More Summer Side Dishes
Looking for more of my favorite summer side dish recipes to serve alongside The Best Classic Potato Salad Recipe? Check out these delicious recipes:
Zucchini Tomato Basil Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette is a light and refreshing summertime salad and perfect when your garden is exploding with tomatoes, basil, and zucchini in the later summer months.
What is a summer barbecue without baked beans? This recipe for Slow Cooker Baked Bean Trio with Bacon and Peppers is loaded with flavor thanks to three types of beans, bell peppers, poblano peppers, and bacon. A perfect, easy side dish for game day entertaining, too!
You can never go wrong with a caprese salad during the summer. For a different take, try this Roasted Tomato Caprese Salad to use summers abundant tomatoes and basil.
Now that you have our recipe for The Best Classic Potato Salad, youll need a great coleslaw recipe! Your typical BBQ Coleslaw gets a makeover with the addition of jalapeño for just a touch of heat for your tastebuds in this tasty recipe for Creamy Jalapeño BBQ Coleslaw.
This Cilantro Lime Broccoli Slaw is a tasty alternative to the traditional summer coleslaw recipe. Pre-packaged shredded broccoli, carrots, red cabbage are tossed with jalapeño, lime, red onion, and red bell pepper for a refreshing side salad.
What are your favorite summer side dishes?
Love this recipe for The Best Classic Potato Salad?
Why Youll Love This Recipe
Potato salad is a classic side dish, especially for picnics and cookouts, and everyone has a slightly different way of making it. This is a riff off the famous Hellmanns Potato Salad Recipe made with real mayonnaise. Hellmanns is also known in some areas as the Best Foods brand.
The original potato salad recipe is a classic favorite, but my version is on repeat anytime Im looking for a substantial, delicious side dish recipe that goes with almost anything.
- I love this recipe, its my favorite potato salad and is just great with a burger or sandwich
- This is a side dish that goes with many different dishes such as ribs, chicken, brisket or any slow-cooked meat.
- Its not complicated at all, this is a simple recipe with several steps, all easy
- Customize the ingredients to suit your tastethats the beauty of potato salad!
If youre looking for other easy side dish recipes, heres a new round-up of some of my all time favorites!
Tips For Making Potato Salad
- Lighten up the calories in this recipe by using light mayonnaise and boiled and chopped egg whites. You can also swap half the mayonnaise for plain Greek yogurt.
- Add a dash of cayenne pepper, curry powder, dill, or paprika to the potato salad to add some spice and flavor.
- Swap in dijon mustard instead of ground mustard to add a deeper flavor.
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How To Make Red Potato Salad
- Bring a large pot of cold water to boil. Generously salt the boiling water and add the cut red potatoes. Boil until you have tender potatoes checking every couple minutes towards the end of cooking. Drain the waxy potatoes.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the white wine vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar. Pour the warm potatoes into the vinegar mixture and gently mix with a rubber spatula to combine.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise and sour cream. Pour over the potatoes and gently fold in.
- Add the hard boiled eggs and other remaining ingredients. Gently stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 6 hours. Enjoy!
The Best American Potato Salad
Our favorite potato salad kicks up the traditional mayonnaise base with not only chopped dill pickles, but also uses the pickle brine for extra tang. Scallions, celery and parsley add freshness and a little crunch, while hard-boiled eggs practically make it a meal.
Get the Recipe: The Best American Potato Salad
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My Favorite Potato Salad Dressing
Our potato salad recipe airs on the classic, more traditional side, but we do have a couple of tweaks.
For the salad dressing, we use mayonnaise and sour cream. Both make the dressing extra creamy, but mayonnaise can be heavy by itself.
Adding the sour cream lightens up the dressing a bit. If youre used to only using mayonnaise, try adding a bit of sour cream next time. Its a game-changer. When I really want to up my potato salad game, I use homemade mayonnaise. Its easier than you might think. Here is our mayonnaise recipe with a video that walks you through how to make it.
We also add regular yellow mustard, which adds an extra kick of flavor as well as a bit of color. I usually use Dijon mustard in our recipes, but when it comes to this salad, regular yellow mustard wins.
We add vinegar as well, but not to the dressing. Instead, we sprinkle vinegar over the cooked potatoes. We learned this tip from Alton Brown.
After dicing the cooked potatoes, scatter a tablespoon or so of vinegar over them. Its incredible how much of a difference the vinegar makes. Use apple cider vinegar, white, or red wine vinegar or even dill pickle juice!
How To Store Potato Salad:
- Serve: Potato Salad is traditionally served up chilled and it has mayonnaise in it, so you shouldnt leave it out for longer than about 2 hours.
