Classic Potato Salad is the perfect potluck side dish that is great year-round. Calling for seven ingredients, this old fashioned potato salad recipe is easy to make and share.
Potato salad is one of those polarizing dishes that everyone seems to have an opinion on. And this recipe involves one of the most polarizing ingredients—mayonnaise.
I’ll be clear: I’m here for any and all potato salad renditions. (If you’re looking for something without mayo, this No Mayo Potato Salad is one of our family’s all-time favorites because we have a few mayo haters in the house.)
What's In This Article
Old Fashioned Potato Salad
This recipe… is not for mayo haters, though it’s not as heavy as some classic potato salad recipes can be. It’s got a lovely creaminess and balance and comes together quickly when you have the ingredients ready to go.
Calling for gold potatoes, boiled until fork tender, hard boiled eggs and chopped celery, we toss this potato salad recipe in a mixture of mayonnaise, vinegar and mustard.
I can see this being a standout side dish at any summertime potluck, especially the outdoor ones, because this potato salad is incredibly easy to eat and enjoy!
Ingredients for a Good Potato Salad
Chances are, you’ve got some, if not all, of the simple ingredients for this classic potato salad already on hand in your house. They’re all pretty easy to find at a traditional grocery store.
You’ll need…
- Potatoes — We’re going to be using gold potatoes. I like to peel them with a vegetable peeler and chop into ½” cubes for a uniform size. However, as you mix the potato salad, they will melt into the other ingredients, and that’s A-OK!
- Hard boiled eggs — Hard-boiled eggs these add color, texture and flavor to our potato salad, and I love ‘em. You can make your own or buy them at the store. Make sure to not over boil them, this causes the yolks to be gray and unsightly. Meanwhile, a jammy yolk (which I love when just munching on eggs) isn’t the right consistency for a potato salad.
- Celery — It adds a beautiful crunch to this creamy potato salad.
- Salt — I like to use a fine grain sea or kosher salt for this recipe.
- Mayonnaise — Use your favorite brand (mine is any Avocado Oil Mayo) or homemade mayo here.
- White wine vinegar — This thins out the dressing while also providing some acid to the mix. You could also use white vinegar, apple cider vinegar or even champagne vinegar if you don’t have white wine vinegar.
- Dijon mustard — I love Dijon mustard so much. It adds a depth of flavor, along with some creaminess, to the classic potato salad dressing. You can use plain yellow mustard if you’d like.
- Granulated garlic — We love garlic in our house, but I didn’t want to use fresh in this recipe since it would provide a bit of a kick. Granulated garlic adds the garlic flavor without the punch to our dressing.
- Black pepper — This is an optional ingredient, but it’s good to have on hand in case your dressing needs a little extra flavor!
Best Types of Potatoes
Waxy potatoes are where it’s at for potato salad because they hold their shape when boiled.
Personally, I like yukon gold potatoes for this recipe because they are half waxy and half starchy, the best of both worlds. However, you can also use any waxy potatoes here, like red potatoes, purple, blue and fingerling potatoes.
Do not use a full starchy potato, like a Russet, in this recipe.
How to Make Classic Potato Salad
- Prep the potatoes. Give ‘em a good wash, scrubbing the skin well. Then peel the skins off with a vegetable peeler. Dice into ½” cubes using a sharp knife. Once they’ve been diced, place in a large saucepan and fill it with water to where the water covers the potatoes completely. We want the potatoes to have more than enough space to cook. Season the water with a healthy pinch of salt.
- Boil the potatoes. Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat and cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes. Once the potatoes are tender, drain, and let cool for 15-20 minutes. (You can also do this in advance, let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator and finish the rest of the classic potato salad later.)
- Prep the rest of the ingredients. Hard boil the eggs (if you haven’t already.) Chop the hard boiled eggs. Dice the celery into bite-sizes pieces.
- Make the dressing. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the mayonnaise with the white wine vinegar, Dijon mustard and granulated garlic. Stir until smooth, and then give it a taste. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Mix the potato salad. Gently toss the tender potatoes with the egg and celery. Drizzle on the dressing, and gently stir to combine.
