Featured Comment
From Cherie: “Great recipe, simple yet delicious. Very versatile and easy to switch up ingredients to make it your own.”
From Cate: “I have made this several times and it my absolute favorite! SO delicious! Thanks for a great recipe.”
From Pam: “This really is the best potato salad recipe. I’ve made it twice the last month and it’s so good!”
Recipe Overview
⏱️ Time to Taste: 30 minutes + 1 hour chilling
✨ Texture: Creamy, crunchy potato salad with a silky sour cream–mayo base
🥣 Ease: Easy (just simple chopping, boiling, and mixing)
🥔 Key Ingredients: Red potatoes, mayo, sour cream, hard-boiled eggs, celery, sweet pickles, green onions, and white wine vinegar
🎉 Best For: Summer BBQs, picnics, potlucks, holidays, and make-ahead gatherings
❤️ Why You’ll Love It: This potato salad gets its standout flavor and texture from my simple trick of tossing the warm potatoes in a tangy vinegar mixture before adding the other ingredients. This recipe will be your new go-to summer side dish!
I love that so many summer BBQ dishes are naturally gluten-free. Give me a plate with baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, and watermelon and I’m a happy camper. Pair that with my gluten-free strawberry cream cheese trifle for dessert, and that’s the perfect summer menu to me!
When it comes to potato salad, this one is my absolute favorite and the recipe I’m kind of known for in my family. Besides cookies, it’s the number one thing everyone always asks me to bring to get-togethers.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are a few notes on some of the key ingredients to make the best potato salad. Jump to the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Red potatoes: I swap the typical waxy potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes for red potatoes (just a personal preference).
- Green onion: In comparison to red onions, green onions have a milder flavor. You can use the white part for a stronger flavor, and the green ends for garnish!
- White wine vinegar: The creamy dressing is made of a combination of mayo, sour cream, and white vinegar—no yellow mustard, Miracle Whip, or pickle juice here!
- Sweet pickles: I love swapping dill pickles for sweet pickles to add a different, sweeter flavor.
How to Make Gluten-Free Potato Salad
Here’s an overview of how to make this recipe. You can jump to the recipe for the full instructions!
Boil the Potatoes: I find that cutting the potatoes into 1/2″ pieces creates the perfect size chunks for potato salad. I toss them in salted water and bring the pot to a boil to cook until fork-tender.
Prep the Vinegar Mixture: While the potatoes are boiling, I prep the white wine vinegar mixture so it’s ready for my #1 trick for the best taste and texture!
Drain & Toss: Drain the potatoes, then throw them into the vinegar mixture while they’re still warm. I find a rubber spatula works best to gently mix them up.
Prep the Creamy Layer: I whisk the mayo and sour cream together in a separate bowl so they are evenly combined, then fold the mixture into the potatoes.
Combine Ingredients: Here’s where you’ll take the flavors to the next level! Add the remaining ingredients to the potato mixture and give them a gentle stir using a rubber spatula.
Chill & Serve: The flavors and textures get even better the longer the potato salad chills. I usually cover the bowl and refrigerate it for at least 1 hour, but no more than 6 hours.
Make-Ahead/Storage/Freezing Instructions
To Make-Ahead: This potato salad is best eaten the same day it’s made. It can be chilled for up to 6 hours before serving.
To Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. If the potato salad sits out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (or 1 hour in the heat), it’s best to discard it for food safety.
To Freeze: I don’t recommend freezing potato salad. The creamy base will separate and become watery once thawed. The potatoes will also lose some of their texture.
Can I Make Potato Salad In Advance?
It is best to make potato salad the day you’re going to eat it. It tastes great if the flavors have some chance to meld together, but all potato salads can turn watery if they sit too long.
If you want to make it in advance (up to 6 hours) be sure to use red-skinned potatoes. Starchy or white potatoes (like Russet potatoes) don’t hold up as well.
How Long Can Potato Salad Sit Out?
For food safety reasons, potato salad should not sit out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or 1 hour if out in the summer heat. This recipe contains mayo and sour cream so it’s best to keep it chilled.
What Does This Potato Salad Taste Like?
