The Best Potato Salad recipe for all your summer barbecues and gatherings. This classic potato salad includes hard boiled eggs and a mayo based dressing for an amazing addition to any feast!
For the longest time, I was convinced I wouldn’t like classic potato salad because I’ve never been a big fan of mayonnaise.
Well.
A few summers ago, I dipped my toe in and then immediately dove eyeballs deep into a potato salad obsession, and have been in love ever since.
Prior to this easy potato salad recipe you’re seeing here, I made German-Style Potato Salad, which uses a vinegar based dressing instead of a mayo-based dressing.
For me, both styles have their place on my plate, as I’d happily enjoy both a classic southern potato salad and a German potato salad.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years of blogging it’s that every family has their own amazing potato salad recipe and mom’s recipe is always the best recipe.
This humble potato salad recipe is my personal favorite, and I hope your family loves it too!
It is perfectly creamy and tangy with plenty of flavor and just the right portion of each ingredient.
Prep Ahead Options:
While there are several steps to making potato salad, many of the steps can be accomplished ahead of time to break up the process into pieces.
For instance, you can boil the eggs up to 5 days in advance and keep them in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them. Similarly, you can cook the potatoes the night before, which I would recommend anyway to allow the potatoes to cool.
In addition, finished potato salad saves very well and tastes even better the next day. I’ve found potato salad stays fresh in an airtight container in the refrigerator for more than 1 week, but for best results, serve it within 5 days of making it.
Ingredients for The Best Potato Salad:
Potato Salad Ingredients:
Russet potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, white onion, and green onion. The hard boiled eggs really add something special to potato salads. The yolks add to the creaminess and richness, and the whites bring nice texture and make it more substantial.
If you’d like, you can add chopped cooked bacon (I’d use 6 to 8 strips of thick-cut bacon), chives, fresh dill, bell peppers, celery seed, and 3 stalks of chopped celery. You can also replace the white onion with red onions and red potatoes or yukon gold potatoes for the russet potatoes.
For the Dressing:
Mayonnaise, rice vinegar, whole grain mustard (or spicy brown mustard, yellow mustard, or dijon mustard), dill relish, sea salt, black pepper, and paprika make up the ingredients for the creamy dressing.
I use avocado oil mayonnaise, but choose your favorite mayo. You can also add some sour cream or Ranch dressing (⅓ to ½ cup) if you love it for some added creaminess. In addition, (fresh parsley or other fresh herbs) is a great addition for some herby flavor.
If you love the flavor of olive oil, consider replacing some of the mayonnaise with olive oil.
Use red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar in place of the rice vinegar if you’d like. If you have dill pickles on hand, you can chop them finely and use them to replace the dill relish.
Sweet pickle relish or sweet pickles can be used instead of dill, but note that the potato salad will have a slight sweetness to it.
How to Make The BEST Potato Salad:
Cook the hard-boiled eggs up to 5 days ahead of time. To do so, boil the eggs in a large pot of water for 10 to 12 minutes, then immediately transfer them to an ice bath. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch rounds.
Heat a large pot of boiling water on the stove top and bring it to a full boil. Add the potatoes and boil for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft when poke with a fork.
Drain the potatoes into a colander and allow them to cool enough to handle. You can chill the hot warm potatoes in the refrigerator until they’re chilled for best results.
Chop the cooked cooled potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place them in a large bowl, along with the remaining ingredients for the potato salad.
Add the ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl or measuring cup and stir until well-combined.
Pour the dressing over the potato salad and mix everything well until creamy and well-combined.
Taste the potato salad for flavor and add more sea salt to your personal preference. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Serve potato salad with your main entrée, and enjoy!
I love potato salad with BBQ Tri Tip, Grilled Chicken Thighs, Grilled Salmon, and so much more!
Store any leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.
And there you have it! A great recipe for creamy potato salad to include the next time you’re serving guests or for all your summer bbqs.
If you’re looking for more tasty side dishes for your bbqs or picnics, check these out!
More Summer Side Dishes:
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- Pea Salad with Bacon
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Zesty Fruit Salad with Coconut Milk and Basil
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Put this amazing creamy homemade potato salad recipe on repeat during the hot months of the year!
Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 4 medium-sized russet potatoes peeled and sliced into 1-inch rounds
- 6 hard-boiled eggs chopped
- ⅔ cup white onion finely chopped
- 2 stalks green onion chopped
Dressing:
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 Tbsp whole grain mustard or spicy brown mustard
- 3 Tbsp dill relish
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika optional
Instructions
- Cook the hard-boiled eggs up to 5 days ahead of time. To do so, boil the eggs in a large pot of water for 10 to 12 minutes, then immediately transfer them to an ice bath. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Peel the potatoes and chop them into 1-inch rounds.
- Heat a large pot of boiling water on the stove top and bring it to a full boil. Add the potatoes and boil for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are very soft when poke with a fork. Drain the potatoes into a colander and allow them to cool enough to handle. You can chill the hot warm potatoes in the refrigerator until they're chilled for best results.
- Chop the cooked cooled potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place them in a large bowl, along with the remaining ingredients for the potato salad.
- Add the ingredients for the dressing to a small bowl or measuring cup and stir until well-combined.
- Pour the dressing over the potato salad and mix everything well until creamy and well-combined.
- Taste the potato salad for flavor and add more sea salt to your personal preference. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Serve potato salad with your main entrée, and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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