This Classic Potato Salad only has a handful of ingredients but packs loads of flavor. The dressing recipe alone is worth saving. You will want it on everything. This potato salad recipe will become a hit for barbecue and picnic season!
If you are a potato salad fan, don’t miss our crowd pleasing Creamy Potato Salad Recipe and Chicken Potato Salad.
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Classic Potato Salad Recipe:
Hi, Julia of Vikalinka here, and today I am bringing you my classic potato salad recipe. This recipe has been in my family for generations. It’s versatile, delicious and beautiful to look at with just the right amount of dressing.
This potato salad is the most requested side dish for barbecues and potlucks.
What Ingredients are in Potato Salad?
As the name suggests, potato is the main ingredient but we also need a few more things to compliment the potatoes and make this salad exciting.
- potatoes
- hard boiled eggs
- green onions
- dill pickles
- fresh or frozen dill
- mayonnaise-based dressing
What Type of Potatoes are Best for Potato Salad?
Have you ever seen a potato salad that looks like a sad mush? That usually happens from using the wrong kind of potatoes. Ideal spuds for your salad will be of waxy variety that cook up creamy, yet firm. They tend to hold their shape and give pleasant texture to your salad. The potato varieties you are looking for are:
- Red Bliss
- New Potatoes
- Yukon Gold
- Fingerling
- Carola
Potatoes to Avoid in Potato Salad:
Idaho Russet. Save them for your mashed potatoes. They are too starchy for a salad but perfect for a creamy mash.
What Dressing is Best for Classic Potato Salad?
Usually a mayonnaise is used to dress a potato salad and while I continue with the tradition, I also add a dash of white wine vinegar, a bit of Dijon mustard and plenty of fresh black pepper.
Potatoes need a little bit of heat from the mustard and a touch of acidity of vinegar to bring them to life.
Tips for Making the Best Potato Salad
- Choose waxy potatoes and boil them unpeeled until tender but firm
- Cut all ingredients in equal dice to allow even flavor distribution
- Use plenty of fresh herbs like dill, parsley or chives for extra flavor and freshness
- Introduce contrasting flavors and textures. (eg. Crunchy dill pickles vs. creamy potatoes)
- Refrigerate the salad for at least one hour before serving for flavors to meld
- Salt your potato salad after adding the dressing to avoid over-salting
- Sprinkle the salad with a handful of fresh dill or microgreens before serving for visual appeal and more texture
Can I Make Potato Salad Ahead?
I prefer to cook potatoes and eggs the day before, then assemble the following day. Once the potato salad is fully assembled, it will keep in a fridge up to 24 hours without compromising the flavor.
More Picnic and BBQ Sides:
Enjoy these crowd pleasing BBQ side dishes. Do you have a favorite side dish you bring to barbecues? Let me know in comments!
- 15-Min Corn on the Cob – it doesn’t get any easier!
- Avocado Corn Salad – vibrant, fresh and so satisfying
- Greek Orzo Salad
- Coronation Chicken Salad
- Tuscan Panzanella Salad
- Egg Salad – with the best dressing
Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the potato salad dressing
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise, (full fat or low fat)
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp water, to loosen the dressing
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
For the potato salad
- 5 Yukon gold potatoes (medium), or other waxy potato like Red Bliss
- 5 eggs
- 4 dill pickles (not sweet), small
- 3-4 green onions, sliced
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp microgreens (such as cress, or more dill), optional garnish
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine 1/2 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp water and black pepper, whisk until combined and set aside.
- Cook unpeeled potatoes until tender but still firm, drain and air dry in single layer. Cook the eggs and cool until safe to touch. Then peel the potatoes and the eggs.
- Dice the potatoes, eggs and pickles in a uniform dice. In a large bowl combine the diced potatoes, eggs, dill pickles, sliced green onions and chopped dill. Add the salad dressing and combine everything with a flexible spatula taking care not to mash the ingredients. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
- Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of fresh dill and/or 1 Tbsp microgreens immediately before serving.
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Julia Frey
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
can you tell me why my potatoes are sometimes gummy? I peal, dice before i cook them
It could be because they were overcooked or it was not drained well. I would be mindful of the cooking time to achieve great results.
Super lekker !
I want to make this for a Fathers Day pot luck it looks great. I need to double the recipe and I am concerned about getting the potato quantity correct. A med potato is 5-10 ounces that is a big variation, so 50 ounces or 100 ounces and when it doubled even more challenging. Can you give the total weight of the 5 potatoes you used?
Hi Janine, I did not measure the potatoes that way precisely. If you take a look at the ingredients photo, you can see 1 potato is about the size of 2 large eggs. If you need a range, it would be about 1 1/2 to 2 lbs.
I made a double batch with 4 pounds of potatoes and it was really good. I like dill and the dill weed with dill pickles was perfect. I ended up adding a little extra mayonnaise but not much a tbsp or 2? Everyone at the potluck really liked it. Cooking the potatoes whole with the skin on was a great tip because they didn’t fall apart.
Love this recipe and I have tried many. I used 1 tbsp of dill pickle relish (didn’t have dill pickles) and only 1/8 tsp dill. Flavor was great. We liked this much better than the creamy version.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Lynn!
How much dill relish can you use in place of the dill pickles?
Hi Lynn, I have not used dill relish in this recipe to advise on quantity. I would add this to taste.
Looking forward to trying this. How many pounds of potatoes would you use?
Hi Rana, we used 5 medium-sized Yukon Gold potatoes for this recipe. A medium potato typically weighs between 5-10 ounces. I hope this helps.
My mom would add some pickle juice from the jar of dill pickles to her potato salad, which is the acidity you talk about. It was so delicious and I still make it this way.
Thanks for sharing that with us, we’ll try that next time too!
Hello,
This looks Amazing!
Just a question I have never boiled a whole potato with the skin on. How long are we looking at boiling time?
I think I might find it a bit hard to tell when I’m meant to stop boiling the potato. (Sounds silly but I had to ask Lol)
Thankyou for all your Wonderful Recipes!
Cathy x
Hi Cathy, just boil until you can easily pierce into the center with a butter knife or a fork. They should not be falling apart which is an indication that they potatoes are over-cooked.
i make this same potato salad except i use sweet relish instead of dill pickles
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Virgina! I hope you try our version soon!
I have made it this way for years except I slice the egg whites in and smash the yolks with a fork and add the mayo mustard dill salt and pepper and toss in with potatoes. One of my kids always had the yolks stacked on the side of his plate.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me, Joanne!
Why do I keep getting Julia Frey as the author of this recipe?
Hi Linda, Julia is the author of this recipe. We, at times, partner with other food bloggers to share their recipes favorite recipes!
I made this today and was undoubtedly outstanding. My husband said it was the best I’ve ever made. I gave you all the credit.
Credit goes to you too for doing a great job! Thanks for sharing that with us, Linda.
This is my kind of potato salad. No sweetness but creamy dill freshness. Love it!
Awesome! Thanks for your review, Denise.
I’ve tried many of your recipes and they are always amazing!!
You’re so nice! Thank you for that wonderful compliment, Alexa!
Your Potato Salad and the dressing are best ever!! Thank you for.
Thank you so much for your awesome feedback, Beth!
Love most of your recipes. I disagree with your comment about mustard and vinegar in potato salad. I like to substitute bacon ranch dressing for mayonnaise for a punch of flavour.