Creamy, tangy, and perfectly balanced, this potato salad tastes like a classic deli-style version with rich sour cream–mayo dressing, a subtle vinegar zing, and pops of crunch from celery and sweet pickles.
The Best Potato Salad Tips
- Cut the potatoes in 1/2-inch chunks before cooking. Don’t cut them any smaller or they will absorb too much water.
- Generously season the water with salt before boiling the potatoes. This is key to great flavor!
- Toss the hot potatoes in the vinegar mixture. Wait until the potatoes have fully cooled before folding in the sour cream/mayo mixture.
- Use a mixture of sour cream + mayo for extra creaminess.
- Let the potato salad chill for at least 1 hour so the flavors have time to meld.
More Gluten-Free Sides
Gluten-Free Potato Salad (BEST EVER!)
Video
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pounds red-skin potatoes, cut in half and into 1/2-inch chunks
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3-4 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced (including some of the inner leaves for flavor)
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
- 1/4 cup sweet pickles, diced
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to boil. Generously salt the water and add the cut potatoes.
- Boil until fork tender for about 15-20 minutes, checking every couple minutes towards the end of cooking. Drain the potatoes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar.
- Pour the warm potatoes into the vinegar mixture and gently mix with a rubber spatula to combine.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream. Pour over the potatoes and gently fold in.
- Add the remaining ingredients and gently stir to combine.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in June 2017. It was updated with new photos and instructions in July 2026.
Love this recipe! I make it several times in the year and it is always a hit! So
We love to hear when recipes become repeat favorites! Thank you for the kind feedback, Elizabeth!
Do you think one could swap out the sour cream for cottage cheese?? Less fat more protein.
Hi Christine! We haven’t tried cottage cheese in this recipe before. If you decide to test it out, we’d love to hear how it goes!
I don’t have white whine vinegar would it be ok to sub for apple cider vinegar?
Hi Melissa! Yes that should work well as a sub. We hope you love the potato salad!
My new go-to potato salad recipe! Much lighter feeling. I didn’t have sour cream so used Greek yogurt in place and doubled the vinegar mixture since I like things tangy. It was a hit!
Yay! We’re so glad you loved it and that those substitutions worked well. Thank you for sharing with us, Lindsay!
How long can you keep it in the refrigerator
Hi Mitchel, this potato salad is best eaten within 8 hours, but it will keep for up to 2 days when stored in an airtight container in the fridge. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
I’m picky about potato salad bc I only like my grandma’s recipe and this was delish!! I did not use sweet pickles out of preference but I added a touch of dill.
Aww, we’re so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe so much! Thank you for sharing your positive feedback with us!
Made this today for the first time for 4th of July, to go along side sweet smoked ribs. It already tastes amazing, can’t wait to pull it out later after it has been marinating in the fridge for several hours, I’m sure it’ll just keep getting better. I didn’t have green onion or sweet pickles, so I used red onion and sweet pickle relish because it’s what I had, and it’s great.
I nailed the salt level in the water this time, and the salt is SO good with the acidity from the vinegar and the sweetness from the sugar and pickles. Good flavor profile.
Tossing the potatoes with the vinegar, salt, sugar and pepper while they’re still warm, and letting them cool like that is really smart – something I hadn’t done before, but definitely will again. This seasoned the potatoes even more, and brightens everything up in contrast with the creamy sauce once everything is pulled together. Really. So good. Lol
Thanks for the great recipe!!
Yay! We’re so happy to hear how much you enjoyed this recipe, Melanie! Thank you for your kind and thoughtful feedback!
Do you peel the potatoes?
Hi Sheena, thank you for your question! No, we don’t peel the potatoes. We hope you enjoy the recipe!
Great recipe, simple yet delicious. Very versatile and easy to switch up ingredients to make it your own.
Thank you for the kind feedback, Cherie! We’re glad you liked the recipe!
This was delicious! I did 1 tablespoon of sweet pickle juice, and 1 tablespoon of white wine vinegar.
1 tablespoon of pickle juice sounds like a delicious addition! Glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Excellent! I added a bit more celery and onion,sprinkled dill and added 2T bacon bits.
Is this potato salad sweet? Should I leave out the sugar and sweet pickles if I don’t like a sweetness in potato salad?