This recipe for sour cream potato salad swaps the mayo for the bright tastes of a creamy citrus dressing, and baby potatoes means no peeling! Now that’s a side dish winner all the way around.
Jump to:
Why we love this recipe
We do love a potato salad around here! But we don’t so much love peeling a ton of potatoes to get us some, and while we love mayo in other things (I heart you, Shrimp Louie Salad) we don’t especially love it in potato salad.
So here comes our sour cream lemon potato salad to the rescue! It’s made with baby potatoes…they come in all different colors, and you can use any or all of them in this recipe. The smaller they are the more I love ’em…and because they have such smooth, tender skins, there is zero peeling involved. AND, they cook up super fast. You rock, baby potatoes!
Besides cooking up these no-peel potatoes all you need to do is mix up a simple sour cream and lemon dressing, and you are all set with your perfect easy side dish. There is something light and lovely about the sour cream that is just heavenly in this lemony potato salad.
Ingredients you need
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Potatoes: You can use any kind of baby potatoes – yellow, red…they even come in purple. And if you prefer, you can use the big ones. We would recommend Yukon Golds – just scrub them up and cut them into quarters before you cook them.
- Sour Cream: You can use anything from fat-free to full fat.
- Lemon: There’s nothing like fresh lemon juice, but in a pinch you can use a couple of tablespoons of bottled lemon juice instead.
- Shallot: You can substitute a handful of chopped scallions or chives if you prefer.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe
STEP 1: Start by giving those baby potatoes a nice scrub, and then simmer them up in salted water until they are tender, about 10 minutes. A paring knife should go into a potato easily – that’s how I test for doneness.
STEP 2: Stir some sour cream into your bowl of cooked baby potatoes, and then drizzle in some lemon juice and lemon zest, a little chopped fresh dill, and for just a bit of sass, some chopped up shallot.Give it a taste, add some salt and pepper if you think it needs it…and you’re done!
PRO TIP: More on the kitchen gadgets we use in this recipe below, but special shout-out to one: Whenever a recipe calls for measuring out something thick (like sour cream) or sticky (like molasses or honey) I go straight for my beloved adjustable measuring cup.
You can set it to whatever measurement you need, and then the bottom of it twists up so that every bit of whatever creamy or gooey ingredient you are using goes in the recipe instead of staying stuck in the measuring cup. Hey, it’s the little things!
Equipment we used for this recipe
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Adjustable measuring cup: The perfect answer to measuring sticky iingredients!
- Medium Pot: You probably have one of these, but just in case, this is our fave!
- Citrus Juicer: The best gadget we have found for juicing lemons and limes.
- Microplane Zester: This zester is not only great for zesting lemons, it works for Parmesan cheese too!
- Tongs: We have these in all sizes for everything from tossing salads to flipping chicken.
- Paring knife: The best tool for chopping little things and checking to see if your potatoes are done!
Recipe FAQs
You want the potatoes to be nice and tender, so after about 10 minutes, scoop one out with a slotted spoon and stick a paring knife into it. The knife will go in easily when they are done.
Lemon zest is the peel of the lemon, which is full of bright flavor! But you want to make sure you get super light shavings of it since it is packed with so much taste, and I love a microplane zester for this quick job (and it also works great on Parmesan cheese as well!)
There are a million juicers out there, but my favorite is this citrus juicer you’ve probably spotted at your friendly neighborhood bar. Cut your lemon (or lime!) in half, pop it in the juicer, give it a squeeze and you have lemon juice – with no seeds getting in the way!
Yes and no! You can either eat it up right away at room temperature, or you can pop it in the fridge for a couple of hours if you are a chilled potato salad type of person.
Leave your question (or comment or suggestion) in the Comments box below the recipe and I will answer pronto!
Other potato salads we love!
Looking for more salad inspiration? Here is our complete collection of salad recipes!
Could you leave us a review?
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section.
Sour Cream Lemon Potato Salad
This recipe for sour cream lemon potato salad swaps the mayo for the bright tastes of a creamy citrus dressing, and baby potatoes means no peeling! Now that’s a side dish winner all the way around.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 4 cups baby potatoes, rinsed well
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- Juice and zest from ½ lemon
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped
- 1 shallot, peeled and chopped
- Sea salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Simmer until the potatoes are just tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and run under cold water until cooled.
- Cut into halves (you can leave any very small ones whole) and place in a mixing bowl.
- Add sour cream and toss until coated.
- Add lemon juice and zest, dill and shallot and toss again. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- You can either serve this immediately, or you can chill it down in the fridge for several hours if you like your potato salad cool!
Notes
-
- Potatoes: You can use any kind of baby potatoes – yellow, red…they even come in purple. And if you prefer, you can use the big ones. We would recommend Yukon Golds – just scrub them up and cut them into quarters before you cook them.
-
- Sour Cream: You can use anything from fat-free to full fat.
-
- Lemon: There’s nothing like fresh lemon juice, but in a pinch you can use a couple of tablespoons of bottled lemon juice instead.
-
- Shallot: You can substitute a handful of chopped scallions or chives if you prefer.
Savannah says
Delicious side for summer meals! The sour cream makes for such a nice flavor!
I love the sour cream flavor in so many things! :)
Martha in KS says
I’ve made Sour Cream & Dill Potato Salad for years – especially when I had my deli/catering business. It uses half sour cream/half mayo & unpeeled red-skin potatoes. I love citrus & think your use of lemon sounds delicious. I’ll be making this soon.
Yum! I have nothing agains mayo, but there’s something about sour cream that is just so delicious!