Triple Tater Salad is the best potato salad you've never heard of!
It's made with a delightful mix of three different types of potatoes. Creamy Yukon gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, and garnet yams come together perfectly in a tangy dressing spiked with celery, cornichons, fresh herbs, and hard-boiled eggs. Trust me, once you try it, you'll be hooked!
You've got to try the Triple Tater Salad! It's the creamiest potato salad you'll ever taste. And here's the best part - you can swap out the sweet potatoes and yams with regular potatoes to create a classic potato salad that's just as amazing.
Read on for all the loving details on how to make triple tater salad!
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Featured Ingredients
Read below about a few of the ingredients used to make Triple Tater Salad.
Potatoes - In this less conventional potato salad recipe, I've added sweet potatoes and yams to the other traditional ingredients. This gives the potato salad little pockets of pleasant sweetness throughout!
Dressing - I'm a huge mayonnaise fan. (Dukes mayo for life!) It may seem like this recipe calls for a lot of mayonnaise, but trust me, it's the perfect amount to keep it creamy and well-seasoned.
Cornichons - These are the most darling little pickles ever. Be sure to read the label carefully when you purchase a jar because you don't want to end up with the sweet variety. You may have seen gherkins on the pickle shelf, and they are almost the same thing.
All cornichons are gherkins, but not all gherkins are cornichons. Are you confused yet? Don't worry, just be sure you don't buy anything that says sweet on the label, and you'll be good!
They are so tiny and crunchy. They have a more delicate flavor than a dill pickle, and often, there are also onions in the mix. If you can't find them or don't want to splurge, use your favorite dill pickle.
Herbs and seasonings - This recipe calls for fresh herbs, not dry. The seasonings, on the other hand, are all dry and comprised of my favorite blend of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. These are my good ol' standby's. I use them often and in abundance! Feel free to substitute finely minced fresh garlic and onion if you prefer.
See recipe card for quantities.
Tools for the job
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Sharp knife (paid link) and cutting board
- 4-5 quart pot
- Big ol' bowl
- Heavy wooden spoon & whisk
- Lined sheet pan
How to make Triple Tater Salad
Preparing the potatoes
There can be a fine line between potato salad and mashed potatoes if you're not careful! Read on for the technique I use to ensure my potato salad stays chunky, not mushy.
- Wash all the Yukon gold potatoes and cut them into 2" pieces. Peel the sweet potatoes and yams, then dice into 2" pieces.
As you stir and combine the potatoes with the other salad ingredients, the potatoes will break down into the dressing. If they are diced too small, you run the risk of creating a bowl of mashed potatoes. So, to remedy this, I diced them into larger pieces before boiling so there is still some texture in the salad when it all gets mixed together. - Add the diced potatoes to a 4 or 5 quart pot so they have room to move when they boil. Fill the pot with water 1" above the potatoes and yams, add 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring this to a boil. Continue to boil until you can easily insert a knife or poker through a piece, about 15 minutes.
- When ready, drain the potatoes and pour them out onto a sheet pan to cool faster. After 20 minutes, they should be significantly cooled off and ready for the dressing.
Finishing the Triple Tater Salad
You can make the rest of the salad while the potatoes are boiling and cooling.
- Gather the ingredients for the dressing. Measure out your mayo, mustard, seasonings, and freshly squeezed lemon juice into a large bowl. Slice and chop the celery, fresh herbs, hard-boiled eggs, and cornichons. Add them to a bowl and whisk for a few minutes to incorporate.
- Once the potatoes have cooled significantly, add them to the bowl and mix well to ensure an even coating of potatoes and yams. Increase the stirring intensity to break down some of the potatoes to create a creamy texture with visible chunks. A heavy wooden spoon is great for this.
- This salad is best when it can rest a bit before serving, at least 30 minutes. If I'm making this salad for a party or special occasion, I will spoon it into a serving bowl immediately and top it with the garnish. Then, I cover it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it. One less thing to worry about when it's time to eat!
Dice large chunks of yams and sweet potatoes.
Also, dice large chunks of Yukon gold potatoes and add them to a large pot to boil.
After boiling, drain and lay out on a sheet pan to cool quickly.
Add the remaining ingredients to a bowl.
Whisk the ingredients together well.
Add the three potatoes and stir with a heavy wooden spoon to break up the potatoes.
Substitutions and variations of Triple Tater Salad
- For a classic (single) potato salad - Use all Yukon gold or russet potatoes, omitting the yams and sweet potatoes. Substitute yellow mustard for the Dijon. Substitute chopped green onions for the fresh herbs. Instead of cornichons, use dill pickle relish and omit the lemon juice.
- For an autumn-themed potato salad - Use more sweet potatoes and yams than gold potatoes. Replace the fresh herbs with 1 tablespoon of finely minced rosemary and 1-2 tablespoons of finely minced sage. Replace the pickles with chopped pecans and add a handful of dried cranberries.
Leftover Triple Tater Salad
- Refrigerate leftover potato salad in a sealed container for up to 5 days.
- Do not freeze leftovers.
Food safety
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
More side dishes
If you like this type of dish, try these:
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Triple Tater Salad
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 3 quarts 1x
Description
Creamy Yukon gold potatoes, sweet potatoes, and garnet yams come together perfectly with a tangy dressing spiked with celery, gherkins, fresh herbs, and hard-boiled eggs.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yellow, gold, or russet potato
- ½ pound white sweet potato, peeled
- ½ pound garnet yam, peeled
- ¾ cup sliced celery, 2-3 stalks
- ⅓ cup cornichons, sliced (about 20), or a similar amount of dill pickles
- 4 tablespoons minced fresh herb blend, preferably thyme, parsley, and dill
- 6 hard-boiled eggs, 1 reserved for garnish
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons dijon
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, more for boiling the potatoes
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Wash all the potatoes and cut them into 2" pieces. Peel the sweet potatoes and yams, then dice into 2" pieces. Put all the roots into a large pot and fill it with water 1" above the potatoes and yams. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil.
- Continue to boil until you can easily insert a knife or poker through a piece, about 15 minutes. When they are ready, drain the water and pour them onto a sheet pan to cool faster. After about 30 minutes, they should be significantly cooled and ready for the dressing.
- While the roots are boiling, gather the ingredients for the dressing. Measure out your mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and freshly squeezed lemon juice into a large bowl. Slice and chop the celery, fresh herbs, eggs, and cornichons. Add them all to the bowl and stir to incorporate.
- Once the potatoes have cooled, add them to the bowl and mix well to ensure an even coating of potatoes and yams. Increase the intensity of stirring to break down some of the potatoes to create a creamy texture with visible chunks. This salad is best when it can rest a bit before serving, at least 30 minutes.
- Dish into a serving bowl and top with sliced boiled egg and fresh herbs.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cooling time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Side dish, salad
- Method: Stove-top
- Cuisine: American
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