- Serve. You can serve the classic potato salad at room temperature (immediately) or pop the potato salad in the fridge to chill and serve it cold later.
Tips for the Best Potato Salad
- Cook and cool those potatoes. You don’t want them to be so hot that they’ll separate the dressing mixture, which would cause for disappointing flavor and texture.
- Don’t overmix the potatoes. They’re going to be fork tender, and they will stick together as you mix them, but if you mix them too much, your potato salad will become more similar in appearance to mashed potatoes. A little texture is good.
- Make parts in advance. You can hard boil the eggs early and also boil the potatoes, too. Prep the rest of the ingredients and keep ‘em all in the fridge in separate airtight food storage containers before combining and mixing. You can also make the dressing in advance. Store it in a mason jar in the fridge until go time.
Variations
- Raw onions – In addition to the celery, you could add either green onion or red onion to this classic potato salad recipe.
- Pickles – If you’re a pickle lover like me, consider adding in some dill pickles, pickle juice, sweet pickles, fresh dill or even sweet pickle relish for a real crowd pleaser.
- Mayonnaise – Instead of using real mayonnaise, you could swap it out for Miracle Whip. You could also add is some sour cream for an extra creamy texture. Plain Greek yogurt is another optoin for a thick and tangy base with less calories.
- Protein – If you’d like to take the original recipe up a notch, try adding some crispy bacon crumbles.
- Serving – This traditional potato salad is the perfect simple side for a summer bbq. Serve alongside hot dogs and other picnic favorites.
How Do I Store Potato Salad?
Storage: You can store this classic potato salad in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight food storage container.
Freezing: I do not recommend freezing potato salad.
Can I make Potato Salad Ahead of Time?
Make ahead: Hard boil the eggs in advance, and leave in shells until time to make the potato salad. Boil the potatoes, and let cool in advance. You may put them in an airtight food storage container in the fridge and keep cool for a few days before mixing the ingredients of the potato salad.
Why Add Vinegar to Potato Salad
It used to be that hot potatoes were tossed in vinegar to prevent the mayonnaise from separating and becoming greasy. But nowadays most folks just use it to balance the flavors and whisk it directly into the dressing and use cold potatoes to prevent the dressing from separating.
The vinegar can be omitted, but it does add a nice zing to the mix.
More Potluck Side Dishes
- Herbed Potato Salad
- Bacon Mustard Potato Salad
- Cowboy Homemade Baked Beans
- Creamy Pesto Potato Salad
Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
Potato Salad
- 2 pounds gold potatoes
- 4 hardb boiled eggs , peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs , diced into bite-sized pieces
Dressing
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 ½ tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons dijon mustard
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Green onions (scallions) , for garnish
Instructions
- Wash, then peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler. Cut into ½” cubes.
- Place the chopped potatoes in cold water in a large saucepan. Add a pinch of salt to season the water.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil over high heat. Cook until fork tender, about 15 minutes.
- When the potatoes are fork tender, drain the potatoes and let cool for 15-20 minutes. You can also rinse with cold water to stop the cooking processs.
- Combine the mayonnaise with white wine vinegar, mustard and granulated garlic. Stir until smooth, then taste and add salt and pepper, if necessary.
- Once the potatoes are cooled, toss with the egg and celery.
- Pour the dressing on top of the potato mixture, and gently mix to combine.
- Serve immediately, or store in the fridge, then serve when ready.
- If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or star ratings!
I love the dressing on this potato salad as it’s so much lighter but still so tasty. Definitely a recipe I will be using all summer.
This salad is a classic but a goodie. It’s surprisingly great to make sandwiches too.
I am obsessed with potato salad and this one is perfect and CLASSIC just like my grandma used to make! The eggs are a must!!!
It was so yummy! I brought it to a friend’s house and I shared your recipe with everyone who asked!
With leftover hard boiled eggs from Easter, it was a no-brainer that I would make this potato salad recipe! I love that it calls for yellow potatoes–my favourite! Your dressing with Dijon was just the right touch! Thanks!