- Store: You can keep the salad for up to about 3 days in the fridge, as long as its kept in something airtight.
- Freeze: Potato should be eaten fresh or out of the fridge, freezing mayonnaise based recipes is not recommended.
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Tips And Possible Variations
- If after youve done the initial stir of all the ingredients in a large bowl and the potato salad seems a little dry, add more mayonnaise a tablespoon at a time to remedy this
- Use waxy potatoes, red or gold, in this recipe, russets will give you baked potato salad, and you dont want that
- Use the large side of a box grater to grate the hard boiled eggs its so much easier than chopping, youll use this hack all the time!
- Use red onion instead of green if youd like
- Stir the potato salad before each serving, and sprinkle a little more celery salt on top too. Its really good this way!
- Top with chopped fresh parsley too if youd like
- This salad is tastes best after its chilled in the refrigerator for a couple of hour
- Be sure to compile this salad while the potatoes are still warm. It will taste best if you do!
What To Serve With This Perfect Potato Salad
Looking for some main dish ideas to serve along this Classic Potato Salad recipe? Here are a few tried and true favorite recipes that taste great with potato salad!
Smoked Pork Shoulder is a classic summertime BBQ recipe and goes great with Potato Salad. Come check out my tried and true method for making Traeger Smoked Pulled Pork along with my 9 pro tips for the best smoked pork Im including my favorite pork shoulder brine and pulled pork rub.
Easy Smoked Chicken is a great summer meal. The chicken turns out incredibly flavorful, tender and juicy. It is perfect along side this Classic Potato Salad for BBQs.
Cook up these sweet and spicy Mango Habanero Pork Ribs to go with your BBQ. THeyre full of flavor and perfect for one last summer hurrah!
Burgers are always a classic BBQ choice. I love these Gouda Stuffed Burgers with Horseradish Aioli and Caramelized Onions if you want to get a little more creative!
Dont see what youre looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more recipes.
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Family Favorite Traditional Potato Salad
One of the recipes that often makes an appearance during family meals during the summer months is this Classic Potato Salad.
There is absolutely nothing fancy about this potato salad recipe.
It just tastes great and it is easy to make. Kevins family all calls it Grandma Cookies Potato Salad. But I think it has also earned the name of The Best Classic Potato Salad. This potato salad recipe has been in the family a long time, so it is the only recipe that anyone ever wants to make or eat.
Unfortunately, I never had the chance to meet Kevins famous Grandma Cookie because she passed away before I even knew Kevin.
But I love hearing stories about her and I definitely love her easy potato salad recipe and the way this crowd pleaser always seems to have a place at summer potlucks in our family.
How To Make An Easy Classic Potato Salad:
- Peel and cut the potatoes into half . Boil them VERY GENTLY in HEAVILY SALTED WATER until they are fork tender. Heres another Mom tip: she does NOT peel the potatoes before boiling them. Once they are cooked, she uses a fork to pierce the potato and peels the skin while they are hot. For some reason hers always comes out better, but I still peel them first.
- Place the peeled potatoes in a large bowl and sprinkle apple cider vinegar all over the potatoes.
- Slightly mash with a fork or potato masher .
- Add the diced onion, celery. The onions are another sticking point with specifically my daughter because she detests onion. I put them in raw just like my mom did. I do not find them to be too offensive and add a little crunch.
- Combine the ingredients for the salad dressing as the potatoes are cooling and stir to combine.
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What Our Readers Are Saying
If you dont believe that our recipe helps you achieve the best homemade potato salad, take a look at what our readers are saying about the recipe! More reviews are in the comments section below.
Ive made this so many times!! Always so yummy and a big hit with even the pickiest eaters!! Pam
Best potato salad ever!! Melinda
Excellent. Tastes delicious! Its so much better than the potato salad purchased at the store. LouAnn
I LOVED this potato salad! Paula
Best Foods Potato Salad Recipe
Quick and easy, this Best Foods Potato Salad Recipe is just what you need to wow everyone at your next BBQ! Here’s a time-tested classic recipe with everything you need to get it right the first time!For even deeper flavor, just make it the day before and chill in the fridge. It doesn’t get easier than that!
My daughter, often says, “there’s potato salad and then there’s POTATO SALAD.”
The fact is, that it is not easy to make a really good potato salad because so many things can go wrong. From watery dressings, to bland, lifeless, potatoes.. the list goes on. This traditional potato salad recipe fills in the gap with everything you need to know, so that your potato salad is a hit at your next summer barbeque!
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Additions To The Basic Recipe
While I love this potato salad just the way it is. You can amp it up a but with one or more of these add-ins.
- Add a tablespoon of sweet pickle relish or dill relish.
- Try the addition of a handful of chopped dill pickles, as I did in my Dill Pickle Pasta Salad recipe.
