Best Ever Potato Salad
This potato salad is tangy, creamy and flavorful! It’s easy to make with perfectly cooked potatoes, hard boiled eggs, pickle relish, celery and a homemade dressing. It’s a delicious side dish for burgers, grilled chicken and more!
This Recipe Turned Me Into a Potato Salad Lover!
I’m going to be totally honest here and say that potato salad has never been my first choice of summer side dishes. I typically prefer a zesty Pasta Salad or this fresh Cucumber Tomato Salad.
But this potato salad recipe has changed all that! It’s turned me into the girl who eagerly adds potato salad to our menu when we host a summer cookout or BBQ.
Here’s why I love this recipe: Imagine bites of tender, buttery gold potatoes, crunchy celery, punchy onion and hard boiled eggs, all tied together with a creamy, tangy dressing. Finish it off with a sprinkle of paprika for a pop of color and flavor and you’ve got a sure winner of a crowd-pleasing side dish.
Like my Macaroni Salad recipe, this potato salad is flavorful, tangy and creamy, without being overly heavy. I think you’re going to love it!
Great recipe! Will be a keeper for me! Also liked your red potato salad recipe!
Barb
Kristine’s Tips for The Best Potato Salad
Potato salad is a really simple dish to make. But just like I’ve shared my secrets to making the best creamy Mashed Potatoes, I’ve learned a few tips and tricks over the years for how to make an outstanding potato salad that will be the hit of any summer BBQ.
- Salt the potato cooking water. This flavors the potatoes from the start and really makes a difference in the finished dish.
- Cut the potatoes into pieces that are approximately the same size so that they will cook evenly. I find that 3/4-inch pieces are the perfect bite-size.
- To make this recipe come together quickly, get the potatoes cooking first and then hard boil the eggs. While the potatoes cool, chop the onion and celery and make the dressing.
- Chill before serving. Potato salad is always better on the second day, after the flavors have had time to develop and blend together.
- To avoid watery potato salad, let the potatoes cool before adding the dressing. Also be sure to drain the potatoes well after cooking. Give it a stir before serving to make sure everything is well combined, and enjoy!
What Kind of Potatoes Should I Use?
I’ve found that Yukon gold potatoes make the best potato salad. They hold their shape well and have a lovely starchy texture and delicious buttery flavor. If you’re like me and don’t enjoy peeling potatoes, you’ll love using gold potatoes because the thin skins don’t need to be removed. Red potatoes are also a good choice. My Red Potato Salad recipe is another favorite.
Russet potatoes are not the best for potato salad because they tend to soak up more water when you boil them and they fall apart more easily once cooked.
Ingredients and Substitution Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make this potato salad recipe, plus substitution options.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes: It’s not necessary to peel the potatoes since the skins of gold potatoes are thin, but you can peel them if you wish.
- Celery and Red Onion: For flavor and crunch.
- Hard Boiled Eggs: We love hard boiled eggs in our potato salad. If you don’t care for potato salad with eggs, you can leave them out.
- Paprika: For garnish. It adds a pop of color and a bit of flavor.
The Dressing
- Mayonnaise: Mayo is the creamy base for the potato salad dressing. I like to use avocado mayo. For a lighter potato salad, replace half of the mayonnaise with plain Greek yogurt (full fat yogurt is best).
- Sweet Pickle Relish: Sweet relish adds a little sweetness to the dressing.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: This makes the dressing slightly tangy. White vinegar can be substituted, but we prefer the flavor of apple cider vinegar.
- Dijon Mustard: A tablespoon of Dijon elevates the flavor of the dressing. The mustard flavor is not strong, and you can substitute yellow mustard if you prefer.
- Celery Seed: Celery seed adds a bit of an earthy flavor. It’s subtle, but I find that it gives the salad more flavor overall. If you don’t have celery seed on hand, you can omit it from the recipe.
- Salt and Pepper: For seasoning.
