This old-fashioned recipe for Easy Potato Salad has probably been passed down by our grandmas for generations. It’s a summer classic destined for backyard barbecues, family celebrations, and picnics.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes
- Potatoes: Waxy varieties like new potatoes or Yukon golds hold their shape well. But, I like big Russets because they are easiest to peel and I don’t mind if the potatoes fall apart a bit in the salad.
- Vinegar: Or substitute cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Mustard: Substitute 1 teaspoon ground mustard for the prepared yellow mustard.
- Paprika: I love to garnish potato salad with sweet paprika, but dill (fresh or dried), chives, or scallions are also delicious. Or use a combination.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and enough water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder. Add the potatoes, onion, celery, and chopped eggs. Stir to combine, then season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper). Garnish with paprika if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Make ahead: Make up to three days in advance and store covered in the refrigerator.
- Shelf life: Potato salad should not sit out at room temperature longer than 2 hours. According to the USDA, “If the potato salad was held in excess of 41°F for over two hours, then discard.” It’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Mix-ins: Make this potato salad your own by adding cooked bacon, fresh chives or other herbs, minced pickles or relish, peas, capers, or slivered radishes.
For your next picnic
Grilling and Smoker Recipes
Wisconsin Beer Brats
Side Dish Recipes
Slow Cooker Calico Beans
Working with Fruits and Vegetables
Corn on the Cob (4 ways)
Salad Recipes
Broccoli Salad with Bacon and Cheese
Easy Potato Salad
This old-fashioned recipe for Easy Potato Salad has probably been passed down by our grandmas for generations. It’s a summer classic destined for backyard barbecues, family celebrations, and picnics.
Ingredients
- 3 pounds potatoes peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (see note 1)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar (see note 2)
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 onion minced (about 1 cup)
- 2 celery ribs thinly sliced
- 6 hard-boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- Paprika for garnish, optional (see note 4)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, add potatoes, 1 tablespoon salt, and enough water to cover. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard, and garlic powder. Add the potatoes, onion, celery, and chopped eggs. Stir to combine, then season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ¾ teaspoon pepper). Garnish with paprika if desired.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Potatoes: Waxy varieties like new potatoes or Yukon golds hold their shape well. But, I like big Russets because they are easiest to peel and I don’t mind if the potatoes fall apart a bit in the salad.
- Vinegar: Or substitute cider vinegar or white wine vinegar.
- Mustard: Substitute 1 teaspoon ground mustard for the prepared yellow mustard.
- Paprika: I love to garnish potato salad with sweet paprika, but dill (fresh or dried), chives, or scallions are also delicious. Or use a combination.
- Make ahead: Make up to three days in advance and store covered in the refrigerator.
- Shelf life: Potato salad should not sit out at room temperature longer than 2 hours. According to the USDA, “If the potato salad was held in excess of 41°F for over two hours, then discard.” It’s better to be safe than sorry.
- Mix-ins: Make this potato salad your own by adding cooked bacon, fresh chives or other herbs, minced pickles or relish, peas, capers, or slivered radishes.
Nutrition
Calories: 349kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 3gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 246mgPotassium: 615mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 65IUVitamin C: 27mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
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First time ever making potato salad & it was AMAZING!!! 😋
Thank you Erin! -Meggan
Very delicious!
Absolutely Loved this Potato salad recipe. Easy to make and Ab-so-Lutley Delicious! Thank you
Well done! And easy recipe that is actually easy and uses normal ingredients. Also I love the “jump to the recipe” button. I could care less about somebodies great aunt Tilly who stole this recipe from a sandanistan freedom fighter during the revolution and smuggled messages to the resistance based on the salt and pepper ratio of the dish. Well done
Wow, somebody who actually SAW the Jump to Recipe button! LOL! It’s always there, people miss it all the time. I’m glad you saw it. And I’m even happier you liked the recipe. Story-telling is going away from blogs all over the place, so hopefully you don’t see too much of that anymore. We bloggers got the message. :) Thanks for stopping by! -Meggan
Great potato salad recipe. It’s delicious. Too bad you made it so difficult to write it down for people on a smart phone without a printer with all these advertisements and videos getting in the way. It’s just too busy here for a senior citizen to try another recipe. I guess you all based this site on catering to the a specific type of person and didn’t consider an average or older person. Shame on you.
Hi Tamara, I’m sorry about all the trouble you had on my site (and that I took so long to reply; I was on vacation in Wisconsin in an area with no WIFI). What I wanted to tell you is, if you go to the recipe card and click “print recipe,” a new window will open on your phone with no ads and a text-only version of the recipe. It will be really easy to see it, cook from it, or write it down. I will talk to my ad company about all the ads, it doesn’t look horrible on my own phone but clearly you had issues. So sorry about that! And I’m not catering my site to a specific person other than people who love to cook. But I know I need to make it easier for you to do that, fewer ads would help! Sorry again. Sincerely, Meggan
I just made this for Easter tomorrow..It’s delious…Best potato salad I ever made…yummm
Excellent! You add the potatoes to the cold water and bring them and the water up to temperature together. That way, the outside is not over done and mushy while the inside is cooking to firm. Basically my same recipe.
Glad you shared this one with us ! Thank you !