This potato salad recipe is filled with all the delicious flavors we’ve come to know and love in our potato salad. A creamy base of mayo and mustard envelopes potatoes, along with crisp onions and celery, dill pickles, and eggs to create a cool, creamy, and tangy side dish that pairs perfectly with everything from dogs and burgers to low and slow barbecue.
There are two sides we love to make above all others during the summer – macaroni salad and potato salad. They’re both absolutely delicious when it comes to summer sides. They’re cool and creamy, they have a variety of textures, and they’re the perfect match to all of our favorite summer main dishes. So we make this stuff by the truckload all summer long. It’s always a hit.
When people see us rolling up with a big pan of this potato salad, they have plates in hand almost before we’ve even set it out on the table. There’s just something about all that creamy goodness that no one can pass up. If we’re making dinner or going to any kind of party or potluck, chances are, we’ll have this potato salad in tow. It’s perfect for family meals, potlucks, backyard barbecues, and everything in between.
Potato Salad
As with any food, the traditional potato salad recipe has gone through a lot of changes over the decades. What was once a simple dish of mayo, potatoes, and a few other ingredients has evolved and grown into hundreds of variations featuring everything from hot pepper flakes to dill and much more. While we love all versions, what our family keeps coming back to again and again is this easy potato salad recipe.
This potato salad recipe has the perfect flavor profile to pair with all types of barbecues, hot dogs and burgers, chicken, and more. If you can grill it, this delicious side dish recipe goes well with it. It’s also great for baked chicken and pork chops. When you keep it simple, you can pair it with more things, and honestly, the simplicity creates a flavor that you really can’t beat. That’s why we might branch out into trying other variations, but always come back to the original. It’s just so perfect.
And while taste is always at the top of our list, it doesn’t hurt that this favorite side dish is super simple to make, as well. Without a bunch of bells and whistles, you only need a handful of ingredients, and it’s just a matter of mixing them together. No muss. No fuss. Just creamy deliciousness.
Tips
This recipe is so straightforward. There are no zigs or zags here. You just boil potatoes and eggs, cube and dice, and mix it all together, and you’re done. Of course, even simple dishes can be made better with just a few simple tips. The following tips will help you make the best potato salad recipe possible, ensuring great flavor and texture.
Add Potatoes Last
When making this potato salad, we always add the potatoes last. Mix all the other ingredients together first to get them well combined, then fold in the potatoes. This ensures that all the creamy ingredients and crisp veggies are evenly distributed and that your potatoes will hold their shape and won’t get smashed.
Keep the Celery Small
For best results, dice your celery into smaller pieces. That way, you’ll get a nice crunch in every bite. This also ensures that your potatoes remain the star of the show.
To Peel or Not to Peel
That is the question. The answer is that it doesn’t matter. It’s all up to you! If you like potato skin, feel free to leave them on. It adds a nice depth of flavor and an interesting look to the dish as a whole.
Relish Makes Things Easier
If you don’t want to take the time to finely dice dill pickles or you don’t have any, feel free to use dill pickle relish. It doesn’t change the flavor, and it saves time. We do this often if we want to shave off a few minutes when making large batches of this delicious side dish recipe.
Best Potatoes for Potato Salad
We highly recommend that you use red potatoes. It can be tempting to use whatever potatoes you have on hand, but red potatoes are the best. Red potatoes are the creamiest and a favorite of ours for potato salad. We have used russet potatoes many times, along with Yukon gold potatoes, as well, but the red potato is a game changer when making potato salad. Here is a red potato salad recipe from Great Grub, Delicious Treats that you might enjoy as well.
How Long To Boil Potatoes For Potato Salad
Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Being to a boil over medium heat. Once the potatoes start to boil, reduce heat to a simmer and boil until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, approximately 15-20 minutes depending on the size of the potatoes.
Serving Classic Potato Salad
This classic potato salad goes with literally everything. Serve it up at barbecues with all your favorite main dishes and sides. Bring it to potlucks. It’s great for holiday gatherings. Heck, it’s so easy to make, you can serve it as a weeknight dinner side. Just whip up a batch and plop a spoonful on your plate right next to whatever you’re serving. That’s it! You can’t go wrong!
Can You Freeze Potato Salad
You can store this potato salad in the refrigerator in an air-tight container for up to five days. For longer storage, you can freeze potato salad for up to three months in heavy-duty freezer bags. Place the potato salad in the freezer bags and remove as much air as possible without squishing the potatoes and lay it flat in the freezer.
To defrost, place it in the refrigerator the day before serving to let it defrost slowly. This ensures that its texture remains unchanged.
Give This Delicious Recipe A Try Today
There’s a reason this potato salad is the best potato salad. This recipe is the one we’ve all enjoyed since we were kids, and it’s so good with anything on your plate! Pile it high next to ribs, pulled pork sandwiches, hot dogs, burgers – anything. It’s always the right decision.
Give this delicious potato salad a try, and you’ll see it disappear in no time flat. It’s the perfect side for any occasion!
Potato Salad Ingredients
- Red potatoes
- Red onion
- Celery
- Dill pickles
- Hard boiled eggs
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard
- Dijon mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
- Salt and black pepper
How to Make Potato Salad
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1 – Preparing the Potatoes
Add potatoes to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until potatoes are fork tender, approximately 15 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
Step 2 – Boiling Eggs
In a large pot of water, boil eggs, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Step 3 – Making the Mixture
In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise, both mustards, celery, onions, dill pickles, and apple cider vinegar together while potatoes are cooling.
Step 4 – Preparing the Salad
Peel and chop eggs and add to the bowl. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces and add to large bowl. Stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator to chill. Once chilled, salt and pepper to taste and then enjoy!
Here are a few more delicious side dish recipes you might enjoy as well.
Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red potatoes
- 1 cup red onions, diced
- 2 stalks celery, finely diced
- 4 dill pickles, diced
- 7 hard boiled eggs, diced
- 1½ cups mayonnaise (more if needed)
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Boil eggs, rinse with cold water and set aside.
- Add potatoes to a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain and rinse with cold water (can lay potatoes out on a flat surface or wire racks to cool).
- In a large bowl, mix mayo, both mustards, celery, onions, dill pickles and apple cider vinegar together.
- Peel and chop eggs and add to the bowl. Stir to combine.
- Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces and add to large bowl. Stir to combine.
- Place in the fridge to chill.
- Once chilled, salt and pepper to taste and then enjoy.
Here are a few pictures that are perfect to pin to your Pinterest boards.
