Can’t wait to try the potato salad,
Hey Linda! Have you asked the manager at your local Walmart if they can get it in? I know here ours will order things when asked.
I live in a Houston suburb, and I get Duke’s at HEB or at Kroger’s. I wouldn’t think of using anything else. I just wish they also carried Duke’s salad dressing. We are thinking of making a trip to Louisiana just to buy that and REX crab boil.
Hi Christy!
Since you gave us this copycat recipe for the delicious potato salad, I wonder if you can come up with a copycat recipe for Applebee’s Oriental Chicken Salad Dressing? While the salad is easy, the dressing has been an elusive dream for me to create. There are some copycat recipes on the web for this dressing but nothing has actually tasted like Applebee’s and I’ve tried several of them. At the ripe old age of 70, with no Applebee’s restaurants in my little town, I don’t get this as often as I would like. Any possibilities? BTW, I love reading your blogs almost as much as trying your recipes!
Omg! Yes, please! I love that dressing!
I’m going to try this recipe. I have always used dill pickles, but I can always try something new. I have to have chopped celery, tho, for the crunch! I love your recipes and the pictures of you and your family. Thank you!
Thank You so much Sue, and you can certainly add the celery for your tastes!!!