What Potatoes Are Best For Potato Salad
To get the best flavor and texture out of your potato salad, we recommend using small to medium sized, thin-skinned, waxy potatoes, like new potatoes, fingerlings, and Yukon Golds.
These types of potatoes have a great flavor, firm texture, and stand up to being boiled quite well. There are lots of different varieties, so see what your local grocery store has available. We used Yukon Gold in the particular recipe.
Avoid using large, starchy potatoes like Russets or Idaho. They can take a very long time to boil and tend to crumble into a dry, floury texture.
Potato Salad Recipe Variations:
There are so many ways to customize this potato salad recipe, so feel free to experiment and see what you love most! For example, you could
- Add bacon: I will always be down for a potato salad with bacon stirred in.
- Add fresh herbs: Feel free to also mix any fresh herbs you might love chives, dill, parsley, basil, thyme, etc. into this potato salad.
- Add extra pickles: If you really love pickles, feel free to add in extra pickle juice and/or any other pickles you love!
- Omit the pickle relish: If you dont love pickles, just omit them entirely.
- Omit the mayo: If mayos not your fave, feel free to use full-fat plain Greek yogurt instead.
- Use different potatoes: Everyone has a different opinion about the best potatoes for potato salad! I say use whichever you love Yukon Golds, Russets, red potatoes all will work here. 🙂
- Use baked potatoes: Happen to have leftover baked potatoes on hand? Chop them up and add them in to make this a baked potato salad!
- Use different vinegar: If you dont love apple cider vinegar, feel free to swap in white vinegar or red wine vinegar instead.
- Use different mustard: If you dont love Dijon mustard, feel free to swap in regular yellow mustard or your favorite spicy mustard instead.
- Make it vegan: Just swap in your favorite vegan mayo to make this a vegan potato salad recipe.
What Kind Of Potatoes Should I Use
The foundation of the perfect potato salad is, of course, the potato. Harvey recommends fluffy, starchy russet potatoes for a classic picnic-type potato salad.
“It’s about that dressing, that sauce,” he said. “That should also have pieces of almost dissolved potato in along with it.”
A German-style potato salad, with its robust fat- and vinegar-based dressing, should be made with a sturdier, lower-starch tuber that won’t fall apart and murk up that bright sauce. Waxy red-skinned or new potatoes work. It’s the same with Greek-style potato salads.
Harvey’s Mexican street corn potato salad also calls for red potatoes.
“Even though the dressing is more mayonnaise-based, we don’t want the potatoes to fall apart,” he said. “We still want there to be discernible textures to it.”
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Are Boiled Or Roasted Potatoes Better
Boiling is the quicker and simpler option, but roasting allows you to introduce flavour from the beginning. Ingredients added during roasting will lend a helping hand to amp up your dressing go for cloves of garlic, rosemary, lemon, anchovies or pancetta. Plus, less of the flavour will leach from the potatoes, and the crispy edges provide a satisfying chew.
If you prefer boiling, try adding garlic cloves to your water. By the time the potatoes are cooked, the insides of the garlic will be soft enough to mush into a paste, which can then be added to mayonnaise or dressing. Its not as intense as you may think the flavour of boiled garlic is mellow and sweet.
Verdict? Both wed boil our potatoes to start with, then finish them in the oven.
Compare our new potato & sundried tomato salad with our roast potato & radish salad.
Southern Macaroni Salad Ingredients
So, whats the secret to a crave-worthy macaroni salad recipe?
It takes the right blend of ingredients to create a salty, slightly-sweet bite that is balanced in spice and tang.
Along with the traditional mayo-based dressing and elbow macaroni, I like to add:
- Roasted Red Peppers Slightly acidic, with a smoky-sweet taste.
- Sweet Pickle Relish For a tangy-sweet flavor
- Scallions The perfect amount of onion taste
- Cooked Bacon Salty, bacon-y goodness goes well with anything.
- Garlic Who doesnt love garlic? It enhances any dish.
- Hot Sauce Choose your favorite kind!
- Kale Let me explain
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S To The Best Potato Salad Ever
Ingredients
- 3 pounds small red potatoes, quartered
- 2 tablespoons cider vinegar, divided
- 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
- 6 hard-boiled large eggs, divided
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika, plus extra for garnish
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
Step 1: Gather all your ingredients.
Having everything on the counter ready to go makes the cooking part go so much more smoothly. If you dont have hard-cooked eggs on hand, you can make them in no time.
Nick knows the recipe off the top of his head: Place the eggs in a large saucepan and cover them with about an inch of cold water. Bring it just to a boil. Pull the pan from the heat, put on the lid, and let it stand for 13 minutes. Drain the water and quickly dunk the eggs in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. They turn out perfectly every time! See?
