I’ve never used a recipe when making potato salad. It’s one of those things that I just know how to make. I make it similarly to the way my mom makes it, and she makes it the way her mom used to make it. When they taught me, their recommendation was to add certain ingredients “until it feels right.”
I’ve had a couple of readers request that I share a potato salad recipe. I was able to describe to them how I made potato salad, but I couldn’t provide specific measurements. Last time I made it I took the time to measure each ingredient as I added it. Now I can finally share the recipe!
Ingredients
- 5 medium to large potatoes
- 3 eggs, hardboiled and chopped
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery (optional)
- 1/4 cup minced red or yellow onion (optional)
- 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
- ½-¾ cup sweet pickle relish
- ½ tablespoon prepared mustard
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon white vinegar
- A dash of garlic powder
- A dash of celery seed
- Several dashes of salt and pepper
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Peel the potatoes and cook them in the boiling water until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool, and chop.
While the potatoes are cooling, make the dressing. In a medium bowl, mix together the mayo, relish, mustard, sugar, vinegar, garlic powder, celery seed, salt, and pepper. Add in the eggs, celery, and onion.
Pour the dressing over the cooled potatoes and gently mix together until the potatoes are coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Yield: 8 servings.
Notes
I love the flavor of this potato salad! Its rich, slightly tart flavor goes well with BBQ, sandwiches, fried chicken, or hamburgers. I think it tastes better after it has sat for a while and the flavors have melded, so I try to prepare it the night before I need it.
If you aren’t a fan of sweet pickle relish, then you can use chopped dill pickles or just reduce the amount of relish you use. I like the crunch provided by the celery and onion. However, if I’m in a hurry, I omit these. My mom never uses these in hers and it is just fine!
In my experience, everyone who likes potato salad has preferences regarding how it is prepared. What are yours? How do you like your potato salad?
Shared at the following:
Encouraging Hearts and Home, Weekend Potluck, Busy Monday, Farm Fresh Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, Over the Moon, and Creative Inspirations.
Yum! I love a good potato salad. I usually add extra hard boiled eggs, but I would love a helping of yours!
My kids would love the addition of more hard boiled eggs. They love these!
It says add in the eggs???
I believe she’s referring to additional eggs. Perhaps 4 or 5 instead of the 3 I use. Thankfully, it tastes good with a few eggs or many eggs!
The last time I made potato salad it was similar to this recipe (I left out the pickles) but I added some sour creme and some ranch dressing for a little different spin on flavor.
That sounds delicious, Susan. I love sour cream, so I think this would be great!
Would be real nice if there is a Print option
Thanks for the feedback, Larry. I’m not as savvy with website technology as I’d like to be, so I don’t have as many nice features in place as many bloggers do. I continue to learn and make improvements to my website, though, so I will keep your feedback in mind as I make these changes!
If you’d like, I will send you a printable copy via email.
This is the same way my Mama and grandmother made potato salad. I tweaked it a bit by using unpeeled red potatoes. I cook them the day before, being careful not to over cook, and put them in the fridge overnight. This makes a great chunky salad.
I like the idea of unpeeled red potatoes, Sandra! This would save a little time. Thanks for the tip about refrigerating them overnight. This would help make sure the potatoes don’t get mashed up when stirring in the dressing.
I added parsley, chives, and bacon.
I remember my mother not only adding bacon but also the drippings. She even saved bacon drippings to add to things like green bean casseroles.
I wouldn’t be surprised if my grandmother kept bacon drippings for use in things like casseroles.
I think I would like the parsley and chives, Chris. I don’t think I would like the bacon, but I know a lot of people (including my husband) who would! Thanks for the ideas!
Almost exactly like I make mine (I never measure, either). I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes for Potato Salad. Mustard should be an optional ingredient, since there REALLY ARE people out there (myself included) who dislike the addition of mustard into salads. I like mustard, but not in salads. This Potato Salad was a winner at every event I’ve ever brought it to. I learned the recipe from my mom.
It sounds like many of us learned how to make potato salad from our moms!
I have actually made this potato salad many times without the mustard. I don’t like mustard, so sometimes I don’t have any in the house. I only use it in this and in two other recipes. So, I agree, Angelina, the mustard is definitely optional.
I do know some folks that like a lot more mustard in their potato salad, though, so they might consider it to be essential.