This is my go-to recipe for Creamy Potato Salad. A creamy dressing blended together with fresh ingredients is sure to become a favourite for your next picnic or backyard bbq.
This potato salad is a great side dish to any bbq or summer dinner. This is our family's favourite salad and it's up there with Mediterranean Pasta Salad which is a close second.
While you're making this salad, I would recommend adding extra eggs to the pot and make these Best Devilled Eggs Recipe. They're the perfect accompaniment!
Why you'll love this recipe
- No fancy equipment is required. Simply a pot for boiling your potatoes and the stovetop. (you could even do the potatoes on the bbq and skip the stovetop altogether)!
- This is an easy recipe, tested many times using basic ingredients
- This recipe lends itself to many variations to suit your taste by adding new flavours and additions. (like bacon)!!
How to make Creamy Potato Salad
Potatoes - Skins or No Skins?
For this recipe, I recommend using red potatoes because red potatoes will cook up with a nice texture for your salad. If you would prefer to not have the skin in the salad, leave it on while they're cooking and then peel them after they're cooked. This will ensure that the nutrients stay in the potatoes and they will not lose their shape and get mushy.
Alternatively, you can use Yukon Gold potatoes or Russet potatoes. Leftover baked potatoes are also a great way to make potato salad.
If it's a hot summer day and you don't want to heat up your kitchen, bake the potatoes on the bbq.
How to cut and cook the potatoes
Cut the potatoes in half (not small chunks!) and bring them to a boil slowly. Simmer the potatoes gently, just until tender when tested with a sharp knife - about 15 minutes.
Overcooked potatoes will result in mushy, watery potato salad. 🙁
Once the potatoes are cooked, reserve 3 tbsp. of the cooking water. Drain potatoes. Mix potato water with 2 tbsp. of red wine vinegar then pour over potatoes along with ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper. This will stop the potatoes from becoming discoloured.
The eggs
I get farm-fresh eggs from Sue's Chicken Coop (my sister!) and they can be notoriously hard to peel. Is there anything more frustrating than having an eggshell come off in 750 pieces?? They are the best eggs I've EVER had but so fresh that peeling takes forever. Then, I remembered something that I had read years ago about hard-to-peel eggs.
Here's The Trick to Easy-to-Peel Hard Boiled Eggs
In a heavy saucepan, bring water to a boil without the eggs in the water - that's it!! Easy peasy right? Once the water comes to a full boil, gently slip in the eggs one at a time. It's not time to be a cowboy - go easy on those eggs. They will not crack if you're gentle 🙂
Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Turn off heat. Let them sit in the water another 2 minutes then drain. Run under cold water and set aside.
Chop the veggies
Celery, red onion, red bell pepper, diced dill or bread and butter pickles, pickle juice - these are the basics but you could add or substitute. Shredded carrot, sweet onion for the red onion, heck even sweet peas!
Chop the cooled potatoes
Cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
The Dressing
In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, lemon zest, sour cream, powdered mustard, celery seed & brown sugar. Stir well to combine.
Peel and chop the eggs
Chop the eggs about ¼" in size.
Putting it all together
Take 2 cups of the chopped potatoes out and mash them with a fork, then toss them back into the potatoes. This acts as a good binder for the salad holding things together along with the creamy dressing.
To the potatoes, add the vegetable mixture, chopped eggs, and dressing. Fold in gently.
Cover and chill for one hour before serving.
Looking for other great salad recipes? I think you'll love these!
Quinoa Spinach Salad with Avocado
Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Honey Mustard Chicken
The Salad - My Personal All-time Favourite
PrintCreamy Potato Salad Recipe
Red potatoes, crunchy celery, onions and pickles in a creamy dressing blend together beautifully for this classic creamy potato salad recipe. It is sure to become a favourite for your next picnic or backyard bbq.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 cups
- Category: Salads
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
2 lbs. red potatoes
1 tbsp. salt (for cooking potatoes)
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp. sour cream
¾ tsp. dry mustard
¼ tsp. celery seed
¼ tsp. dried thyme
½ tsp. brown sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon zest
½ cup chopped celery
4 tbsp. chopped red onion
One half of a red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup chopped dill or bread and butter pickles
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
⅛ tsp, paprika for garnish
¼ cup chopped green onion or chives for garnish
Instructions
1. Cut potatoes in half and in a large pot of boiling water, bring slowly to a boil. Simmer potatoes gently, just until tender when tested with a sharp knife - about 15 minutes.
2. Reserve 3 tbsp. of the potato water and then drain potatoes.
3. Mix potato water with 2 tbsp. of red wine vinegar then pour over potatoes along with ½ tsp. salt and ½ tsp. freshly ground pepper. (This will stop the potatoes from becoming discoloured). Set potatoes aside to cool.
4. In a heavy saucepan, bring water to a full boil, then gently slip in the eggs one at a time. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes. Turn off heat. Let the eggs sit in the water for another two minutes, then drain. Run under cold water and set aside to cool.
5. Chop celery, red onion, red bell pepper, diced dill (or bread and butter) pickles. Add in pickle juice.
6. Cut the cooled potatoes into bite-sized pieces and place in a large mixing bowl.
7. In a separate bowl, mix the mayonnaise, lemon zest, sour cream, powdered mustard, celery seed, dried thyme & brown sugar. Stir well to combine.
8. Peel the eggs and dice.
9. Take 2 cups of the chopped potatoes and mash them with a fork, then toss the back into the potatoes. This acts as a good binder for the salad.
10. Add the vegetable mixtures, chopped eggs and dressing to the potatoes. Fold in gently until well mixed. (you can use your hands at this point to be more gentle. Effective, but a little messy)
11. Cover and chill one hour before serving.
Store in refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Garnish with sprinkled paprika and chopped green onions or chopped chives.
Notes
Potato skins - if you prefer your potato salad with skins, leave them on during cooking and peel them after they are cooked. This ensure that you receive the full nutrients from the potato and stops the from crumbling as they cook.
Vegetables can easily be substituted however onions, whether red, sweet or yellow do add a lot of flavour to the salad. Shredded or chopped carrots are a great addition.
Bacon - add in ½ cup of cooked, chopped bacon for additional flavour.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 325
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 1115 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 4.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 21.7 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 6.5 g
- Cholesterol: 106.1 mg
Keywords: Creamy Potato Salad