• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
  • Puerto Rican
  • Cuban
  • About

Latina Mom Meals

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • Puerto Rican
  • Cuban
  • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Recipe Index
    • Puerto Rican
    • Cuban
    • About
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×
    Home » Holiday Favorites

    Published: Nov 3, 2019 by Neyssa

    Ensalada Rusa | Russian Salad

    Sharing is caring!

    • Share
    • Tweet
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Ensalada Rusa is a beautiful pink potato salad that has soft beets, carrots and peas, hard boiled eggs, crunchy celery and onions, and is folded into a delicious pink creamy mayonnaise based dressing. 

    Puerto Rican potato salads are a favorite during the holidays and at family gatherings. During the summer months, I love to serve our potato salad with shrimp, at regular gatherings and during Thanksgiving, I make my favorite Puerto Rican potato salad with apples (so good). If you have a family member who is going keto, this keto egg salad with chayote is a must make!


    potato salad with eggs on a blue background

    What is ensalada Rusa? | What is Russian Potato Salad?

    Originally developed in Russia by French chef Lucien Olivier during the 19th century, the Russian potato salad has made it's way across land and sea, taking on new spins, and then finally when it was introduced to Puerto Rico, it quickly became a Puerto Rican potato salad whose name reflects it's origin.

    A beautiful pink potato salad, ensalada Rusa is easily made with typical potato salad ingredients, with the addition of beets and peas!

    Russian potato salad in a glass mixing bowl

    How To Make Ensalada Rusa

    To make ensalada Rusa, start by boiling your potatoes and carrots until fork tender. 

    Carrots take longer to cook through than potatoes, so always chop your carrots a little smaller than the potatoes. I personally like my potato salad to have smaller chunks of potatoes (about only an inch big).

    During this time, I also like to hard boil my eggs. (My favorite method to hard boil eggs is in the Instant Pot, learn more here.)

    cooked potatoes and carrots in a glass bowl

    Once you drain your potatoes and carrots, add in the finely chopped red onions and celery. 

    In my Facebook group, member Diana shared that she grates her non-cooked vegetables for a different texture! Let me know in the comments below if you're team chop or grate!

    chopped vegetables in a glass bowl

    Next, add in your chopped cooked beets and your drained can of peas. I like to save a few tablespoon of the peas to place on top once the ensalada Rusa is mixed, for presentation.

    I use a can of beets, I drain (and set aside) the beet juice, dice the beets into small chunks, and dump it in, then run to rinse my hands. (It's messy.) 

    You can use fresh beets, if desired.

    How To Cook Fresh Beets For Russian Potato Salad

    Boiling is the easiest way to cook beets. Depending on the size of the beets, it will take anywhere between 30-60 minutes. Boil the beets, with the skin still on.

    Once the beets are fork tender, transfer the beets (reserve the water in the pot), to an ice bath. Once you can touch safely, peel the skin (it should come right off).

    Rinse the peeled beets and chop it finely. The colored water from boiling will be used for the sauce.

    beets and peas in a glass bowl

    Russian Salad Dressing Recipe

    What I love about Puerto Rican potato salads is the sauce. This Russian salad dressing tastes amazing! To be honest, I was nervous how it would taste, but beets are naturally sweet and earthy, which compliments the vinegar and paprika that is in the Russian salad dressing recipe.

    To make this Russian salad dressing recipe you'll mix together the ingredients for the dressing before adding in the beet juice. I personally have to taste as I go to see if it needs more vinegar or sugar. Once I find that right balance, start spooning in the beet juice without over mixing the sauce.

    Once the sauce is the right hue of pink, taste one final time to see if it needs to be adjusted at all (everyone will have a different preference).

    Pour the Russian salad dressing over the ensalada Rusa and gently fold it together with a rubber spatula (helps to keep potatoes and ingredients from breaking). 

    Russian salad dressing over vegetables in a glass bowl

    At this point, taste it. Add a pinch of salt and pepper if necessary. 

    ensalada rusa in a glass bowl

    Transfer the ensalada Rusa to a serving bowl and crumble the boiled eggs over the top, along with a few spoons of drained peas for presentation. 

    ensalada rusa in a blue bowl with a red towel

    This pink potato salad should be covered and refrigerated at least 30 minutes before serving. Also, remember that the sauce is dairy based, so keep refrigerated until it's time to serve. 

