I Tried the Viral Way To Make Potato Salad 10x Better and Was Honestly Surprised
I have a love-hate relationship with classic potato salad. While I'm happy to eat potatoes in any form, mayonnaise isn't my favorite condiment. I also grew up eating German potato salad, so the idea of tossing mayo into the situation just feels weird to me.
While I still love the potato salad recipe my mom has been making since I was a kid, it admittedly lacks a little in the flavor department. That's why I was so excited to stumble across a recipe for dill pickle potato salad from Michel Janse on TikTok.
This recipe is packed with all kinds of flavor-enhancers most people love, including multiple parts of pickles - the cucumber and brine - and ranch dressing. There is a creamy element, but it's in the form of crème fraîche, which gives this potato salad a more modern vibe. There's no mayo in sight - a move I can get behind.
This potato salad recipe isn't perfect, though: I ran into a few hiccups along the way. But it's pretty close. It's also a huge crowd-pleaser, getting high marks from everyone from my toddler to my husband. Here's why I have big plans to whip this out at my next picnic, and for many dinners beyond that.
What Is Dill Pickle Potato Salad?
Dill pickle potato salad is the brainchild of Michel Janse, a social media influencer who regularly posts about fashion and food. While Janse calls this a side dish, it's hearty enough to be a main.
The recipe features smashed baby potatoes, dill, chopped up pickles, creme fraiche and a very creative take on ranch seasoning to create a deconstructed potato salad that tastes as good as it looks.
As Janse explained in her post, she decided to create this after she developed a few cravings. "Follow your heart. Make the things you crave," she said.
@michel.c.janse DILL PICKLE SMASH POTATOES 🥒 (w a crème fraîche pickle dip). idk I followed my cravings and it led us here. Here's generally how to create this at home, but take liberties! Cooking is fun and not restrictive! INGREDIENTS -- Potatoes: • 1 bag small potatoes • 1:1 water + pickle brine (for boiling) • 3 tbsp melted butter • ½ packet ranch seasoning • Fresh dill + chives • ¼ cup grated parmesan • Prosciutto • Salt + pepper Pickle crème fraîche dip: • 1 container crème fraîche • 3-4 tbsp pickle brine • ½ cup finely chopped pickles • Fresh dill + chives • Parmesan, salt + pepper HOW TO- •Boil potatoes in water + pickle brine until fork tender. • Mix all dip ingredients + set aside. •Smash potatoes on a baking sheet. •Toss with butter, ranch seasoning, herbs, parm, S+P. • Bake at 450º for ~15 min until crispy. Serve with dip + top with prosciutto, flaky salt, extra herbs. parm... and obviously more pickles💅
♬ original sound - Michel Janse
People were all about it in the comments. "You said: dill pickle. I said: save recipe immediately!" one wrote. "Stop it right now! Those look amazing!" another said. One commenter said what we're all thinking: "That ranch seasoning twist is genius." (It is. More on that in a moment.)
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Ingredients Needed
The ingredients for dill pickle potato salad can be divided into two camps: the potato main and the pickle crème fraîche dip. Here's what you'll need for each.
Potatoes:
- Small potatoes
- Pickle brine
- Butter
- Ranch seasoning
- Fresh dill
- Fresh chives
- Grated parmesan
- Prosciutto
- Salt and pepper
Pickle crème fraîche dip: - Crème fraîche
- Pickles and pickle brine
- Fresh dill
- Fresh chives
- Parmesan
- Salt and pepper
How To Make Dill Pickle Potato Salad
To start, heat up a pot of one part water and one part pickle brine. Once the mixture starts boiling, add your potatoes and cook them until they're fork-tender.
As they're cooking, make the pickle crème fraîche dip, combining crème fraîche, chopped pickles, pickle brine, Parmesan and chopped dill and chives into a bowl. Set it aside. Preheat your oven to 450°F.
Once your potatoes are cooked, smash them on a baking sheet. Then, relocate them to a bowl. Toss the potatoes with melted butter, ranch seasoning, the fresh herbs, grated Parmesan and salt and pepper.
Spread the seasoned potatoes in a single layer on the baking sheet, and put them in the oven for about 15 minutes or until they're golden brown. Layer the potatoes with prosciutto and top them with flaky salt, more herbs and extra Parmesan. Serve this alongside the pickle crème fraîche dip.
Dill Pickle Potato Salad Review: My Honest Thoughts
I've got to say this right off the bat: This is the tastiest potato salad I've ever eaten. The combination of pickles, pickle juice and ranch seasoning is phenomenal. You get hit with multiple layers of flavor in each bite.
The texture is also perfection. The crunch of the potatoes, mixed with the creaminess of the dip and hidden crunchiness of the pickles makes this something you want to keep eating, even when you're full.
I had this for dinner one night (I agree with some commenters: You can make a meal out of this), followed by lunch and dinner the next day.
The recipe leaves some room for interpretation, and Janse even said that's by design. It's easy to assume that you should go easy on the salt for the potatoes, given the brine bath and Ranch seasoning, but I found it needed a little more salt than I thought. I added some when I was eating and it ended up perfect.
It's worth pointing out that you really need a generous helping of the dip to pull this all together. If you don't put enough on your plate, the potatoes taste a little dry. In fact, I'd consider adding a little olive oil to them along with the melted butter before baking to make the finished product more moist.
Overall, though, this potato salad is top-tier with pretty minimal effort on your end. You can even make the pickle crème fraîche dip ahead of time and pull this all together at the last minute. All in all, it took me about 40 minutes to cook, including potato cooking times when you're free to do something else.
I love a good crowd-pleasing party dish. This is my new favorite.
Tips and Tricks
- Consider having extra pickles around. You need a lot of brine for this (for the cooking liquid and dip). I had to reach for another jar of pickles to make sure I had enough for all of it.
- Watch the pickle juice amount in the dip. The recipe calls for 3-4 tablespoons of pickle brine in the dip, but the vinegar in the brine can break the crème fraîche, making it important to go slow and stir as you add it.
- Taste as you go. The baseline seasonings are amazing, but the saltiness can be tricky to get right, given that it's coming from the brine and ranch seasoning. Taste as you go to make sure you get it right.
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 6:43 AM.