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Here’s how to make our best potato salad recipe! Our version of the American classic is creamy, crunchy, and tangy. It has just the right pop from pickles, and the creamy dressing is a burst of flavor. It’s a keeper: it’s become our family favorite for picnic tables and cookouts!
Why we love this recipe
There are so many ways to make potato salad: German or French style with a tangy vinaigrette, loaded with fresh herbs, or even tossed with green beans. We love them all, but one the type that we end up craving every summer is that classic American potato salad recipe!
Our spin on the classic is creamy and tangy sweet, loaded with crunchy onions and pickles with just the right amount of crunch contrasting the creamy dressing and soft potatoes. We think it’s destined for stardom at your next cookout or picnic—since it’s become a family favorite all our friends and family ask for!
Featured reader comment
“Awesome recipe!!! Thanks so much. I used apple cider vinegar and fresh dill. My culinary critic, wife, thought it superb. A keeper! -Bob
Ingredients for this potato salad recipe
Gather up your bottles of mayonnaise, mustard, and pickle relish: here’s how to make potato salad, the American way! This festival of condiments really does make for the best pop of flavor. This is our spin on the classic our Grandma’s used to make, with a few tweaks like adding fresh dill for an herbaceous pop. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:
- Yukon gold potatoes: The variety of potato is important! Yukon gold potatoes have a lightly sweet flavor and keep their shape when boiled. Don’t substitute red skinned or russet potatoes here!
- White wine vinegar, yellow mustard, and Dijon mustard: Yellow mustard is key to this classic recipe, but we love it with a little Dijon mustard to add complexity. If you don’t have it, using 100% yellow mustard works too.
- Celery, green onions, and red onion: These veggies add the crunch. You can omit the red onion if desired, but we like it because it adds a pop of color.
- Sweet pickle relish (or dill pickles): Sweet pickle relish adds just the right sweetness to the overall mixture. But chopped dill pickles work too, and they intensify the savory notes.
- Mayonnaise and sour cream: A combination of the two makes a silky, creamy dressing. Swapping in Greek yogurt for sour cream lightens the flavor, adding a slight tang.
- Fresh dill and celery seed: These two seasoning add a big dose of flavor.
How to make potato salad (basic steps)
The trickiest part of how to make potato salad is boiling the potatoes, making sure they are fork tender and not too tough or mushy. Other than that, it’s a simple matter of chopping and stirring. Here are the basic steps, or jump to the recipe below:
- Quarter the potatoes, then place them in a pot of cold water. Leave the skins on: they’ll come off easily later.
- Boil for 8 to 15 minutes, until fork tender. Drain and rinse them under cold water. Pop off the skins with your fingers, then dice. When they’re cool enough to touch, the skins come off easily after boiling.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with vinegar and salt. This trick from Julia Child is part of our French Potato Salad recipe: it infuses the potatoes with tangy flavor before mixing them into the salad.
- Mix all salad ingredients together, then chill 2 hours. This salad tastes great right away, but it’s best when it’s cold.
Storage info
This potato salad recipe just gets better over time! You can make a batch and store it in the refrigerator for days. Here’s what to know when it comes to storage:
- How long does potato salad last refrigerated? Up to 5 days. The flavor gets even better over time.
- How long does potato salad last outside? Up to 1 hour. If you’re serving outdoors, you can leave it unrefrigerated up to 1 hour, then return it to an ice-packed cooler.
- How long does potato salad last at room temperature? Up to 2 hours. But try to minimize the time sitting at room temperature if possible.
- Can you freeze potato salad? Freezing is not recommended because of the mayonnaise. Mayo doesn’t freeze well and can separate after freezing, and the potatoes can become discolored. The best way to extend the life is keeping it in the refrigerator.
Potato salad recipe variations
We love this classic potato salad the best, but we have so many other variations! The vegan potato salad version is our favorite, but here are a few other ideas:
- This Vegan Potato Salad tastes just like classic potato salad, but uses cashews to make a creamy sauce.
- This French Potato Salad is sophisticated and flavor-packed, featuring a zingy vinaigrette, red potatoes, capers, and parsley.
- This Dill Potato Salad is classic and bursting with fresh herbs and flavored with olive oil and vinegar.
- Our Red Potato Salad features red potatoes instead of Yukon golds.
Dietary notes
This potato salad recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free.
Frequently asked questions
To avoid a watery potato salad, make sure to cook the potatoes until they are just tender, not overcooked. Drain them well and let them cool slightly before adding the dressing. Also, avoid over-mixing the salad, as this can break down the potatoes and release excess moisture.
Yes, potato salad can be made ahead of time. In fact, the flavors tend to meld and improve the longer it sits in the refrigerator. It stores up to 5 days refrigerated.
Classic potato salad can be customized in many ways! You can add different ingredients like chopped hard-boiled eggs, crumbled bacon, diced celery, chopped onion, chopped pickles, or fresh herbs like dill or parsley. You can also experiment with different types of dressings, such as a mustard vinaigrette or a creamy dill dressing.
Best Potato Salad
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Here’s how to make our best potato salad recipe! Our version of the American classic is creamy, crunchy, and tangy. It has just the right pop from pickles, and the creamy dressing is a burst of flavor. It’s a keeper: it’s become our family favorite for picnic tables and cookouts!
Ingredients
- 3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes*
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 3 large celery stalks
- 5 green onions, thinly sliced (both white and green portions)
- ¼ cup red onion, minced
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- ½ cup sweet pickle relish (or chopped dill pickles)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ½ cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard (or 2 yellow and 1 tablespoon Dijon)
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes: Quarter the potatoes, keeping the skins on. Place them in a large saucepan filled with cold water. Bring it to a boil and cook for 8 to 12 minutes until tender when pricked with a fork. Drain and rinse the potatoes under cold water. Allow to cool slightly, then peel the skins off with your fingers and cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces. Place the potatoes into a bowl and sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the white wine vinegar and ½ teaspoon of the kosher salt. Mix and let stand 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prep the salad: Slice the celery stalks in half lengthwise, then thinly slice them. Thinly slice the green onions. Mince the red onion. Chop the dill.
- In a large bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt or sour cream, yellow mustard, Dijon mustard, celery seed, 1 tablespoon of the white wine vinegar, ¾ of the teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of fresh ground pepper. Add the potatoes, celery, green onion, red onion, and sweet pickle relish and stir until fully combined. For best results, chill 2 hours before serving. Stores 5 days refrigerated.
Notes
*The variety here is important: use Yukon gold or gold potatoes for best results.
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Boiled
- Cuisine: Salad
- Diet: Vegetarian
I don’t like sour cream or yogurt. Can I replace that part of the recipe with mayo?
I ended up using all mayo in this recipe since I don’t like sour cream or yogurt. It came out great! And, to please both those who prefer dill pickles versus sweet relish, I made an ingredient compromise. I used chopped dill pickles in the salad and I added 1 TBSP of sugar to the dressing which gave the salad just a slightly sweet note. Delicious!
Awesome recipe!!! Thanks so much. I used apple cider vinegar & mucho fresh dill. I let the potatoes cool for a half hour so the Mayo doesn’t break. Red onion & new spuds from the Farmer’s market was an added plus. My culinary critic, wife, thought it superb- you should see her boil water. A keeper!
Thank you so much for trying it! We are so glad to hear this!
I love potato salad! Thanks for this recipe you guys! I can’t wait to try and make this!