Potato Salad is a summertime staple for good reason!
This delicious Potato Salad recipe has tender potatoes, a handful of add-ins, and eggs, all tossed in a quick creamy & tangy dressing!
Potato salad tastes even better when made ahead of time, making it the perfect dish anytime!
Potluck Perfect Potato Salad
- Much like pasta salad, potato salad is an inexpensive and filling side dish.
- Every family has their own favorite add-ins, so feel free to personalize it with your favorite ingredient.
- Prepare this dish in advance, making it ideal for potlucks or picnics.
- My potato salad recipe offers the perfect combination of crunch, tanginess, and creaminess.
Ingredients for Potato Salad
Potatoes for potato salad
- Red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes are our top pick for potato salad. They have thinner skins and hold their shape well.
- Russet potatoes have a grainy texture and tend to fall apart, but they do work if it’s all you have. Peel the potatoes if using russets or baking potatoes.
- Fingerling potatoes, baby potatoes, or new potatoes don’t require peeling and hold their shape well. They don’t absorb dressing as well so lightly smash if using baby potatoes.
Add-Ins
- Boiled eggs are a classic addition, but feel free to skip them if desired.
- Add crunch with radishes and celery.
- Customize with your favorites: chopped dill pickles or sweet pickles, cheddar cheese, or crumbled bacon.
- Add flavor and freshness with herbs like dill, parsley, or chives.
Potato Salad Dressing
The dressing brings all the flavors together in a potato salad.
- Classic dressing: Ingredients like cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, and sweet pickle relish create a balanced and flavorful dressing.
- Mayonnaise substitutions: Substitute mayonnaise with Miracle Whip for a tangier flavor, or lighten up the dressing with half mayonnaise and half Greek yogurt.
Variations
- Add sweet or dill pickles instead of sweet relish.
- Replace the cider vinegar with red wine vinegar or dill pickle juice.
- Stir in fresh herbs like parsley, chives, basil, tarragon, or thyme.
How to Make Potato Salad
- Boil potatoes & cool: Boil potatoes in a large pot of salted water until fork tender. Drain well and cool completely.
- Prepare add-ins: While the potatoes boil, chop the other ingredients (per the recipe below).
- Mix dressing: Mix the dressing in the bottom of a large bowl (one less dish to wash!) and stir in the cooked and cooled ingredients.
- Chill: Refrigerate before serving to allow flavors to blend. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.
Tips for Perfect Potato Salad
- Cook the potatoes until fork tender. Avoid overcooking to prevent them from getting mushy.
- Thin-skinned potatoes can be left unpeeled or easily peeled after boiling.
- Ensure the potatoes are cooled before adding the dressing.
- Dress the salad generously as the potatoes absorb some of the dressing.
- Allow the potato salad to chill in the refrigerator before serving to let the flavors blend.
Storing Leftovers
Fridge: Store leftover potato salad in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days.
Freezer: Unfortunately, potato salad does not freeze well. The raw veggies that give it such a delightful crunch will get mushy, and the mayonnaise will separate when it thaws.
More Easy Summer Sides
Summer is all about enjoying classic sides that bring back memories of backyard barbecues and picnics. From this creamy potato salad recipe to a tangy coleslaw, these timeless dishes are sure to be crowd-pleasers.rnrnrnrnrn
Did your family love this Classic Potato Salad? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
The Best Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Yukon gold potatoes or red potatoes
- 6 hard-boiled eggs chopped (optional)
- 1 cup diced celery
- ½ cup sliced radishes
- 2 green onions sliced
- paprika for garnish, optional
Dressing
- ¾ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sweet relish or dill pickle relish
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut them potatoes into bite sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes to a large pot of cold salted water. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and cool completely.
- In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, relish, cider vinegar, mustard, sugar, and salt & pepper. Mix well.
- Add the cooled potatoes and gently smash a few of them to make the salad creamier. Stir in boiled eggs if using, celery, radishes, and green onions. Mix well to combine.
- Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving. Garnish with paprika if desired.
Video
Notes
- Cook potatoes just until fork tender. Don’t overcook or they can absorb water and become mushy.
- Thin-skinned or baby potatoes do not have to be peeled or can easily be peeled after boiling.