Step 2: Try this toothpick trick
Use a toothpick to skewer a peeled clove of garlic. This does two things: It helps you find the garlic clove later among all the potatoes, and it releases some of that garlicky goodness into the cooking water . Cooking the garlic mellows its flavor, too.
Step 3: Stick it all in the Dutch oven
Step 4: Get cookin
Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tenderabout 10 minutes. While the potatoes cook, whip up the dressing by whisking together the mayo, sour cream, paprika and remaining vinegar and salt.
How To Make German Potato Salad
German potato salad is usually served warm, unlike classic potato salad with egg and mayo. German potato salad recipes usually feature bacon and vinegar as main ingredients. Since it’s served hot, German potato salad isn’t as much of a picnic favorite as classic potato salad, but that doesn’t mean you should pass this version up. Try serving German potato salad for dinner alongside just about any meat entrée, or make this warm dish in winter for a cold-weather variation of summer potato salad.
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How To Chop Fresh Dill Weed For Potato Salad
We have a few picky eaters in the family who dont care for anything crunchy in their potato salad. Personally, I love adding celery and green onion for extra texture and flavor.
Theres also some debate in the family over pickles vs. dill weed. Again, the crunchy factor comes into play. However, dill weed adds such a delightful dimension to the potato salad flavor.
Heres how to chop fresh dill weed:
How To Make Homemade Potato Salad
To make potato salad, you start by boiling your potatoes. Cook your potatoes until they are tender but not mushy. While youre cooking, combine a bit of mayonnaise with some dill pickle relish and other seasonings. Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool down for a bit. Now, cut them into cubes and combine with the mayonnaise and pickle relish. Now, we have to add some mustard. We use yellow mustard. You can add as much or as little mustard as you like. If you dont have yellow mustard, you can use regular yellow mustard or regular white.
Read Also: What All Goes In Potato Salad
How To Store & Serve Potato Salad
This style of potato salad is meant to be served cold. So if you are making the day-of, we recommend getting an early enough start to allow it chill out in the fridge for a few hours.
If properly stored in a resealable container, potato salad will last for up to 5 days in a refrigerator or cooler . So this is a perfect side dish to make before a weekend camping trip or BBQ and toss in your cooler.
To serve, sprinkle the top with a light dusting of paprika. Want to dropkick this potato salad to all the way to next Sunday? Top with crumbled bacon.
How To Make The Best Potato Salad Recipe
1) The key to making the best potato salad is to use starchy potatoes and let them get really soft, so they are partially mashed once mixed. This gives the recipe a rustic, yet thick and luxurious quality. I like to use Yukon Gold or Klondike Goldust potatoes. You can also use Russet potatoes if you like. Do not use new potatoes, because they hold their shape too well and will leave the dressing soupy.
Start the potatoes in cold water and bring them to a boil to ensure even cooking. Make sure to salt the boiling water so the salty flavor gets deep down in the potatoes.
Once the potatoes are soft, drain off the water and peel off the skins. You can leave some of the skins on if you like the added texture.
Chop the potatoes when they are soft this saves time on the peeling and chopping.
2) Next, mix all the dressing ingredients together. Use your favorite mayonnaise as the base.
I know better than to tell you what brand to useMayonnaise is an intensely personal condiment!
Here in the Carolinas, we use Dukes Mayonnaise, but mom usually uses Hellmanns. You can even go with Miracle Whip if that is your favorite.
Mix a large amount of sweet pickle relish into the dressing.
Use the good quality refrigerated relish that tastes fresh, has large chunks, and stays firm. Otherwise, the dense ultra-sweet shelved variety might overwhelm the flavor of the dressing.
If you cant find good relish, finely dice firm refrigerated sweet pickles instead.
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Which Potatoes Are Best For Salad
Waxy or floury that is the question.
- Waxy potatoes in heritage varieties such as pink fir apple have an attractive nutty flavour and firm bite, though they can be quite expensive.
- Floury potatoes are more likely to break down and fray when tossed during the dressing process, but if this is your desired effect, go with it.
- Alternatively, you could veer leftfield and choose sweet potatoes instead, but be mindful of matching dressing and additions accordingly.
Verdict: Waxy, red-skinned or new potatoes for more traditional potato salads, but sweet potatoes work harder in the flavour stakes.
Best Potatoes For Potato Salad
Most of our Test Kitchen’s potato salad recipes call for waxy potato types such as red, yellow fingerling, and new potatoes. We prefer these over softer types like the traditional Russet because they hold their shape better once cooked and stirred into the dressing.
Now that you’re a pro at making homemade potato salad, branch out to a new potato salad recipe. Give plain potato salad a BLT sandwich twist. Utilize the whole garden with our summer vegetable potato salad. Swap the dressing for pesto or try making a sweet potato salad. No matter which recipe you choose, you’ll know you’ve brought one of the best potluck side dishes of all time to the table.
