This Classic Potato Salad is super creamy, crunchy and absolutely delicious. It’s the perfect side dish for your summer BBQs or any protein packed entree.
We probably all have our favorite potato salad that we grew up with and I’m sure there are numerous versions out there, with mustard, without mustard, with cucumbers, with pickles, no celery, with olives, the list goes on. This one I’m sharing with you today is packed with pickles and crunchy celery.
Of course, the classic potato salad is really about potatoes and so there are lots of potatoes here, my favorite to use are Yukon gold potatoes, just because I love their yellow color, but really this salad can be made with any kind of potatoes, even red skinned potatoes.
This side dish originated in Germany and I’m ever so thankful that it’s become such a world wide renowned side dish! It’s a great blank canvas for tons of flavor so feel free to have fun with this side dish, I promise you’ll love whatever you come up with!
Ingredients In Potato Salad
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Potatoes – I used Yukon gold as they’re perfect for this recipe.
- Eggs – I use hard-boiled eggs for texture and extra creaminess.
- Celery – Celery is a low-calorie vegetable that offers a range of health benefits. I personally like to slice my celery very small.
- Onion – I used a red onion for a punchy acidic kick and some color.
- Pickle – I chopped up 3 medium sized pickles for lots of tang and crunch.
- Mayonnaise – I love using a good organic mayonnaise. If you’d like to make your own I’ve included instructions how in the tips section below.
- Mustard – This adds an extra kick of flavor as well as a bit of color. I usually use Dijon mustard in this classic recipe.
- Spices – Paprika and salt and pepper.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed is always best!
- Herbs – Freshly chopped chives to garnish on top of our potato salad.
How To Make Potato Salad
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare the potatoes: Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
- Finish the potato salad: In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, red onion, lemon juice, pickles and paprika and stir until well combined. Stir in the chives, celery, hard boiled eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and toss them until well combined.
- Let the flavors develop: Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Boiling The Perfect Eggs
- Place eggs in a sauce pan and cover with at least 2 inches of cold water. Bring the water to a boil over medium heat and let eggs cook for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the size. If using very fresh eggs, add 1 teaspoon of salt to the water to help the eggs peel easier.
- Once ready, drain the hot water and run cold water over the eggs until the shells are cold. They’re ready to peel!
- You can add vinegar to the water before the eggs go into boil, it will prevent the shells from cracking!
What Else Can I Add To My Potato Salad?
Add whatever you desire to this potato salad:
- Chicken
- Dill
- Parsley
- Peas
- Corn
- Bell pepper
- Cayenne pepper
- Capers
Tips And Tricks
- You can also make your own mayo. To make your own mayo all you really need is an egg and 3/4 cup vegetable oil. Place them in a cup and use a an immersion blender. Within a few seconds you’ve got homemade mayo!
- Be sure to use a waxier potato to ensure it soaks up all that dressing, other potato varieties can leak water and result in a runny dressing.
- Salt your water while the potatoes boil. Just like pasta, potatoes soak up the salt and add some flavor to our dish.
How To Serve
This versatile little side dish has been a long time world wide favorite for good reason. I love to pair this little salad with any and all things BBQ, big meat dishes, and just about anything that feels or tastes summery!
- Oven Baked Beef Brisket
- Instant Pot BBQ Pork Ribs
- Beer And Honey BBQ Chicken Skewers
- Instant Pot BBQ Pulled Pork
- Pork Loin Roast
Leftovers
You can store potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. This dish does not freeze well so I don’t recommend storing it that way as the eggs and the mayo based sauce will separate when thawed.
More Delicious Recipes To Try:
- Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Sauce
- Parmesan Garlic Roasted Potatoes
- Roasted Potatoes with Garlic Aioli
- Ranch Pork Chops And Potatoes Sheet Pan Dinner
- One Pan Roasted Honey Orange Chicken And Potatoes
- Roasted Fingerling Potatoes
- Loaded Scalloped Potatoes
- Potatoes Au Gratin
- Greek Herb Red Potato Salad
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Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lb potatoes peeled and cut into cubes (I used Yukon Gold potatoes)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp dijon mustard
- 1 small red onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 3 medium pickles chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/4 cup chives chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 6 hard boiled eggs peeled and chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/4 tsp pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Add the cubed potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Season with the tsp of salt. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, should take about 15 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.
- In a large bowl, add the mayonnaise, dijon mustard, red onion, lemon juice, pickles and paprika and stir until well combined. Stir in the chives, celery, hard boiled eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add the potatoes and toss them until well combined.
- Refrigerate until ready to serve.
PS. Re: hardboiled eggs. My friend has an InstaPot and does a dozen eggs at a time and says she’s never had better results. EVER. Just perfect eggs, no hint of that annoying greyish tinge around the egg yolk. Just a tip for everyone!
They are great! We have some step-by-step instructions here for IP hardboiled eggs 🙂
Hi Jo,
How did I never know to add a bit of fresh lemon juice to potato salad?!? This is an eye opener, and I’m excited to see how it freshens the potato salad up. Thanks for another amazing recipe. 🙂
We swear lemon juice makes everything better. Enjoy!
I love your recipes! This Potato Salad sounds divine, thanks for sharing! Just double checking on the Pickles, did you use Dill Pickles?
Yes! Let me know how you like it!
Having made this recipe several times in the past, I’ve made a few adjustments to suit our family and would like to share them with you.
The proportion of eggs and celery to potato is perfect, but I add a half cup of chopped radish for extra crunch. We also like lots of dill pickles so make sure there is at least 1 cup of chopped pickles. Growing up in farm country my family used half sour cream and half mayonnaise for dressing a potato salad, and always added a few spoons of vinegar and 1 heaping tablespoon of sugar to it. In this era of reducing added sugar I still miss that touch of sweetness, so add a tablespoon of Stevia and it works wonderfully. To balance the sweet I squeeze a half lemon so this gives 2 to 3 tablespoons of juice, an increase from the 1 in the original recipe.
One of the joys of following Jo Cooks recipes is that they are all lovely as written, but it’s also so easy to put my own stamp on them or to just experiment a bit.
Thank you Jo!
I decided to actually use a recipe for potato salad for a change. This was a huge hit. Thanks, Jo!
My pleasure, glad you enjoyed it!
I am always ready for reinventing the recipes. So this will be my BBQ side for dinner tomorrow. Canada is 150 and a change up won’t hurt one bit.
Here in this part of Canada, we use 1 cup mayo, 1/ 2 cup sour cream, and 2 tbsp. Dijon mustard and use those ratios if we make a smaller or larger potato salad. Also, celery, green onions and no pickles. Maybe sliced radishes. Oh, and no paprika. Interesting how potato salad differs from region to region. I know some people add pickle juice, which would give it a nice tang. I love potato salad and look forward to trying your version.
I made the Classic Potato Salad last week, sans the HB eggs (personal taste). Hubby loved it, and being British, he is definitely NOT a potato salad fan. I served it as part of a quasi-traditional US Memorial Day BBQ meal for friends, and they also liked it. Potato salad here in the UK is so different – this recipe is superb!
Wow this looks amazing!
Such a sweet doggie.