- Potatoes should be cooled before adding the dressing.
- Dress the salad generously as the potatoes absorb the dressing.
- Be sure to refrigerate the potato salad for a couple of hours before serving to blend flavors and allow the dressing to absorb.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Salad, Side Dish
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Awesome!
A 10 I can hardly wait to try this recipe!
Fabulous. Grated dill pickles because I didn’t have relish. Added a couple splashes pickle juice and a handful of fresh dill. Superb!
I use a LOT of your recipes. Thanks!
Best potato salad ever. Didn’t need to tweak in any way. Your SWP app was the 1st I downloaded when my grandkids undertook teaching this old lady how to use my first smartphone. Thank you, your recipes have never let me down.
So glad you are enjoying our recipes, April!
Excellent
This was fantastic. I won’t be buying potato salad anymore. It came together fairly quickly. I didn’t have radishes, and added .5 tsp celery seed as I love the flavor. Turned out great! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Michele!
Made this potato salad today and when I tasted it it tasted great. One question though while making it I forgot to let the potatoes cool completely. They were still warm when adding the dressing etc. Did I mess up? Serving this tomorrow for Easter dinner and want to make sure I didn’t mess up. :(
I cool the potatoes before adding – warm potatoes can absorb more dressing. You’ll also want to ensure that the potatoes were refrigerated immediately to cool so they don’t stay in the danger zone (40°F-140°F) for long. If the potatoes have absorbed too much dressing, you canneeded you can mix up a little bit more and stir it in before serving. Happy Easter!
Love this recipe as well as so many more on Spend with Pennies! It is always my first stop and many times my last when looking for new recipes. The only thing I sometimes change when feeling nostalgic is finely chopped miniature sweet pickles and their juices in place of the relish as that’s how my grandmother taught me to make it. Everything else seems very similar, back then they didn’t really measure everything but it sure tastes great just like hers did!
I absolutely love this recipe!! I have used many other recipes from the “Spend with Pennies” blog and they always taste awesome.
Thanks, Kevin! So happy to hear that.
Great recipe – thanks! My Produce Farmer Lady adds 1/2 to 1 tsp (Depending on how much salad is being made) bottled white horseradish and it’s wonderful!
That sounds delicious, thanks for sharing!
The best potato salad recipe ever. Thank you
This is a very tasty dressing!
My grandma used to boil the potatoes, let them cool, peeled them, them let them sit out from 12p.m. til 5p.m. which allowed them to dry a bit so they held their shape for salads and when fried, in bacon grease of course, for their evening meal.
Thank you for sharing your tip Diane!
I make this all the time now! The dressing is nicely tangy. A family favorite
*tip for russets* when I was growing up we grew corn and potatoes. Russets. If it’s all you have, cook until soft, drain and put the bowl in the refrigerator and let it chill completely. you want your potatoes very cold. That way the dressing will not soak into the potatoes but coat them
Thanks for sharing, that’s a great tip!
One of the tricks that I learned over the years to save yourself from having to get the potatoes cooked just right is simply to use canned potatoes. I used to hate making potato salad now it’s a snap! The Aldi price of canned potatoes vs buying fresh really isn’t that different. Hope this helps someone!
Thank you for sharing the tip Robin!
I made this for a funeral and everyone loved it. They wanted the recipe and, unfortunately, I was asked to make more for another funeral this weekend.
Great recipe. If you do need to freeze, don’t include your crunchy veggies till after thaw and use miracle whip instead of mayo as it doesn’t separate.
When making fresh I like to substitute some sour cream for mayo. A 60/40 mix. I top with a smoked paprika that gives it a little something special..
I like the recipe and will be trying this today. Look forward to it.
Ok..what am I doing wrong!? I cooked the potatoes let them cool completely let my eggs cool completely add my celery other veggies Miracle Whip Etc and the next day it’s and watery I don’t know what I’m doing wrong unless I should put the stuff on the potatoes when they’re warm so that it absorbs the Miracle Whip Etc I don’t know
We allow the potatoes to cool before adding the dressing. Did you use a low fat version by chance? Ensure the potatoes are very well drained and cooled. If you do happen to find it watery, give it a stir or even mash a few of the potatoes to soak up the excess liquid.