Classic Potato Salad
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This Classic Potato Salad is super creamy, crunchy and absolutely delicious. It’s the perfect side dish for your summer BBQs or any protein packed entree, super easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes.
Potato Salad
We probably all have our favorite potato salad that we grew up with and I’m sure there are numerous versions out there, with mustard, without mustard, with cucumbers, with pickles, no celery, with olives, the list goes on. This one I’m sharing with you today is packed with pickles and crunchy celery.
Of course, the classic potato salad is really about potatoes and so there are lots of potatoes here. My favorite to use are Yukon gold potatoes, just because I love their yellow color. In reality this salad can be made with any kind of potatoes, even red skinned ones.
- Short 15 min prep time
- Easy recipe done in 30 min
- 3 Step fast prep and cook
- Crowd Pleaser
This side dish originated in Germany and I’m ever so thankful that it’s become such a world wide renowned side dish! It’s a great blank canvas for tons of flavor so feel free to have fun with this side dish, I promise you’ll love whatever you come up with!
Ingredient Notes
- Potatoes – I used Yukon gold as they’re perfect for this recipe. Avoid using starchier potatoes like Russets, since they’ll get too mushy in this type of salad.
- Eggs – I use hard-boiled eggs for texture and extra creaminess.
- Celery – I love adding celery to my potato salad for a little added crunch.
- Onion – I used a red onion for a punchy acidic kick and some color.
- Pickles – I chopped up 3 medium sized pickles for lots of tang and crunch.
- Mayonnaise – I love using a good organic mayonnaise. If you’d like to make your own here’s my recipe!
- Mustard – This adds an extra kick of flavor as well as a bit of color. I usually use Dijon mustard in this classic recipe.
- Spices – Paprika and salt and pepper. I love to use a bit of paprika but it’s totally optional.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed is always best!
- Herbs – Freshly chopped chives for adding to the salad and also for garnish.
How To Make Potato Salad
- Prepare the potatoes: Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and let the potatoes cool.
- Make the potato salad: In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, red onion, lemon juice, pickles and paprika and stir until well combined. Stir in the chives, celery, hard boiled eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and toss them until well combined. Alternatively, you can add all the ingredients to the bowl and gently toss until well incorporated.
- Chill and serve: Refrigerate until ready to serve.
How To Boil The Perfect Eggs
- Place eggs in a sauce pan and cover with at least 2 inches of cold water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat and let the eggs cook for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size. If using very fresh eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water to help the eggs peel easier.
- Once ready, drain the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until the shells are cold. They’re ready to peel!
- You can add vinegar to the water before the eggs go into boil, it will prevent the shells from cracking!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Prevent My Potato Salad From Getting Watery The Next Day?
A watery potato salad can be caused by mixing the potatoes while they are too hot or the ingredients used in your potato salad (for example too much vinegar or other liquid). Make sure to drain potatoes well and allow them to cool to room temperature before mixing.
Do You Need To Rinse The Potatoes After Cooking?
Yes you can. Drain the potatoes and rinse them under cool water. Transfer to a large bowl. it will help the potatoes to not get too mushy.
What Else Can I Add To My Potato Salad?
You can add lots of other ingredients to this salad, it’s really versatile. Some options are cooked chicken, dill, parsley, peas, corn, bell peppers, cayenne pepper, capers, to name a few.
Expert Tips
- Use the right potato! Be sure to use a waxier potato to ensure it soaks up all that dressing, other potato varieties can leak water and result in a runny dressing. Yukon golds are best, avoid starchier potatoes like Russets.
- Salt your water while the potatoes boil. Just like pasta, potatoes soak up the salt and add some flavor to our dish.
- Chill the potato salad to give it time to meld the flavors. As the salad sits the flavors will develop, resulting in a much tastier potato salad.
How To Serve
This versatile little potato salad has been a long time world wide favorite for good reason. I love to pair this with any and all things BBQ, big meat dishes, and just about anything that feels or tastes summery!
- Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
- Beer And Honey BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Pork Loin Roast
Leftovers
You can store potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. This salad does not freeze well so I don’t recommend storing it that way as the eggs and the mayo based sauce will separate when thawed.
More Delicious Recipes To Try
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Classic Potato Salad
Video
Ingredients
- 3 pound potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes (I used Yukon Gold potatoes))
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 1 small red onion (finely chopped)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
- 3 medium dill pickles (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ cup chives (chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (chopped)
- 6 hard boiled eggs (peeled and chopped)
- ½ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
- ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Prepare the potatoes: Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and let the potatoes cool.
- Make the potato salad: In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, red onion, lemon juice, pickles and paprika and stir until well combined. Stir in the chives, celery, hard boiled eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and toss them until well combined. Alternatively, you can add all the ingredients to the bowl and gently toss until well incorporated.
- Chill and serve: Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Notes
- To get perfect hard boiled eggs all the time, add your eggs eggs to a saucepan, cover with at least 2 inches of cold water. Bring the water to a full boiling, you should see big boiling bubbles, turn off the heat and cover the pot. Keep the saucepan on the burner for about 10 to 12 minutes. At this point I like to run cold water over the eggs and peel them under the tap, this way it’s easy to peel the eggs and you get perfectly peeled eggs every single time.
- Use the right potato! Be sure to use a waxier potato to ensure it soaks up all that dressing, other potato varieties can leak water and result in a runny dressing. Yukon golds are best, avoid starchier potatoes like Russets.
- Salt your water while the potatoes boil. Just like pasta, potatoes soak up the salt and add some flavor to our dish.
- Chill the potato salad to give it time to meld the flavors. As the salad sits the flavors will develop, resulting in a much tastier potato salad.
- You can store potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. This salad does not freeze well so I don’t recommend storing it that way as the eggs and the mayo based sauce will separate when thawed.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
