111015 - Low sodium potato salad

I find it is very hard to find prepackaged food products with low sodium. It is in almost everything. Manufacturer's like salt because it preserves the product, and they think everyone likes the taste better.

Reduced sodium potato salad

My local grocery store deli potato salad is a whopping 460 mg sodium per half cup. Thus, I came up the the following recipe for potato salad that I find very satisfying. It also lets me bring and eat potato salad at the neighborhood cookout. No one seems to have noticed that my salad is much different from what I brought before, so I think it is a workable recipe for anyone on a low sodium diet, or just interested in better health.

Ingredients for the low salt potato salad

mg	Calories	qty	unit	ingredient	pct vol
500	240	4	tbsp	salad dressing (FF)	7%
0	0	1	tbsp	vinegar	2%
0	120	2	tbsp	sugar	3%
0	60	0.5	tbsp	olive oil	2%
0	5	0.5	cup	celery	13%
0	200	2	cup	potatoes- diced	52%
0	3	0.5	cup	onions- diced	13%
130	210	3	each	eggs- boiled, diced	10%
Label compare ingredients: potato, onion, celery, egg, salad dressing, olive oil, vinegar With a serving size of 1/2 cup, this makes nearly 8 servings

Prepare potatoes and eggs

Using two sauce pans. Boil potatoes and eggs for about 15-30 minutes (use longer cooking times for high elevation location). You can tell if potatoes are done to your liking by mashing one with a fork while cooking.

Drain potatoes and place in freezer or refrigerator. Remove eggs from heat, remove hot water, and cover with cool tap water.

Prepare sauce and other ingredients

In a small bowl, mix salad dressing, vinegar, sugar, and olive oil. Mix thoroughly until sugar grains are no longer noticeably present and mixture is consistent. Place in refrigerator while you prepare final ingredients. I prefer fat free salad dressing to mayonnaise because of its taste, and its Calorie and fat reduction characteristics. If you prefer mayonnaise, you can use it instead.

Dice onion and celery to consistency you prefer. If you do not like one or more of these, you can omit them. They will not change calorie or sodium content appreciably.

Peel eggs and clean them under running water. Finely chop eggs. I often place chopped eggs in bowl of sauce mixture after completion of this step. It avoids creating another used bowl.

Mix components, chill, and serve

In a very large bowl or cooking utensil, place diced potatoes in bowl. Add sauce mixture and eggs. Place onion and celery over the other ingredients. Stir until potatoes, sauce, and other ingredients are thoroughly mixed. You can then place in smaller bowl for storing and transporting. It is best to chill it in refrigerator for one hour before serving. If the potatoes are too warm, the mixture will not be very consistent.


Store in refrigerator. It stores well. Salad dressing and eggs are highly susceptible to spoiling at room temperature, so keep any unused portion refrigerated for safety.

Sodium content comparison

This recipe makes nearly eight half cup servings of potato salad. If you examine a prepackaged (store) product, you will find that most of them have a very high sodium content.

Comparisons and options table
1/2 cup	mg	Calories	mg reduced	Kcal reduced
Store potato salad*	460	150	0	0
this recipe	82	108	82%	28%
If you chop and five olives to the base recipe.
add olives	125	110	72%	27%
If you do not add eggs to the base recipe.
no eggs	65	81	86%	46%
If you double the sauce to the base recipe.
double dressing	146	139	68%	7%
If you add eight chopped dill hamburger slices to the base recipe.
add dill pickles	129	108	72%	28%
If you add a cup of plain yogurt to obtain creamy style to the base recipe.
creamy option	95	122	80%	19%
*Depends on brand, ranges observed are 300 to 800 mg All options are baseline to the main recipe. If you want to mix options, you will need to calculate the differences and add the results to meet your preferred option. If you want salt added, suggest you use the low sodium seasoned salt. Use of regular salt defeats much of the effort.

A common request is to have olives added. Olives are low Calorie, but very high sodium. Others want a more creamy product and double, or more, the sauce portions. If you do this, it is an additional 70 mg sodium and a about 25 Calories for each added sauce portion. You can also add a cup of plain yogurt instead of adding additional sauce. This will make a very creamy potato salad.

When I bring the creamy potato salad to a party it goes fast and no one seems to notice it is low sodium. Remember that people will tend to avoid things they are told are "different." I prefer the not too creamy version, but find some will avoid it because it looks different.

Dill pickles are another requested addition. Dill pickles are almost no calories but are very high sodium (370 mg for 8 dill slices).

Final issues

The salad tends to improve in flavor as time progresses and the spices mix into other ingredients. If you do not leave it out at room temperature, it will store for a very long time.


The store purchased option salt and other preservatives tends to cause its product to remain unspoiled longer, so I assume this version, if it is not eaten, will not last as long. I have never had that happen, but I don't let it sit as long as a store brand and do not normally use the creamy version.


A common question about potato and macaroni salad is "why are they so high in salt." Simply put, they salt it. They salt the water that is used to cook the main ingredient. Then they salt the sauce mixture. The often add over 3,000 mg in just pure salt when they make it.

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Sam Martin
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