    What to serve with ensalada Rusa

    Since this is a Christmas potato salad recipe, we're sharing what's traditionally served during Christmas at Puerto Rico.

    • Puerto Rican Ham (Pineapple and cloves will make your house smell amazing!)
    • Puerto Rican Rice
    • Pasteles
    • Yuca con mojo (Cassava with a pickled onion sauce)
    • Coquito (A coconut rum drink)

     

    Recipe

    ensalada rusa in a blue bowl with eggs on top

    Ensalada Rusa

    Ensalada Rusa is a pink potato salad with beets recipe that is traditionally made around Christmas.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Salad, Side Dish
    Cuisine: Latin, Puerto Rican
    Keyword: potato salad
    Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Refrigerate: 30 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories:
    Author: Neyssa
    Cost: 6

    Equipment

    • stove

    Ingredients

    salad

    • 6 red potatoes peeled and chopped
    • 2 stalks of carrots peeled and chopped
    • 2 celery stalks finely chopped
    • ¼ cup of chopped red onions
    • 15 oz can of beets chopped (juice reserved)
    • 15 oz can of peas rinsed
    • 4 eggs hard boiled and crumbled

    sauce

    • 1 cup of mayonnaise
    • 2 teaspoons of white vinegar
    • 1 tablespoon of sugar
    • ½ teaspoon of paprika
    • pinch of salt
    • 2 teaspoons of beet juice
    Get Recipe Ingredients

    Instructions

    Salad

    • In a large pot, boil potatoes and carrots in salted water until fork tender. Drain potatoes and place into a large mixing bowl.
    • Add in carrot, celery, onions, beets, and peas.

    Sauce

    • In a medium bowl, mix sauce ingredients to create sauce.
    • Pour sauce over potato mixture.
    • Gently fold all of the ingredients together.
    • Sprinkle crumbled eggs over the potato salad, cover and refrigerate a minimum of 30 minutes before serving.

    Notes

    Chop the potatoes into 1 to 1 ½ inch chunks, and cut the carrots into half of the size of potatoes for even cooking.

     

     

    More Holiday Favorites

    • Close up shot of coquito in a glass cup with cinnamon on the rim and a Puerto Rican flag.
      Classic Coquito with Tea
    • Tea for coquito is inside of a glass cup with a gray and blue background, spices, and Puerto Rican flags.
      Spiced Tea for Coquito
    • Close up shot of freshly made loose yellow rice and green pigeon peas in a silver pot.
      Arroz con gandules
    • Coconut cookies stacked on top of each other.
      Coquito Cookies (Coconut Cookies)

    About Neyssa

    Neyssa is a Latina food blogger who shares her Cuban and Puerto Rican family recipes for home cooks to make.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sophia says

      December 04, 2021 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      It's hard to find recipes from Latin cultures online that are good but this recipe has the same taste as my Abuela's salad. Gracias!

      Reply
    5 from 1 vote

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Neyssa is a Puerto Rican and Cuban self-taught home cook who lives right outside of Philly and is on a mission to share recipes that are inspired by her Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage.

    More about Neyssa →

    Latest Recipes

    • A close up shot of crema de maiz inside of a bowl with a spoon, topped with fresh berries.
      Harina De Maiz: Cornmeal Porridge
    • Cuban malanga fritters in a dip on a wire rack
      Malanga Fritters
    • A cup of Puerto Rican horchata is in a glass cup with a cinnamon stick and a sliver of twirling lemon rind for garnish.
      Horchata de Ajonjoli
    • A group of frozen limbers are on a wooden platter with cinnamon sticks on the tray.
      Limber de Leche

    Winter Favorites

    • pernil | roasted pork shoulder
      Cuban Pernil
    • rice and shrimp stew in a blue plate
      Asopao de Camarones | Shrimp Stew
    • Instant Pot Puerto Rican Sancocho Recipe
      Sancocho
    • Homemade Puerto Rican Salami Soup | Sopa de Salchichon estilo Boricua
      Puerto Rican Salami Soup

    Footer

    Copyright © 2025 Latina Mom Meals All Rights Reserved

    PRIVACY POLICY + TERMS OF USE | ABOUT & CONTACT

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.