How to Make Potato Salad
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until they are just tender when pierced with a fork. Check on them often to test for doneness, since overcooked potatoes may fall apart in the salad. Then drain the potatoes well and let them cool for at least 20 minutes.
- While the potatoes cool, mix together the dressing ingredients.
- Stir the dressing into the cooled potatoes.
- Gently stir in the remaining ingredients: chopped celery, red onion and coarsely chopped hard boiled eggs.
- Season with additional salt and pepper, to taste.
- Chill before serving. Serve garnished with paprika, if desired.
Potato Salad Recipe Variations
You can modify this recipe to your tastes. Here are a few suggestions:
- Instead of red onion, try sweet yellow onion or green onion.
- Instead of sweet pickle relish, add chopped sweet pickles or dill pickles. Or, add a tablespoon or two of pickle juice.
- Use fresh herbs to brighten the flavors. My favorites in this salad are chopped dill and parsley.
- Add cooked, crumbled bacon and/or shredded cheddar cheese, just like you might add to a baked potato. Or try this German Potato Salad, which features crispy bacon and a vinegar-based dressing.
- Add more veggies, such as chopped bell pepper or diced carrots.
- Omit the hard boiled eggs if you prefer your potato salad without egg.
Storage Tips
Potato salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. For the best taste, refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before serving. It will taste even better on the second day.
Be sure to refrigerate potato salad promptly for food safety. Never leave it out at room temperature for more than 2 hours, or less if outside on a hot day. Salads with mayonnaise-based dressings can spoil quickly if they are left out of the refrigerator, especially in a warm environment.
Serving Ideas
Enjoy this potato salad with:
Best Ever Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the Salad:
- 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, chopped into ¾-inch pieces, peeling is optional
- salt, for the potato cooking water
- 2 ribs celery, finely chopped
- ⅓ cup finely chopped red onion
- 3 hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
- paprika, optional topping
For the Dressing:
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sweet pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, or white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Instructions
- Place chopped potatoes in a large pot and add cool water until the water level is about 2 inches above the potatoes. Bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot and stir. Boil potatoes for 6-9 minutes, or until just tender when pierced with a fork. Check the potatoes often and be careful not to overcook them. Drain the potatoes well.
- Allow potatoes to cool for about 20 minutes before mixing them with the dressing.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sweet pickle relish, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery seed, ½ teaspoon salt and pepper. Whisk until well combined.
- Transfer the cooled potatoes to a large bowl. Add the dressing and toss to coat the potatoes. Gently stir in the celery, red onion and hard boiled eggs. Season with additional salt and pepper as needed, to taste.
- Chill potato salad in the refrigerator before serving. It can be served the day it is made, once chilled, and will taste even better on the second day. Stir before serving and sprinkle with paprika, if desired.
Notes
- Potato salad can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I’d maybe consider in your ingredients list specifying which salt is for what. Going back and forth from ingredients and instructions, just saw salt, and I read as 2 tsp of salt for the dressing and my potato salad is so incredibly salty it’s almost inedible :(. Otherwise I think the flavours would be wonderful together. Sad it didn’t work out for me this time but I will try again down the road.
Hi Bri, I’m sorry your potato salad didn’t turn out. 2 teaspoons salt in the dressing would be way too much. If you look at the instructions for the recipe I did specify which salt is for what. Step 1 of the instructions says to add 2 teaspoons of salt to the pot with the potatoes, and step 3 specifies 1/2 teaspoon salt when making the dressing.
I loved this potato salad! I have made it 3 times in less than a month. My relatives from Brazil loved it!
I added the juice of half of a small lemon to this for a little more flavor. It was a hit!
Great recipe! Will be a keeper for me! Also liked your red potato salad recipe!
Sooooo delicious. The only thing I changed was I subbed nutritional yeast for the celery seed. I never knew potato salad could be THIS good!!! Wow! Ty for the fantastic recipe.
This is the best potatoes salad recipe, literally!!!