This traditional potato salad is as vintage as they come, and this recipe has all the classic components: soft but not mushy potato pieces, a creamy dressing with a kick and crunch from the celery and onion. It's easy to customize to your liking and will never disappoint.
Easy, old-fashioned and versatile
A great potato salad recipe is a must for a potluck, picnic, bbq and many other outdoor gatherings and celebrations. And this one delivers.
The key is cooking the potatoes so they're soft with a good bite but not mushy. I have a few great tips below to help you ensure this as much as possible.
The dressing is creamy and sharp from the addition of pickles and onion. They add character and make an otherwise bland mixture of ingredients pop and become amazing!
This is one of my favorites, but there are other more unique potato salads you can check out.
What potatoes are best for salad?
The best potatoes to use are waxy or all-purpose varieties. They hold their shape well when cooked and are less likely to turn mushy, which is important for maintaining the texture of the salad.
- New or baby potatoes: these are one of my favorites and are eaten with the skin on. They are young potatoes harvested before they reach maturity. They have thin skins and a firm and waxy texture.
- Yukon Gold potatoes: this variety has a creamy texture and a slightly buttery flavor.
- Red potatoes: they have a firm texture and a slightly sweet flavor. Plus, their red skin adds color to the salad. You can use them together with new or baby potatoes for contrast.
- Fingerling potatoes: they come in various colors and have a firm, waxy texture that holds up well in salads. Their unique flavor and longer shape can add interest to your dish.
- Russets: the most popular type, they're a good option. I like to cook them with their skin on and then peel them, as they hold their shape better in my experience.
Steps to make potato salad
Potatoes
A tip for baking potatoes that hold their shape is to add vinegar to the cooking salted water. I also like to use small or new potatoes as they're creamy and don't fall apart much.
Vintage Kitchen Tip
After draining the potatoes, transfer them to a shallow dish, drizzle with vinegar and oil and let them cool. Don't touch them until they're at room temperature. If you start mixing and handling them too much, they'll turn mushy. And if you add all the dressing while hot, the final result will not be good.
Dressing
All components are necessary to achieve a good balance between creamy, sharp, salty and crunchy. That said, you can substitute some of them and increase or decrease quantities depending on your taste.
Kitchen Notes
- Organization: read the recipe first and ensure you have ingredients at the correct temperature, utensils and equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier.
- Make ahead: this salad recipe benefits from being assembled and refrigerated a few hours before serving. This will meld the flavors and make it more flavorful.
- Serving potato salad: I like it somewhat cold or at room temperature. If it's too cold the flavors will not shine.
- Variations:
To make it spicier, add a dash of Tabasco sauce, chili pepper flakes, ground cayenne pepper or hot smoked paprika.
Gourmet-style, add chopped cucumbers, diced avocado or greens like arugula, spinach or kale.
As a main dish, add hard-boiled eggs, grilled steak or chicken pieces, or baked, smoked or cured salmon on top before serving it on a shallow platter.
Related recipes you might like:
If you made this recipe and loved it, you can comment below and leave a 5-star ⭐️ review. Also, if you had issues, let me know so we can troubleshoot together.
You can also subscribe to our FREE email series 'Baking the Best' and our regular newsletter. Or follow and save my recipes on Pinterest.
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Read my disclosure policy.
Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the potato salad:
- 2 pounds baby potatoes
- ½ cup chopped celery
- ⅓ cup chopped dill pickles or relish
- ¼ cup finely chopped onion, I use red for color, but yellow works just fine
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives or fresh parsley
- ⅓ teaspoon salt
- Black pepper, to taste
For the creamy dressing:
- 5 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons buttermilk, or natural yogurt
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon of pickle juice, optional
Instructions
For the potatoes:
- Boil potatoes in their skins in a large pot of salted water adding a splash of vinegar. This helps the potatoes to hold their shape better. Cook for 7-8 minutes when the water boils or until they are fork-tender (can easily be pierced with a knife or fork).
- Drain well. You can also run them under cold water for a few seconds to cut the cooking. If you want to peel them, do so as soon as you can and cut them in pieces. Or leave them with the skin on and into ½-1 inch pieces.
- Transfer the cooked potatoes to a shallow platter or dish, drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar and stir lightly. Leave them untouched until they're at room temperature.
For the potato salad dressing:
- Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- If making ahead keep it refrigerated in an airtight container or covered bowl.
To assemble:
- Place the cooled potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped red onion, celery, pickles or relish, half of the chives or parsley and some black pepper.
- Drizzle over some of the salad dressing, stir to mix, taste and adjust for salt or other ingredients.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for a few hours. Stir lightly again before serving, sprinkled with the rest of the chives or parsley.
- Refrigerate leftovers, covered.
Joules C says
Made this potato salad for a BBQ yesterday. Went down very well. Will use this recipe again.
Brenda sipher says
This is a great recipe. My only change was to snip a few pieces of dill weed from herb garden.
Mercy Cameron says
Made this and it has turned out so lovely.
It was an impromptu addition to our dinner and turned out I had all the ingredients.
Definitely be an addition to my summer meals .
Janice Salita says
Perfect much for steak
Judy says
This is the BEST potato salad I have ever tasted! I appreciate the detailed instructions on how to cook the potatoes correctly, as I am not a good cook (haha). This turned out so good, not mushy, and with the perfect tang. Thank you so much!!