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This is the BEST Potato Salad recipe EVER. It comes straight from Mom’s recipe box. Tender chunks of potatoes and hard boiled eggs covered in creamy dressing is tried and true and a hit at any gathering!
Featured with this recipe
- Ingredients in this Creamy Potato Salad Recipe
- Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
- Which Potatoes Are Best for Potato Salad?
- The Best Mayo
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- How to chop fresh dill weed for Potato Salad
- Reviews and Tips From Our Readers
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More BBQ Side Dishes
- How to Make the Best Potato Salad Recipe
- Mom’s Best Potato Salad Recipe Recipe
In our family, we can’t imagine a family barbecue, picnic, or game day buffet without this rich and creamy homemade potato salad as a side dish. Now, I know that everyone says their mom makes the best potato salad, but in this case it’s totally true! From tender cooked potatoes, to the tangy sweetness of a special potato salad dressing, to the crunch of sweet pickles, you’ll love this easy potato salad recipe. Once you try it, you’ll never go back to that store-bought stuff again.
Ingredients in this Creamy Potato Salad Recipe
There are lots of little ingredients in this potato salad, but trust me, each one makes it better and better! Don’t like one of the ingredients? Leave it out! Here’s what we use:
- Potatoes – You can use any potatoes you like! White potatoes, Yukon gold or red, russet potatoes, etc. Anything goes! We use 5 medium sized potatoes. Personally Yukon Gold Potatoes are my favorite.
- Hard boiled eggs – you’ll need eight total. Save two eggs to use for garnish on the salad.
- Kosher salt – to taste. If you don’t have kosher or sea salt, regular table salt will work as well.
- Black pepper – to taste
- Mayonnaise – some people like the tang of Miracle Whip instead, and if that’s what you like, go ahead and use it instead of mayo.
- Sour cream – half a cup or so
- Sugar– a couple of tablespoons add a delicious sweetness.
- Yellow mustard -feel free to substitute Dijon mustard if you like that better.
- Sweet pickle relish – or diced sweet pickles. OR use 5 to 6 diced baby dill pickles, depending on your pickle preference.
- Dill weed – finely chopped. You can find it with the fresh herbs in your grocery store or use dried dill if you have that on hand.
- Paprika – optional but adds a beautiful color and flavor to the salad
- Celery -also optional but adds a delicious crunch to each bite.
- Green onion or red onion – chopped
- You can also add fresh parsley, celery seeds or other herbs to the dish for color and extra flavor.
Ingredient Additions and Substitutions
The beauty of this classic potato salad recipe is you can add any ingredients you like to create your own homemade potato salad. Here are some ideas for some additional add-ins:
- celery
- onion
- sliced tomato
- cucumbers
- radishes
- chives
- pimentos
- dill or sweet relish
- pickle juice
- apple cider vinegar
- Italian dressing mix
- bacon
- green peas
- olives
- garlic powder
Which Potatoes Are Best for Potato Salad?
The very best potato salad recipe begins and ends with what type of potatoes you use. We love waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold potatoes or red potatoes, because they hold their shape as they cook and keep their firm texture in the salad while chopping and tossing with the dressing.
However, if you don’t have any of those kinds on hand, you can use Russets. We’ve used them in this recipe many times and they work fine. They’re just a bit softer and flakier than red potatoes or Yukon Gold, but taste just as delicious.
If you love potatoes as much as we do, be sure to check out our other Potato Recipes!
The Best Mayo
For this recipe Best Food’s/Hellmann’s mayonnaise is the absolute best for the sauce. It has the perfect creamy, tangy flavor that blends deliciously with the potatoes, eggs and spices. Try it and see for yourself!
Instant Pot Potato Salad
Make things even easier on yourself and prepare your potatoes and eggs in the Instant Pot at the SAME TIME! It’s a huge time-saver and you dirty less dishes.
- Simply put the potatoes (whole) in the Instant Pot and add the eggs. Just make sure the eggs don’t touch the sides.
- Add a cup of water and then cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, slow-release for 5 minutes, then quick release.
- The egg yolks are perfectly cooked every time. No green ring around the egg yolk, which makes the extra slices nice for garnishing the top.
- Immediately put the eggs in an ice water bath for 5 minutes and allow the potatoes to cool to room temperature. Peel the skin off the potatoes (optional) and dice to use in the recipe.
We have a few picky eaters in the family (who will remain nameless) who don’t care for anything “crunchy” in their potato salad. Personally, I love adding celery and green onion for extra texture and flavor.
