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.
Take your grandma’s advice: make a big bowl of this scrumptious potato salad on Friday, and you’ll have a side dish ready to bring to any party over the weekend.
Need to make an extra large batch? Click and slide the number next to ‘servings’ on the recipe card below to adjust the ingredients to match how many you’re feeding—the recipe does the math for you, it’s that easy.
How do you make Easy Potato Salad?
Chunks of tender cooked potatoes, celery, onion, and hard boiled eggs are combined in a tangy, mayonnaise-based dressing and then chilled until ready to serve.
What are the best potatoes to use for Potato Salad?
I like to use waxy, firm varieties like white, red, yellow or new potatoes. This recipe calls for peeling your potatoes, so choose the size that will make that easy for you. This is easy potato salad, after all!
If your goal is for a skinless potato salad with a texture that verges on crumbly, use Russets, which peel easier once they’re cooked.
Either way, look for potatoes that are firm, not wrinkled or sprouted. Uncooked potatoes store well in a cool dark place for several weeks, as long as they’re not stored with onions, which have gases that can make them spoil faster.
How do you make a perfect hard boiled egg?
An overcooked hard boiled egg may still taste fine, but those little gray yolks can be avoided. Here’s how I like to make a perfectly hard boiled egg:
- Place the eggs in a saucepan of water and fill the pan with water, at least an inch over the top. (try not to crowd the eggs too much in the pan)
- If using very fresh eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water to help the eggs peel easier.
- Bring the water to a boil, slowly, over medium heat.
- Once the pan is at a rolling boil, cover the pan and let the eggs sit for 12 minutes.
- Rinse the eggs under cold water to stop the cooking. They’re ready to peel!
How long in advance can you make Potato Salad?
This potato salad enjoys being chilled for a few hours to really let the flavors meld before serving, but can be made up to three days before and stored in the refrigerator.
How do you store Potato Salad?
Because of the mayonnaise and eggs in this salad, be sure to keep it stored in the refrigerator, until ready to serve.
How long does Potato Salad last in the refrigerator?
According to the Idaho Potato website, the USDA recommends that “if the potato salad was held in excess of 41°F for over two hours, then discard.” Eggs and mayonnaise need to be kept cold, so if you made a big batch, refrigerated it, and only brought out some of it to serve, the unserved portion that stayed cold should easily last 3-4 days. Discard any potato salad that sits out longer than a couple hours. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
What can be added to Potato Salad?
If you’re the kind of cook who likes to experiment, then think of this potato salad as a starting point. Add whatever your heart desires: bacon, chives, herbs, dill, parsley, pickles, peas, capers, roasted red pepper, radishes, pickle relish, even water chestnuts.
Can you make Potato Salad healthier?
Sure! When you want potato salad, but are always looking for ways to make things healthier, try substituting out unflavored Greek yogurt for half the mayonnaise, or use a low-fat or no-fat mayonnaise. Just don’t skimp on the vinegar! It adds a nice acidic balance in the dressing.
Can you add sour cream to Potato Salad?
For a little added indulgence and an ultra creamy potato salad, substitute out half the mayonnaise for sour cream.
Easy Potato Salad Recipe
- 3 pounds potatoes peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (8 medium)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 onion minced (about 1 cup)
- 2 stalks celery thinly sliced
- 6 hardboiled eggs peeled and chopped
- Paprika for garnish
- 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 and transfer to a large bowl.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- To the bowl with potatoes, add dressing and stir to combine. Stir in onion, celery, and chopped eggs. Garnish with paprika if desired.
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 !