I’m excited to share with you the absolute Traditional Potato Salad Recipe. Skip the store bought stuff and make this delicious potato salad at home. This is so amazing and has just the perfect combination of seasonings for the best side dish for your next BBQ or potluck.
We have the best recipe for potato salad and you will never make another type again. I love potato salad but can be a bit picky so this is really saying a lot. This recipe has the perfect blend of mayonnaise, sweet pickles, spices and more for such a flavorful potato salad. .
In fact, whenever I make this everyone wants the side dish recipe. This classic potato salad is one of our favorite summer salad recipe.
What's in this post: Traditional Potato Salad Recipe
Why We Love This Recipe
We absolutely love it and you can really make it your own. Try baking potatoes or red potatoes. Add sour cream and miracle whip if you like.
If you prefer a vinegar based salad, add apple cider vinegar and dijon mustard for a different flavor. I love to garnish with green onions for a pop of color. You are going to love this potato salad.
Ingredients
For the full recipe and ingredients scroll to the recipe card.
How do you Make Potato Salad from Scratch
Step 1 – Cut the potatoes into quarters and place them in a large stock pot. Fill the pot with cold water until it is 1 inch over the top of the potatoes. Set the pot over high heat and bring to a boil.
Step 2 – Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt and cook the potatoes for 13-15 minutes, until fork tender. You can also cook them in the Instant pot.
Step 3 – Once the potatoes are very tender, drain off all the water. Remove the loose peels and chop the potatoes into 1/2-inch chunks. It’s okay if they are soft and crumbly. Place the potatoes in a large bowl. Gently mix in the dressing until it coats the potatoes well. Then stir in the eggs, celery, onions, and dill.
Step 4 – Cover the potato salad and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. If you have time to make it ahead, refrigerate overnight. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week
Expert Tips
- Prepare Vegetables – This recipe like many calls for diced onions. Another time saving tip is to use a small food chopper or food processor to quickly and easily chop the onions. Learn and how to freeze onions to save so much time in the kitchen and to cut ahead of time.
- Potatoes – To evenly cook the potatoes in a large pot we recommend cutting them about the same size.
- Chill Potato Salad – After preparing the potato salad, we recommend to allow it to chill before serving. We usually make the night before serving for best results.
Serving Suggestions
Potato salad is a classic side dish for all our summertime BBQ’s and potlucks. It pairs perfectly with Juicy Lucy Burger and Grilled Hot Dogs. It is even delicious with Grilled Teriyaki Steak or Grilled Chicken Kabobs.
The creamy texture and amazing flavor makes this side dish a crowd favorite.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yukon gold and white potatoes are best for potato salad. They have less starch than russet potatoes that tend to fall apart while cooking. Yukon and white potatoes also have a thinner skin which makes it easier if you don’t feel like peeling the potatoes and leave the skin on.
While technically you can freeze it, I wouldn’t. Mayonnaise based potato salad tends to separate when you freeze it. Plus, the texture changes once it defrosts. This dish is best eaten fresh.
I think it is better made a day in advance. The flavors have longer to blend the potato salad is even tastier.
It takes about 13-15 minutes to boil potatoes for potato salad. You want them to be tender when pierced with a fork but not mushy.
We like easy recipes, so we did not peel the potatoes before boiling or mixing the ingredients. We keep the peel on when making this potato salad.
More Easy Potato Recipes
We love to hear from you. If you make this Classic Potato Salad Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Traditional Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 cup real mayonnaise
- ½ cup refrigerated sweet pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon celery seeds
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 3 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1 celery stalk diced
- ¼ cup sweet onion diced
- 1 teaspoon fresh chopped dill
- ½ salt and pepper
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Instructions
- Wash 2½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, cut them into quarters, and place them in a large stockpot.
- Cover the potatoes with cold water until the water is about 1 inch above the potatoes.
- Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add 1 tablespoon salt to the water and cook the potatoes for 13–15 minutes, or until they are fork tender. (You can also cook the potatoes in an Instant Pot if preferred.)
- While the potatoes cook, prepare the dressing by whisking together 1 cup real mayonnaise, ½ cup sweet pickle relish (including the juice), 1 tablespoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon celery seed, ¼ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper to taste in a medium bowl.
- Chop 3 hard-boiled eggs, dice 1 celery stalk, dice ¼ cup sweet onion, and finely chop 1 teaspoon fresh dill.
- Drain the cooked potatoes well. Remove any loose peels if desired, then chop the potatoes into ½-inch chunks. It's fine if some of the potatoes crumble slightly. Place the warm potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
- Pour the dressing over the potatoes and gently stir until the potatoes are evenly coated. Fold in the chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, diced sweet onion, and chopped fresh dill. Taste and season with additional salt and black pepper if needed. Garnish with additional fresh dill and a light sprinkle of paprika, if desired.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight for the best flavor. Serve chilled and enjoy.
Absolutely loved them ,they cleaned the bowl out
Frank – That’s amazing. Thanks for letting me know!
Just the right proportions of ingredients and seasonings that made the wonderful dish.
Thank you so much for sharing and for the kind review – I appreciate it!
Made it without pickles or the juice.
used 1 or 2 Tablespoons of Italian dressing to give it a zip
like the vinegar twist to the dressing
especially with the eggs (for a deviled egg flavor)
Yum that sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing Susan!
WINNER! I had to tweak the recipe a little because I didn’t have the exact ingredients. I used russet potatoes and dry dill. It still has to sit in the refrig, but can tell it’s going to be repeat side dish at my house! So much better than store bought and super easy to put together.
Thank you Sue! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for sharing!
Just started making potato salad and this was the second recipe I used and it will now be my official potato salad recipe. It was so good.
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sierra. Thank you for sharing and thank you for the positive review!