Pickled Onions Are The One Ingredient You Need To Elevate Potato Salad

Whether you like them smashed, mashed, or baked and loaded with savory fixings, there's no wrong way to eat potatoes. Among the many ways to prepare them, one of our favorite ways to transform potatoes is by turning them into a creamy salad. Perfect as a side dish for barbecued meats or enjoyed straight out of the container for a mid-day snack, potato salad is a timeless dish. Although the traditional ingredients in a classic potato salad are typically affordable and easy to assemble, there's a possibly unexpected ingredient that can take the dish from ordinary to extraordinary — pickled onions.

Compared to their fresh counterparts, pickled onions impart a tangy and slightly acidic flavor to potato salad. They provide a punchy contrast to the salad's starchy quality and creamy richness, resulting in a more dynamic flavor profile. With their crunchy, refreshing texture, pickled onions can help balance out the density of potato salad, and bring a pleasant contrast to the dish's consistency as well. These qualities are why pickled onions complement a wide range of foods. 

Since any onion can be pickled, don't be afraid to make a bold selection when selecting the perfect pickled onion for your favorite potato salad recipe.

Red onions are a popular choice, and it's easy to make pickled red onions at home. With their deep pink color and tangy, slightly sweet flavor, these vibrant delicacies are a terrific option for potato salad as their zesty, floral notes provide a gentle contrast to the richness of the salad's mayonnaise and add a pop of color to its neutral hues. Pickled pearl onions, which are often used in cocktails, impart potato salads with a delicate, slightly sweet flavor and a crunchy pop. Pearl onions are small enough to be left whole, and provide substantial onion presence as they're about the same size as diced potatoes.

Sweet pickled onions, such as Vidalia and Walla Walla varieties, are another great option for incorporating into a potato salad as they add an ambrosial fragrance that harmonizes with the savory elements of the dish. The dainty size of pickled green onions makes them perfect for introducing a subtle textural flair to the potato salad with whispers of peppery earthiness that stand out next to the creamier elements of the dish. For a tried-and-true onion taste, pickled white onions will give your potato salad a familiar allium flavor punctuated by threads of tartness that infuse the starchy potatoes with an exciting, vinegary flavor.

Adding pickled onions to your favorite potato salad is a bold step, but if you're an adventurous eater, there are more ways to jazz up a pickled onion-studded potato salad. Crispy bacon bits and a sprinkle of smoked paprika will bring a crispy texture and a bold, smoky flavor that adds a kick to the potato salad's richness and balances the tanginess of the pickled onions. Nuts like walnuts and almonds can provide a crunchy texture similar to bacon while keeping the dish meatless. Include homemade pickled jalapeños or other peppers in your potato salad to give it a fiery twist. For an extra hit of creaminess, avocados facilitate a more luscious texture that still allows the crunch of the pickled onions to burst through. Crumbled cheeses like blue cheese and feta can achieve this as well. 

Consider adding pickled onions to your potato salad that have been infused with flavors from added ingredients. Onions pickled with garlic will bolster the allium essence in your potato salad and suffuse it with a surprisingly buttery flavor. Pickled onions laced with aromatic herbs like dill and rosemary will bring a garden-fresh essence to the salad while those imbued with citrus juice from a lime or lemon can elevate the tanginess of the dish.

Options for taking your potato salad from basic to beyond expectations are nearly endless. Adding bright, crunchy pickled onions is a first step that your taste buds will thank you for taking.