Our favorite Potato Salad Recipe with Yukon gold potatoes, celery, pickles, hard-boiled eggs, sweet onion, and the best creamy dressing with fresh chives.
Pair this salad with other potluck favorites like this Macaroni Coleslaw Salad, creamy Grape salad, or our favorite Tuna Macaroni Salad.
Our Favorite Potato Salad Recipe
Potato Salad has always been my dad’s absolute favorite at potlucks, cookouts, or regular summer dinners. He instilled a love for this salad in all of his children, and we’re obsessed with it!
The perfect potato salad recipe for us features tender chunks of potatoes, plenty of sweet pickle relish, lots of hard-boiled eggs, and an ultra-creamy mayo-based dressing. This is unquestionably our favorite Potato Salad ever!
Identifying the “best” potato salad recipe can be a highly personal experience, depending on what you’re accustomed to and your preferences. That said, one of the best aspects of crafting this salad from scratch is the ability to customize the ingredients and add precisely what you desire to create the perfect potato salad.
Ingredients In This Potato Salad Recipe
- Baby Yukon Gold Potatoes: The main ingredient, boiled until tender and chopped into bite-sized pieces.
- Apple Cider Vinegar: Used in both potato boiling and dressing to balance the richness of the creamy components.
- Mayo and Sour Cream: Combined to create a rich and smooth dressing base.
- Sweet Pickle Relish and Yellow Mustard: Mixed to add sweetness and mild mustard flavor.
- Celery Seed and Paprika: Combined to provide a unique flavor and color to the dressing.
- Celery: Finely diced celery adds a fresh and slightly peppery crunch.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: Coarsely chopped for a rich, creamy texture and protein.
- Bread and Butter Pickles: Finely diced pickles contribute sweetness and a delightful crunch.
- Sweet Onion: Finely diced sweet onion enhances taste and texture.
Quick Tip
Ensure that you thoroughly drain the potatoes. Drain them after simmering and again after they have sat in the ice bath. I highly recommend allowing them sufficient time to drain and dry before using them in this potato salad recipe; otherwise, you might end up with a watery and less flavorful potato salad.
How To Make Potato Salad
- Boil and Prep Potatoes: Begin by boiling baby Yukon Gold potatoes until they are fork-tender. Once they have cooked, allow them to cool, and then chop them into bite-sized pieces.
- Make Dressing: Mix mayonnaise with sour cream in one bowl. In another bowl, combine sweet pickle relish with yellow mustard, and in a separate bowl, blend celery seed with paprika.
- Assemble Salad: Coarsely chop hard-boiled eggs and finely dice celery, bread and butter pickles, and sweet onion. Add all of these ingredients to the potatoes. Drizzle the mixture with apple cider vinegar, sprinkle some salt, and toss it all together.
- Combine and Chill: Pour the creamy dressing over the salad, and add the sweet relish-mustard mixture along with the spice blend. Gently stir everything to coat evenly. Refrigerate this potato salad recipe before serving.
FAQs
How Far In Advance Can You Make This Potato Salad Recipe?
You can make this potato salad in advance and chill it for at least an hour. It’s good to go up to 4 hours ahead, stored in an airtight container. Leftovers can be kept fresh for 5-7 days when stored properly.
Should I Cut Potatoes Before Boiling For Potato Salad?
For the best potato salad, cook the potatoes whole instead of chopping them first. Whole potatoes retain their natural sweetness and better texture, preventing waterlogging. If using large potatoes, quarter them to speed up boiling, then cut into bite-sized pieces.
How Long Should I Boil Potatoes?
Boil potatoes by covering them with cold water, bringing it to a boil, and then reducing the heat to a rolling simmer. Baby potatoes take 12-17 minutes, while larger quarters take 20-25 minutes to become tender. Check with a fork; they’re done when it easily pierces a potato.
Storage
Store this potato salad recipe in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It can be kept fresh for 5-7 days when properly stored.
I don’t recommend freezing this potato salad as it can result in changes in texture and quality upon thawing.
More Summer Salad Recipes
- Creamy Corn Salad
- Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
- Panzanella Salad
- Strawberry Poppyseed Salad
- Broccoli Grape Pasta Salad
Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
- Large pot
Ingredients
- 3 pounds baby Yukon gold potatoes see note 1
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar divided
- 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons mayo
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard not Dijon
- 1-1/2 teaspoons celery seed
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika plus more if desired
- 2 stalks celery finely diced, 1 cup
- 4 hard-boiled eggs coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup bread and butter pickles finely diced
- 1/4 cup sweet onion finely diced
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh chives or freshly chopped parsley, optional
Instructions
- Wash whole potatoes and place in a large pot. Cover with 1.5 inches of cold water and bring to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt per 4 cups of water. Reduce heat and simmer for 12–17 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork.
- Fill a large bowl with ice and cold water. Drain cooked potatoes and add to ice bath. Once cooled, drain and chop into 1-inch chunks. Place in a bowl, drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, add a pinch of salt, toss, and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine remaining 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, mayo, sour cream, pickle relish, mustard, celery seed, paprika, plus salt and pepper to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper). Whisk until smooth.
- Coarsely chop hard-boiled eggs (see note 2), and finely chop celery, pickles, and onion. Add in a large bowl with potatoes. Pour dressing over dish and gently stir. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour up to 8 hours. Garnish with chives or parsley if desired.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Great recipe. I adjusted a few things a little, added a 2 tsp of sugar, was out of celery so I added more celery seed and used just sweet salad cubes instead of relish but it is a great recipe. We loved it.
Yay! So thrilled to hear this was a hit! Thanks Beth! 🙂
I loved the detailed instructions in this recipe.
I am always looking to improve my recipes. I will adjust the ingredients to our tastes and am looking forward to an improved potato salad.
I am so happy this was helpful! Thank you! 🙂
Not a fan of pickles can I just omit them?
Sure
I learned something new today. Always used to cube my potatoes before cooking, This time boiled them whole. What a difference it made, they came out so sweet naturally!!!
Thanks for trying and commenting on so many of my recipes Elliott! 🙂
I really liked this recipe. I wanted a change from my great grandma’s recipe, which is yummy, but pretty sweet. This is tangy and creamy but not too sweet. Only changes that I made were that I used red potatoes, which I had on hand, and half the amount of salt in the dressing. It’s just what I was looking for. Thanks Chelsea.