- Dill pickle juice is a delicious swap for the vinegar in this recipe.
- A tablespoon of Dijon mustard can give the potato salad some zing.
Want to try out the new improved Hellmann’s Mayonnaise Dressing with Olive Oil yourself, stop by the Hellmann’s website for a money saving coupon.
Make this potato salad with an Instant Pot for even faster results. Other great mayonnaise dressed salads you may like are my Old fashioned Pea Salad recipe and classic macaroni salad.
Bring a large bowl of this Hellmann’s classic potato salad when you are invited to the cookout, it goes fast!
How To Cook The Potatoes
We simmer potatoes whole in salted water when making potato salad. Here are our top tips for doing it:
Salt the cooking water. Its important to add a generous amount of salt to the cooking water. By salting the water, the flavor of the potatoes comes out. They wont taste salty, only like excellent potatoes.
Simmer, dont boil. When it comes to cooking potatoes for potato salad, theres no need to boil. When you do they violently bash against each other. Instead, bring the water with potatoes to a boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. The potatoes cook just as quickly.
Potatoes are cooked when you can push a fork through the center. When they are done, drain the potatoes and add them to an ice bath, which stops them from cooking. After 2 to 3 minutes they are cool enough to handle.
While I love using skin-on potatoes for mashed potatoes, I like to remove the peel from the potatoes for this. Since I use small potatoes, peeling them before cooking would be a frustrating task. Instead, I cook my potatoes with the peel on, let them cool, and then peel. Since the potatoes are cooked, the peel comes off easily .
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Potato Salad Storage Instructions
Since there is mayo in this recipe, its best not to leave this version of potato salad out at room temperature for too longespecially in the hot sun at a BBQ! Instead, store in an airtight container in the fridge after serving.
Its best eaten within 8 hours, but it will keep for up to two days in the fridge.
Which Potatoes Are Best For Potato Salad
The very best potato salad recipe begins and ends with what type of potatoes you use. We love waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, because they hold their shape as they cook and keep their firm texture in the salad while chopping and tossing with the dressing.
However, if you dont have any of those kinds on hand, you can use Russets. Weve used them in this recipe many times and they work fine. Theyre just a bit softer and flakier than red potatoes or Yukon Gold, but taste just as delicious.
If you love potatoes as much as we do, be sure to check out our other Potato Recipes!
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Classic Potato Salad Ingredients
The best part about this Best Foods Potato Salad Recipe is the layers of flavors and textures which come from the ingredients below.
- Yukon goldpotatoes are the best potatoes for making potato salad because they tend to be a little sweet, naturally creamy and absorb the dressing very well. They also conveniently hold their shape long after the initial boiling. You can also use other types of potatoes like russet, white and red potatoes. Starchier potatoes are a little tricky to work with as they can easily disintegrate in the salad and have a very dry flaky interior. Waxy potatoes like white potatoes, fingerling potatoes or red potatoes also works very well for potato salad.
- The apple cider vinegar helps brighten the flavors. I like to use apple cider vinegar because I always have some handy at home. You can use any kind of vinegar including rice vinegar and white vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar. Other substitutes include dill pickle juice and lemon juice.
- Hard boiled eggs are a classic ingredient in potato salads which gives it that “devilled eggs” taste and creamy texture.Freshly ground black pepper helps to adds depth and spiciness to the dish.
- The celery, sweet onion, scallions and fresh parsley leaves add texture and a fresh herb taste to the salad. The raw onion should be cut into smaller pieces or minced because the onion flavor can be overwhelming. Other fresh herbs like dill, celery leaves, basil, chives, or tarragon work very well in potato salad.
The Best Classic Potato Salad
Summer Potlucks and BBQs dont seem complete without a big bowl of this Classic Potato Salad. Creamy mayo, celery, onion, hard-boiled eggs, and of course plenty of potatoes make up this recipe. In our familys opinion, it is simply the best potato salad recipe!
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The Best Potato Salad Recipe
In our family, we cant imagine a family barbecue, picnic, or game day buffet without this rich and creamy homemade potato salad as a side dish.
Now, I know that everyone says their mom makes the best potato salad, but in this case its totally true! Once you try this recipe, youll never go back to that nasty store-bought stuff again.
Can I Peel The Potatoes Before Cooking
Mom always cooked the potatoes with the peels, then pulled off some of the peels after cooking. This allows you to leave some potato skins in the salad, if you like, for extra texture. Also, it elements the need for a vegetable peeler because the skins will pull right off after the potatoes are fully cooked.
However, if you do not want to incorporate any of the potato skins into the salad, you can peel them beforehand. Its a matter of personal preference.
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