The Best Homemade Potato Salad

Everything you need to know to make perfect potato salad every time -- just like Granny's!

Course Salad, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword easy recipe, potato, potatoes, potluck, salad, sides

Prep Time 1

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 30

Servings

Calories 202kcal

Author Sara Garska

Cost $6

Equipment

sauce pan
mixing bowl
serving bowl

Ingredients

8 medium potatoes use ones with thin skins such as new or Yukon gold.
6 hard boiled eggs peel and chop 4 or 5. Slice the remaining to put on top.
4 stalks celery sliced thin
1 Cup Mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons dill pickle chopped
2 Tablespoons sweet pickles chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard omit if you don't have it
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons vinegar or sweet pickle juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Hard boil your eggs and set aside.
Place the unpeeled whole potatoes in a sauce pan and cover with cold water. Gentle bring to simmer and cook until done. About 1/2 hour.
Cooking will probably take about ½ hour. Keep an eye on your potatoes. You want them done all the way through but not mushy. Use a small pointed knife to assess doneness.
If you aren’t sure, you can pull a potato out and cut it in half. You want to see it cooked all the way through. If you still aren’t sure, cut a small piece off and taste.
While the potatoes are cooking, chop the celery, onion, and egg.
Then make your salad dressing. If you’re making a big salad, use about a cup of mayonnaise.
To your mayonnaise, add salt, pepper, sweet paprika, dry mustard (use dry or leave out—nothing from a jar), garlic powder, sugar, and a little vinegar or sweet pickle juice. This is now your salad dressing.
Once the potatoes are cooked all the way through, drain the hot water off carefully.
Then add cold water to the pan and let the potatoes rest there for a few minutes.
Cool them just enough that you can handle them. Once they can be handled, peel the skin off and chop into bite size pieces.
Add the dressing to the potatoes while they are still warm.
Add the potatoes to a mixing bowl. Put chopped celery, onion, pickle, and egg on top.
Add the prepared salad dressing and gently mix.
Gently lift up the ingredients from the bottom of the bowl and turn them. Mix like this until all the potatoes have dressing and the ingredients are mixed in.
Put in serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate until serving time.
If you have a hard boiled egg or two left, it looks pretty to slice them and put on top before serving.

Notes

Prepare at least eight hours ahead for best flavor.

Cook potatoes, whole and in their skins. Cool slightly, then peel and chop.

Add chopped items and dressing to the potatoes while the potatoes are still warm.

Mix gently. Don't stir or beat. Mix gently so that the potato don't break apart too much.

Once mixed, put in serving bowl.

Garnish with sliced hard-boiled eggs.

Cover and refrigerate until serving time.

Nutrition