When it comes to making my Secret Potato Salad, I never share the secret ingredients with anyone… ever… never… nope! Ok, ok, since you’re here reading this recipe I’ll share it with you, but ONLY you! But you’ll have to scroll down below this pic to see what it is.
The secret ingredients that make my potato salad so scrumptious? Ranch dressing mix, sour cream and cucumbers! No one knows exactly what’s in there, but they all ask me what that awesome flavor is and what the crunchy stuff is. I just smile and tell them it’s a secret recipe.
It’s actually partly my Dad’s Potato Salad Recipe and partly my own invention. My Dad loved cucumbers in nearly any cold summer dish he made. They were in pasta salad, potato salad, tuna salad… well, you get the picture. We were a very burpy family in the summer. 😎
When it came time to develop my own special recipe for potato salad, I chose to add ranch dressing mix and sour cream because I just plain LOVE Ranch Dip in the summer! Oh my gosh, the first time I made it I fell in love. It had some zip, some zing and that slightly tangy sour cream flavor that makes everything taste better.
My kids grew up with this secret potato salad and begged me for the recipe when they left the nest. I shared it with them on the condition that they keep it a total secret. Uh huh, that worked for about 5 minutes and next thing I knew, people I’d never met before were thanking me for the recipe. Humph!
So now that the cat’s out of the bag, I’ll share it here. Let’s get busy and make some Secret Potato Salad before the summer is over, ok?
The ingredients:
And the dressing:
Don’t you just love the faded out packet of “Anything Ranch Mix”? For the life of me I couldn’t find my packet of Hidden Valley for the picture!
First up, gotta boil the taters N eggs. I like to put huge Idaho baking potatoes into a pot of lukewarm water, then lay the eggs on top. I bring it to a full boil, then set a timer for exactly 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, I scoop out the eggs and run them under cold water till they’ve completely cooled. Perfect hard boiled eggs every time.
After the taters are nice and soft in the middles I drain them and let them cool to lukewarm, then run a bit of cold water over them to wet the skins again. After that it’s a snap to slide the skins off of them and let them finish cooling.
While the taters N eggs are boiling, I whip up the dressing and toss it in the fridge to chill. First the finely chopped cucumber goes in the bowl.
Then the celery is added:
And then the Mayo, Sour Cream, Mustard, Salt, Pepper and Ranch Dressing Mix are tossed in and stirred around.
And we’re back to the potatoes again!
My first big trick to making creamy potato salad is to select 2-3 of the softest potatoes. These “special” potatoes are the start of the dish… they get tossed into the bowl and smushed with a fork till they resemble mashed potatoes!
Poor little taters, they’re making the ultimate sacrifice just for me! Ok, no more pity for the potatoes, on to adding half the dressing.
And then it’s time to cube the remaining potatoes and chop the eggs. Once those are in the bowl all that’s left is to add the rest of the dressing and then gently stir it all together with an up and down folding motion.
2 minutes later you have this – Mom’s Secret Potato Salad – in a huge bowl – ready for chilling till dinner time. They’re gonna love you when you make this, just don’t tell them the secret, ok?
- 8 large baking potatoes (if you can't find HUGE ones, 16 normal size will work)
- 8 eggs in shells - buy them a week ahead to make them easier to peel
- For the Dressing:
- 3 Stalks Celery - finely diced
- 1 large Cucumber - finely chopped
- 2 Cups Mayonnaise
- ½ Cup Sour Cream
- 1 Packet Ranch Dressing Mix
- 1 Tablespoon Mustard - any type you like
- 1 tsp. Salt
- ½ tsp. Black Pepper
- Fill a large pot ¾ full of lukewarm tap water. Wash the potatoes and add them to the pot, then top the potatoes with the eggs.
- Bring to a full boil, then set a timer for 12 minutes
- Remove the eggs to a small bowl after 12 minutes, then run under cold water till completely cooled. Set aside.
- Continue to boil the potatoes for 30 minutes. Test for doneness and continue cooking till fork tender.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. Mix together all ingredients, then cover and chill till ready to use.
- When potatoes are tender, drain and let them cool for 30 minutes, then briefly cover them with cold water. Drain again and slip off skins.
- Remove hard boiled eggs from the cold water and remove shells.
- Place the softest 2-3 potatoes in a large serving bowl. Mash them with a fork til they resemble rough mashed potatoes. Add half of the dressing and mix well.
- Now cube the potatoes and chop the eggs. Add potatoes and eggs to the serving bowl along with the rest of the dressing.
- Mix with an up and down folding motion till all the potatoes are moistened.
- Chill till serving time.
I am shocked you’re sharing this one! For a different spin, I actually boil Yukon gold potatoes the day before, and pull them from the boiling water, and place in a container with a lid and refrigerate overnight. The peels come right off, and the texture is perfect.