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The Benefits Of Homemade Potato Salad
One way to enjoy your meal is to make a potato salad. You can make a great potato salad that isnt all too salty and that tastes great. The trick to making a great potato salad is to make sure the potatoes have been refrigerated first. The potatoes can be in the refrigerator for 24 hours or so before they are cooked. You can choose to make your potato salad using a variety of ingredients, but bacon is a classic addition. This helps create a creamy flavor that makes the potato salad much more enjoyable. For the best quality, you can use russet potatoes. These potatoes have a large, white flesh that makes for a wonderful potato salad.
How To Make The Best Potato Salad Ever
Potato Salad Ingredients
What really are the classic potato salad ingredients? In my research, I found the passionately argued requirements differed slightly based on the geographical location of the author. I narrowed it down to these:
- 6 medium potatoes
- 1 Tablespoon vinegar
- 1/2 cup finely diced red onion
- 1/3 cup finely diced dill pickle
Potato salad dressing ingredients also varied based on preference. Heres the ingredients that gave to us the flavor and creaminess we were looking for:
- 1 1/2 cups Miracle Whip salad dressing
- 1 Tablespoon mustard
Step by Step instructions for potato salad
Step 1: Cook, cool and dice the potatoes
What type of potatoes are best for potato salad?
Potato salad requires potatoes that will remain firm when they are cooked. Yukon Gold, Russet, or Red potatoes are the ones that seem to be up to the task for a perfect potato salad recipe.
How long to boil potatoes for potato salad?
To prepare the potatoes for potato salad, first wash them well with tap water, peel them, and cut them into large chunks that are about the same size. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan and cover them with cold water I do NOT salt the water at this point, as the salt may make the potatoes watery in the salad later.
Once they are cooked, drain off the boiling water and toss them immediately with 1 Tablespoon vinegar. Let them sit in the vinegar in the heated pan for a few minutes. Then transfer to a colander to cool completely.
How do I hard-boil eggs?
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German Potato Salad Recipe
Warm cozy German Potato Salad Recipe with bacon and onions! A fabulous side dish for any back to school dinner.
The first time I ever tasted german style potato salad was at an Octoberfest street fair years ago. As I walked down the street I smelled an intoxicating aroma of bacon mixed with something tangy.
The fragrance seemed to pull me toward a large cast iron kettle filled to the brim with potatoes, onions, and bacon. I asked the attendant for a serving of whatever-that-is, and she genuinely seemed concerned that I was unfamiliar with german potato salad.
Never had I tasted potato salad that was so rich and tangy with a hint of sweetness Plus it was warm, not cold, like the potato salads I was used to.
Although I love making classic chilled potato salads through the spring and summer, the moment the kids are back in school I immediately switch over to this classic German Potato Salad Recipe loaded with crispy bacon, sweet onions, fresh parsley, and tons of tang!
In my German Potato Salad Recipe I like to use the multicolored new potatoes you find in 1-2 pound bags in the produce department. However, you can use any type of new potato you like.
To make this German Potato Salad Recipe start by boiling the potatoes until fork-tender. Then chop them into bite-size pieces.
Meanwhile, sizzle the bacon in a large saute pan or deep skillet. Pour off some of the bacon grease, and cook the onion with the bacon until soft and golden.
Can I Make Potato Salad In Advance
Potato salad is best eaten within 8 hours of making. It is best to make potato salad the day youre going to eat it. It tastes great if the flavors have some chance to meld together, but all potato salads can turn watery if they sit too long.
If you want to make it in advance be sure to use red-skinned potatoes like this recipe calls for. Starchy potatoes or white potatoes dont hold up as well.
Also you can toss the hot cooked potatoes in the vinaigrette mixture, but then let them cool before adding the sour cream/mayo mixture. This will prevent the potato salad from becoming oily.
TIP: Toss the hot potatoes in the vinegar/sugar/seasoning mixture. But wait to fold in the sour cream/mayo mixture until the potatoes have fully cooled.
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Picking The Best Potatoes
The number one concern when making potato salad is picking and cooking the potatoes. This is potato salad after all! Waxy potatoes are really the best choice here they hold their shape after cooking and have a soft, creamy texture. Red-skinned potatoes like Red Bliss are my stand-by for salads, but check out this list of 16 Kinds of Potatoes for some other ideas. For a slightly softer mashed texture in your salad, you can also try using any all-purpose potato these have a good balance of waxy and starchy characteristics.
Read more: How to Choose the Best Potatoes for Potato Salad
When it comes to cooking the potatoes, I take the traditional approach: chop them up and simmer them in water until tender. I usually leave the skins on when I make potato salad I like the spots of color they add to the dish, plus theyre thin enough that theyre usually quite tender. If youd prefer to peel your potatoes, its easiest to boil them whole, then peel them and cut them into chunks.
For step-by-step instructions on this step, see How To Boil Potatoes