My favorite potato salad recipe is filled with eggs, sweet pickles, and slaw dressing that gives it a unique twist. I’ve been making it for years & it’s always a hit!

I love this potato salad. I make it for almost all of our BBQs and every Easter.
Serve it alongside macaroni salad, my husband’s famous macaroni and cheese, and some baked beans, and you’ve got a party.
Or serve it with some slow cooker sloppy joes or hot dog chili!

A variation of this recipe was given to me years ago by my friend’s mom. I’m not a big fan of mayo so I liked that her recipe used mostly slaw dressing. I ran with it and made it my own.
I also typically don’t like crunchy things in my otherwise soft food (i.e. celery and pickles), but I let it slide in this dish.
For another potato salad variation, try deviled egg potato salad.
Things you’ll need
- Marzetti SLAW dressing – this is what makes this potato salad different & in my opinion, so good.
- Potato peeler – I really like this one because it has a large handle that doesn’t slip out of your hands.
- Instant Pot – I am still new to the instant pot, but it does make boiling potatoes & eggs SUPER fast.
- Veggie Chopper – For a shortcut, you can use a veggie chopper for the pickles, celery, and even the eggs.
Ingredients
Below is a list of the ingredients you’ll need to gather to make this recipe. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card.
- Potatoes – I like to use russet potatoes in my potato salad.
- Celery – I opt for celery hearts.
- Pickles – Sweet gherkins. I always get the “petite” size.
- Eggs – Hard boiled eggs.
- Slaw Dressing – I always use Marzetti slaw dressing.
- Mayo – I always use olive oil mayo.
- Salt & Pepper

How long do I boil the potatoes?
First, start by scrubbing your potatoes then cutting into 1/2″ to 1″ pieces. Keep them similar in size so they’ll cook evenly. Add them to a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cook them for 15-20 minutes or until fork tender. You don’t want them crisp but you also don’t want them too soft or you’ll end up with mashed potatoes.
Now that I have an instant pot, I’ve been using that to pressure cook my potatoes for potato salad. It’s slightly faster and less hands-on.
If you’re going that route, pour in a cup of water, add the potatoes to a steamer basket and place in the pot, cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. The pot will take about 10 minutes to come up to pressure, 3 minutes to cook, then quick release to finish.
Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs
I’ve also started making my hard boiled eggs in the instant pot. It is fast and I find that they’re easier to peel!
You’ll add a cup of water to the instant pot, put the rack in, add the eggs, seal the pot, cook for 6 minutes on high, let stand for 6 minutes, then quick release and move the eggs to an ice bath for 6 minutes.
That’s it! They peel really easily and you can make a large batch.
If you want to boil them, I have a trick for that, too.
Add your eggs to a pot of salted water. Bring up to a boil then turn off heat and cover with a lid. Remove from the heat and let stand for 10 minutes in the water. After 10 minutes, drain and spray the eggs with cold water. You’ll have perfectly yellow yolks – no green!
Check out my complete guide to stovetop hard boiled eggs!

Tips & Suggestions 🥔
- I like to use russet potatoes. I’ve tried it with yukon gold and red skins, but always come back to russets.
- You’ll want your potatoes to be fork tender, but not too soft, or you’ll end up with mashed potato salad.
- The slaw dressing is what gives this potato salad great flavor. I always opt for Marzetti brand.

Need more side dish recipes? Try these:

Originally published April 8, 2013
I love potato salad, but have never made it with slaw dressing. Will have to give that a try this summer.
My grandmother always made Macaroni and Potato salad in the spring and summer time. It makes me think of her and makes me look forward to fun in the sun! I haven’t used the slaw dressing before to make it before, very interesting. I would not have come up with that on my own 🙂 Krista @ A Handful of Everything
This is my favorite potato salad recipe too! The slaw dressing really is a key ingredient. This recipe was passed to me by my Mom, and I make it a ton during BBQ season (I get requests). My husband likes it best when I use baby red potatoes and leave the skins on. Here’s the really freaky part though. My name is Melissa, and I live in Metro Detroit! 🙂
YUM!!! making it this weekend. Slaw dressing, is that similar to sandwich spread? That’s why my mom use to make it with.
Haven’t tried this recipe but since the potato salad dressing is not available presently I’ll rate it the same as that. I’m going to try it this weekend since I have about 12lb of russets. I’ve been searching for a copycat recipe with 5 ✨ ratings & this will be the 1st one I’ll attempt.
Hurry back tater salad dressing!!!
Thanks, Elaine – I hope you love it!