There’s also some debate in the family over pickles vs. dill weed. Again, the crunchy factor comes into play. However, dill weed adds such a delightful dimension to the potato salad flavor. I like to have both, but make it to your own personal preference.
How to chop fresh dill weed for Potato Salad
- First, remove the fern-like leaves and stems from the thick center stem.
- Then, use a large sharp knife to mince the dill leaves to the desired consistency.
- If you don’t have fresh dill, you can use dried, but it’s always best to use dried seasonings within six months of purchase.
- To get the best flavor from the dried dill, crush it between your hands before adding it to the salad.
Reviews and Tips From Our Readers
“This is very similar to my potato salad recipe also! I love all your recipes and the fact that y’all are home cooks that like to cook simple straightforward recipes that don’t require fussy ingredients! Thanks and I look forward to all you post!” – Lynn
“I always a little celery seed gives the celery taste without the crunch.” – Jan
“Just for something different, I tried this recipe, mostly because of the sour cream. My husband and I loved it! So nice to find a good recipe with lots of flavors, not bland at all. The recipe I have used all my life is made with bacon and it is good but this one is going in my cookbook for a nice change from the same old one.
Thanks!” – Kelli
Frequently Asked Questions
Cook the potatoes whole, either simmering on the stove or in the microwave. Then chop them into bite-size pieces.
A good rule of thumb is one teaspoon of seasoning for one cup of fresh veggies. So start with one teaspoon, taste it, and then add more as needed.
Add a little more mayo or sour cream (a little at a time) until you reach your desired consistency.
The mayonnaise. Any generic mayo will not taste as good. Best Foods (or Hellmann’s) is the only way to go!
Store any leftovers in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Yes! This recipe does not contain gluten.
READ NEXT: 50+ Picnic Food Ideas
More BBQ Side Dishes
Looking for more sides to round out your next picnic or party buffet? In our opinion, the more sides the better. So try a few of our favorite recipes:
How to Make the Best Potato Salad Recipe
Mom’s Best Potato Salad Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 5 medium potatoes Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes
- 8 eggs hard boiled (save 2 eggs to use for garnish on salad)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup sweet pickle relish or 5 to 6 diced baby dill pickles, if you don’t like it sweet
- 1 teaspoon dill weed finely chopped
- paprika optional
- celery chopped (optional)
- green onion or red onion, chopped (optional)
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large pot, boil potatoes with peel on for about 25-30 minutes until potatoes are fork tender, but still firm. After potatoes are cooked, drain the water and allow to cool until cool enough to handle. Peel and dice into small cubes and place in a large bowl.
- Peel and dice 6 of the eggs (save 2 eggs for garnish) and place in the bowl with the potatoes. Add salt and pepper and lightly toss.
- In a small bowl, stir mayonnaise, sour cream, sugar, mustard, relish, dill and any other mix-ins together. Fold mixture into the eggs and potatoes until well combined.
- Slice remaining 2 eggs and layer on top of salad. Garnish with dill weed or paprika. Refrigerate overnight (or at least 6-8 hours).
Notes
- To get the best flavor from the dried dill, crush it between your hands before adding it to the salad.
- Make things even easier on yourself and prepare your potatoes and eggs in the Instant Pot at the SAME TIME! It’s a huge time-saver and you dirty less dishes.
- For this recipe Best Food’s/Hellmann’s mayonnaise is the absolute best for the sauce. It has the perfect creamy, tangy flavor that blends deliciously with the potatoes, eggs and spices. Try it and see for yourself!
I’m always curious to see how others make their potato salad, and I like that yours is very much like mine! I’ve been making potato salad for 40 plus years and always get compliments so must be doing something right. I was told to use 1 egg for every 2 potatoes and then 2 extra to slice for the top as a decoration. I use Best Foods only, there is a difference in the taste of mayos, but do add a Tablespoon of Miracle Whip for flavor, and 1 heaping teaspoon each of Dill and Sweet Pickle relish. Also a genorous squirt of plain old yellow mustard. I then finely grate about 1 Tablespoon or a little more of sweet yellow onion into the salad and stir well. I find that grating the onion gives you a wonderful taste without being way too oniony and harsh. Just has to be the sweet yellow, like a Vidalia or Georgia Gold. 🙂
Thanks so much for the comment and tips! We ONLY use Best Foods as well. They definitely do it right 😉 I like the idea of grating the onion. I am definitely not a fan of big onion chunks in my potato salad 😀
Sounds great, but we like just a little finely chopped celery, carrot, onion and some frozen green peas for good measure.
