Give Potato Salad A Flavor-Packed Boost With A Jar Of This Italian Ingredient

While an undeniably delicious side dish, between the starchy base, a creamy dressing, and not much in the way of texture or big flavor, a potato salad can end up a little one note. So if you're looking to shake up your go-to potato salad recipe, sun-dried tomatoes can be the way to do it. Their concentrated tomato flavor is tangy, sweet, and yet umami, while their chewy texture gives the soft potatoes a little contrast. Plus, if you're serving the salad alongside grilled meat, the tomatoes can do a lot to bring a touch of sweetness to a plate that might otherwise lean very heavily on smoky and savory tastes.

If you're not up for making sun-dried tomatoes in the oven or more traditionally over time in the sunlight, then you'll be glad to know a store-bought jar works just fine. In fact, jarred oil-packed tomatoes are generally softer and ready to chop without needing to be rehydrated first. It isn't necessarily just the tomatoes themselves that are loaded with flavor either, using some of the oil from the jar is a clever move too — use it to make your salad dressing or drizzle it onto the finished dish. The main thing to watch with this add-in is salt as sun-dried tomatoes can be quite salty, particularly when packed in oil, so give your salad a taste before you decide to add extra seasoning.

Sun-dried tomatoes, of course, go very well with Mediterranean-leaning potato salads paired with fresh herbs, olives, or a sharp cheese. All that concentrated flavor also means they can stand up to other strong flavors, so don't be afraid to throw them in alongside capers, roasted garlic, or a little feta and watch them stand their ground.

While this is not your grandma's old-fashioned potato salad recipe, it also doesn't need to feel massively different to what you know and love – sun-dried tomatoes can most definitely work in more American-style potato salads, too, just with a little consideration. The risk is that a mayonnaise-based salad, especially with additions like extra crispy bacon and cheddar, could easily become too rich when adding oily tomatoes. So, use sparingly and counteract them with something fresh and acidic, like lemon juice, a splash of vinegar, or pickle juice. The best thing about sun-dried tomatoes is that a little actually goes a long way; you don't need to use a whole jar to change the character of a familiar potato salad, just a few roughly chopped tablespoons will do the trick.