Potato Salad
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This Old Fashioned Potato Salad tastes just like the one Mom made. It's creamy, tangy, hearty, and has that classic potato salad flavor that everyone looks forward to during summer BBQ season.
Serve it cold with burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, ribs, or sandwiches. This recipe brings back the best kind of nostalgia.
Table of Contents
- Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients You'll Need
- In Photos: How To Make Potato Salad
- Recipe FAQ
- More BBQ Sides
Summer is in full swing, and if you're anything like me, that means you are doing your best to be outside, soaking up as much sunshine as possible! That means lots of grilling and al fresco dining. If being outside is great, eating outside is even better!
But when it's hot, you want to enjoy simple dishes that are cool and refreshing. At my house, we like things like chilled crab dip, Cobb salad, and the occasional frozen mango margarita, maybe with a cool, creamy serving of strawberry shortcake for dessert.
And one of my favorite summer side dishes would have to be potato salad.
This potato salad recipe is exactly like the one I remember having throughout my childhood and beyond. It's a real classic, with fluffy potatoes, crisp celery, sweet onion, and rich hard-boiled eggs in every luscious bite, all coated in a tangy, creamy dressing.
Here's Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This potato salad is creamy, tangy, and packed with classic flavor.
- It's made with simple ingredients you can find anywhere.
- It's a great side dish to make ahead for parties, picnics, or backyard barbecues.
- Vinegar brightens up the salad and keeps it from feeling too heavy.
- It serves a crowd and goes well with almost any summer meal.
Ingredients You'll Need
The recipe card at the bottom of the post contains the full list with all of the amounts. Refer to that when you're cooking.
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes make the salad soft and fluffy, and they soak up the dressing well. You can peel them or leave the skins on. Yukon Gold or red potatoes are good, too, if you like a firmer texture.
- Kosher salt: Add it to the cooking water so the potatoes get seasoned all the way through.
- White vinegar: Gives the salad its signature tangy flavor. A little is sprinkled over the warm potatoes so they absorb that brightness right away.
- Hard-boiled eggs: They add richness, texture, and that classic homemade potato salad flavor.
- Celery: It adds a fresh crunch that balances out the creamy dressing.
- Sweet onion: It gives a mild onion flavor without taking over the salad. You can also use finely diced red or green onion.
- Mayonnaise: This makes the dressing creamy. Use a good-quality mayo since it's one of the main flavors.
- Yellow mustard: It adds color, tang, and a bit of zip.
- Celery seed: This gives the salad that old fashioned deli-style flavor.
- Salt and pepper: Add these to taste after mixing everything together.
- Paprika: This is optional, but it makes a nice garnish and adds a bit of warm color.
- Fresh chives: Optional, but they add a fresh pop of flavor right before serving.
In Photos: How To Make Potato Salad
Step 1: Prep
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized cubes.
My favorite kind of potato for potato salad (or just about anything else, really) is russet. They're versatile (you can use them for anything from potato soup to scalloped potatoes to stuffed potato skins to mashed potatoes) and they always cook up fluffy and delish.
But you can use any kind of potatoes you like! I think Yukon gold potatoes could also work well here, as well as red bliss potatoes.
Leave the skins on or take them off? It's entirely up to you. For the photos and videos you see here, I chose to peel the potatoes. But I also like a skin-on potato salad just as well. To me, it seems to make the potatoes taste even more potato-ey. Which I'm always down for.
Put them in a large pot. Cover them with cold water.
Add salt to the water and bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat.
Step 2: Cook
Lower the heat and simmer the potatoes until fork-tender. To check for doneness, insert the point of a sharp knife. If it goes in and comes back out easily, the potatoes are done. This usually takes 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how big your potato pieces are.
Step 3: Sprinkle Vinegar
Drain the potatoes well. While they're still warm, sprinkle them with a little vinegar. This helps them soak up extra flavor.
Step 4: Make Sauce
In a large bowl, mix together the chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, diced onion, mayonnaise, the rest of the vinegar, yellow mustard, and celery seed.
Celery seed is, to me, what gives potato salad its signature flavor. When I taste it, it takes me back to every backyard cookout I've ever enjoyed.
For the mustard, I like plain old yellow mustard, but you could also use a dijon mustard or a grainy mustard, if you really want to take things up a notch. I think a dijon potato salad with fresh tarragon sounds lovely, and a grainy mustard version with bacon would be so hearty and delicious as well.
Stir until the dressing is smooth and everything is well mixed.
Gently fold in the warm potatoes. Try not to overmix, so the potatoes keep their shape.
Taste the salad and add salt and pepper if needed.
Move the potato salad to a serving bowl and garnish with paprika and fresh chives if you like.
Recipe Variations
Want to change things up a bit? Add in one (or several) of the following items:
- Chopped pickles or pickle relish
- Bacon
- Chopped bell peppers or pimentos
- Scallions
- Herbs such as thyme, tarragon, or dill
- Shredded cheese
- Jalapeno peppers, for a spicy version
Helpful Tips and Tricks
- Cut the potatoes into even pieces so they cook at the same rate.
- Start cooking the potatoes in cold water. This helps them cook evenly all the way through.
- Don't overcook the potatoes. They should be fork tender but not falling apart.
- Add vinegar while the potatoes are warm so they soak up the tangy flavor.
- I like to make my potato salad at least a few hours in advance, so it has time to chill and the flavors to meld. I'll often even do it a day ahead of serving it. I find it takes some of the harsh bite out of the onions, too. They almost pickle in the dressing, becoming sweeter and milder.
- Taste before serving and adjust the salt and pepper if you need to.
Recipe FAQ
How long does potato salad keep?
Potato salad should be kept cold as much as possible. Don't leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours. It can keep for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
More BBQ Sides
Ingredients
- 4 pounds (1814.37 g) potatoes*, (approx. 6 medium russets)
- 3 tablespoons (45 g) kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons (48 g) white vinegar,, divided
- 4 (200 g) hard-boiled eggs,, chopped
- 2 stalks (80 g) celery,, diced
- 1 (331 g) sweet onion, , diced
- 15 ounces (425.24 g) mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) yellow mustard
- 1 ½ teaspoons (3 g) celery seed
- salt & pepper,, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon (0.5 g) paprika, (optional garnish)
- 1 teaspoon (1 g) chopped fresh chives, (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Cube the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place them in a large pot of cold water.
- Add the salt to the water and bring the pot up to a boil over medium-high heat.
- Reduce the heat and allow the potatoes to simmer until fork tender (approx. 10 to 15 minutes).
- Drain the potatoes and sprinkle them with 1 tablespoon of vinegar.
- Place the hard-boiled eggs, celery, and onion in a large bowl along with the mayonnaise, remaining vinegar, mustard, and celery seed.
- Stir to combine.
- Fold in the potatoes, taste, and season with salt & pepper (if needed).
- Transfer the potato salad to a serving bowl and garnish with paprika and fresh chives, if desired.
We use Youkon Gold potatoes, and also add in a finely diced Sweet Pickle but otherwise it's just like our treasured old family recipe. It's always a huge hit at cookouts, and we're always asked for the recipe.
Sounds fantastic! I love Yukon golds too, and I could definitely get down with a little chopped pickle. So glad this brought back a happy memory for you!