Can I use dill pickle relish(we don’t like sweet) or just cut up a few regular pickles? I think the baby pickles taste different. Thanks!
Absolutely! I use dill relish all the time
Jamie I copied this many years ago when you had your show. My family just loves the Potato Salad. Thank You so very much
no onions, no mustard, no celery, no green pepper?? ;o( we like a lot more in ours
I agree ,up North we added radrishes (before they became hot) also a little sweet red peppers if I had them. we liked ours crunchy.my mustard was spicy. the rest was the same.
Here’s one I didn’t see in the comments –
I bake my potatoes. No stirring.
I make mine similar to yours, though, in every other way.
Additional message. NO MUSTARD !!
Try your recipe like it is but add Beau Monde seasoning. And use Dukes mayonnaise. Use Dukes and you will never go back.
I have never put eggs in potato salad. Is this something new?
I don’t think I have ever had potato salad WITHOUT them lol.. maybe it is just our family?
also never heard of potato salad without eggs…
sounds odd
Chez nous aussi y a toujours eu des Å“ufs dans la salade de pommes de terre
I use a little chopped celery, a little onion and about 1/2 lb of bacon in mine but everything else is the same … yummmm ^_^
That’s GREEN onion .. oops !
Our family also prefers a plain, non crunchy salad. I make a homemade mayonnaise though instead of the regular mayo etc.
Anxious to try this! What type of mustard do you use (just plain yellow?)
Yes, we use yellow mustard. Thanks for asking!
My family recipe (from PA) uses powdered onion and celery, my moms preference, no sour cream but vinegar. Miracle whip, vinegar and sugar are mixed together to get the flavor wanted, then added to the rest of the salad.
There are so many unique ways to make potato salad and tweak the ingredients and flavors to our preferences, and what the kids will eat, right? Thank you for sharing your family recipe!
I love potato salad with egg, but the sour cream makes it sound even more delicious, thank you for sharing…
The sour cream makes the dressing more creamy. It’s not for everyone, but I love it!
This is wonderful. You can also use canned potatoes as well and it is less work to cook and peel.
I’ve never used canned potatoes before. Thanks for the tip!
sound really nice I’m going to try are are quantitys American.thanx
Yes, the quantities are American. I’ve never had cream of garlic soup. I’ll see what I can do! Thank you for visiting our site!
Similar to my grandmother’s recipe. I don’t put pickles in, just eggs, potatoes, mayo, spices and a small onion, shredded. Shredding the onion prevents the crunch which I also dislike in potato salad but give a good flavor.
Ooh I like the idea of shredding the onion! Thanks for sharing!
Sounds a lot like mine. 5# potatoes boiled with skins on.. 18 eggs, a little chopped onions. I chop the egg white and partly mash most of the yellows with a fork. Wisk the Hellmans, mashed egg yellow and small squirt of spicy brown mustard together for the dressing.
being from VA, home of Dukes Mayonnaise, this is the unique flavor that my family likes in most everything that calls for mayonnaise. – especially on fresh tomato sandwiches. YUM also, all of the salads that are so popular in summer time. Try it, you might just like it.
Could you tell me approximately how many pounds of potatoes you use? I know you say medium, but I’m worried I’m going to get the wrong amount of potatoes.
5 medium potatoes is approximately 1 1/2 pounds of potatoes. If you are worried about getting too many potatoes, don’t mix all of them in at once. Hold out some and then add more to your desired taste. If you feel like the salad is too dry, you can also add more dressing. Thank you for asking!
Your potatoe salad is similar to mine. I have to use Best Foods or Hellmans Mayonaise. These are the same it just depends on which side of the Mississippi River you live. I use less sour cream but I do use green onions chopped very fine using part of the green. I may or may not use celery but always celery salt. Sometimes I add Italian dressing mix. Just the dry package, no oil and I use a little of the pickle juice. My husband hates mustard so I only use to color not taste. For every 5 lbs of boiled red potatoes, i use 12 boiled eggs saving 2 to decorate the top. I mix the seasonings and wet items together then add to the chpped potatoes, eggs, onion and pickles. I have used baby dills but like kosher dills better.
Thank you for sharing your recipe! It’s always interesting to learn how different families have their special ingredients. You’ve given some great tips! I’ll try them out next time I make this salad.