Easy Classic Potato Salad
on May 18, 2020, Updated Jun 24, 2024
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This is a perfect potato salad, all-American and old-fashioned in the best sense of the word.
Ok, if I had to eat just one potato salad for the rest of my life, this might be it. I love potato salads of all stripes, with horseradish, with lemon, with egg, with bacon, with all kinds of twists and turns. But if forced to pick one — forever — this is the potato salad I would marry.
This is a very traditional, creamy, mayonnaise-based potato salad, all-American and old-fashioned in the best sense of the words. It has a bit of kick from Dijon mustard and vinegar, as well as some freshness from parsley, celery, and red onion.
You can make the whole thing in 15 minutes if you pull together the dressing while the potatoes are boiling. And while it cools down, try making some Easy BLT Sandwiches or Classic Club Sandwiches for a delightful lunch. This is the perfect potato salad for a summer picnic or a potluck.
Table of Contents
This is a very classic potato salad, all-American and old-fashioned in the best sense of the word.
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The Best Potatoes for Potato Salad
The potatoes you want here are waxy potatoes, Yukon golds, or yellow, white, or red-skinned potatoes. They also have thin skins, which some people like to leave on in their potato salads; peel or don’t peel — it’s completely up to you. Yukons have slightly more starch than other waxy varieties, but they still work well in potato salads.
While we all love a good russet potato baked or maybe turned into French fries, those aren’t the potatoes you want for potato salad. Russets (or all-purpose) potatoes are too starchy and will get mushy and fall apart when cooked and tossed with the dressing.
Potato Salad Ingredients
- Waxy potatoes – In this recipe, you cook the potatoes until tender but not mushy, and then dress them immediately while warm.
- Mayonnaise – Makes this potato salad perfectly classic and creamy.
- Dijon mustard – Adds a bit of bite. Dijon is my favorite, either smooth or grainy.
- Vinegar – You can use red or white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.
- Red onion – I love the sweet bite of chopped red onion in this potato salad.
- Celery – A good tip is to use some of the celery leaves, along with the parsley, to season the salad. The herby, vegetal taste of celery leaves fits in perfectly.
- Fresh parsley – If you want to add other fresh herbs to the mix besides parsleyTry a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh basil, a tablespoon of chopped mint, or a teaspoon of thyme leaves.
- Sweet pickle relish – Sweet pickle relish is optional since I love this potato salad with and without.
How to Make Classic Potato Salad
- Cook the potatoes: Dice the potatoes and boil them in salted water until tender.
- Make the dressing: Mix together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper, onion, celery, parsley, and relish.
- Combine: Mix in the warm potatoes and cool for 20 minutes to bring down to room temp.
Cooking Potatoes for Potato Salad
I like to dice my potatoes and then simmer them, as opposed to cooking whole potatoes and then dicing them, but both are options. Cutting them before cooking means that you can get cleaner little cubes, and they cook faster than whole potatoes. When you add the cooked potatoes to the dressing, they will hold their shape better.
Once you bring the water to a boil, lower the temperature. Once the potatoes start to soften and become tender, they can fall apart if the water is bubbling too vigorously. Adjust the heat to keep the water simmering but not getting to a full boil.
Note that if you have leftover cooked potatoes, whether baked potatoes, roasted, steamed, grilled, or whatever, you can still make potato salad from them! They may have a slightly different texture if they were cooked another way.
Yes, of course, baked potatoes are usually made with russets and might not hold their shape in the same way as boiled. But if you have extra baked potatoes, particularly if they are firm, cube them up and use them here. Your potato salad may be a little mushier; try to gently fold the dressing into the potatoes to help them maintain their cubed shape a bit better. Potato salads are a terrific way to repurpose leftover potatoes of all kinds.
FAQs
Yes! This classic potato salad recipe happens to be dairy-free, with a dressing made from mayonnaise, mustard, and vinegar. Many people don’t realize mayonnaise is dairy-free because it’s so creamy. Some potato salads contain sour cream, milk, or heavy cream, though, so watch out for those if you’re dairy intolerant or avoiding dairy for any reason.
When making potato salad, you do not need to rinse the potatoes after boiling them. Rinsing removes the starch, which helps the dressing adhere and makes the whole salad creamy and consistent. Rinsing also cools down the potatoes, and it is actually better to dress the potatoes still warm and then cool the whole salad together.
Yes, that’s the optimal option. Dressing the potatoes while they are warm allows the potatoes to better absorb the flavors of the dressing.,
Make Ahead and Storage
In the perfect world, I make a potato salad and cool it to room temperature without ever putting it in the fridge. This keeps the dressing super creamy. So that would mean 1 to 2 hours of cooling at room temp. If you don’t have the time to wait, you can also put it in the fridge for 30 minutes to cool down.
But you absolutely can make the potato salad up to a few days ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator. Make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. Let it sit out for about 20 to 30 minutes, then fold gently to recombine, and the dressing will become creamy again.
Potato Salad Variations
- You can add almost anything to this classic potato salad. I love fresh herbs, and potato salad with thyme is one of my favorite variations.
- Try scallions instead of the green onions.
- Add some crumbled, crispy, cooked bacon.
- Think about adding some chopped hard-cooked eggs, whether hard-boiled or oven-baked.
Here are a few other potato salad recipes ready to roll!
- Egg and Potato Salad with Bacon
- Mayonnaise-Free Potato Salad
- French Potato Salad
- Creamy Corn and Potato Salad with Bacon and Lemon Buttermilk Dressing
- Classic Potato Salad with Celery and Fresh Thyme
Below is a medley of summer salads, all perfect for cookouts, BBQs, picnics, and potlucks. Clockwise from top left: Chicken and Avocado Salad, Classic Potato Salad (recipe below), Shrimp and Avocado Salad, and Classic Macaroni Salad.
What to Serve With Easy Potato Salad
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Easy Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds waxy potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes)
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ⅔ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon red or white wine or cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish (optional)
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and allow the potatoes to simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain
- While the potatoes are simmering, in large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper. Add the onion, celery, parsley and relish, if using, and stir. Add the drained warm potatoes and toss to coat with the dressing. Cover the salad and wither cool to room temperature or refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or up to 4 days, to cool completely.
- Remove from the fridge about 20 minutes before serving to bring the salad to room temperature.
Notes
- You can add almost anything to this classic potato salad. I love fresh herbs, and potato salad with thyme is one of my favorite variations.
- Try scallions instead of the green onions.
- Add some crumbled crispy cooked bacon.
- Think about adding some chopped hard-cooked eggs, whether hard-boiled or oven-baked.
