Easy Potato Salad Recipe

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This easy potato salad recipe is light and flavorful. Potatoes, celery, onions and eggs are combined with a delicious homemade dressing infused with herbs and spices.

potato salad on a plate with a fork garnished with dill


This is not your average potato salad recipe. It is the best potato salad ever!

Red potatoes, celery, green onion and hard boiled eggs are combined with a flavorful and delicious homemade dressing.

Paprika and fresh dill add richness and depth to this recipe, making it tastier than any other potato salad I’ve ever tried.

Plus it’s so easy to make that it will become your go-to side dish to bring to BBQs and parties!

a spoon taking a scoop of Potato Salad

Potato Salad Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions

overhead photo of the ingredients in this Potato Salad Recipe
  • Red Potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are a good substitute.
  • Celery. I don’t recommend substitutions for the celery.
  • Green Onions. Choose your favorite variety – yellow, red, white, etc.
  • Mayonnaise. choose a mayo variety that fits your dietary needs.
  • Dijon mustard. any variety of mustard works well, just be sure to consider how the variety you use will change the flavor of the potato salad. (e.g. honey mustard will make it sweeter).
  • Paprika. smoked paprika adds a nice smokey flavor.
potato salad on a plate with a fork garnished with dill and green onions

How to Make Potato Salad

Let’s walk through this potato salad recipe step-by-step, and don’t forget to watch the video.

Prepare the Potatoes

Many people wonder how to long to boil potatoes for potato salad. Well, in this recipe, we quarter the potatoes (or halve if they are small red potatoes) to speed up the cooking process so it only takes about 15 minutes to cook them!

Begin by quartering the potatoes and putting them in a 5-quart saucepan. Then fill the pan with cold water until the potatoes are covered by 1”

boiling potatoes for potato salad

Bring water to a boil and boil until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork (but not falling apart).

boiling potatoes for potato salad

Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool until they are cool enough to touch. Mix/toss them every few minutes to help release heat from the bottom layer of potatoes.

draining boiled potatoes in a colander to make potato salad

Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.

peeling potatoes for potato salad

Then dice the potatoes into ½” pieces and transfer the potatoes to a large bowl.

diced potatoes in a large bowl to make potato salad

Make the Potato Salad Dressing

While the potatoes are boiling, make the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, mustard, honey, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, paprika and fresh dill in a small bowl until combined.

two photos showing how to make the dressing for this potato salad recipe

Assemble the Potato Salad

Once the potatoes are cooled and the dressing is made, it’s time to assemble the homemade potato salad!

Add the celery, green onions, and hard-boiled eggs to the diced potatoes in the large bowl and gently stir to combine.

two photos showing How to Make Potato Salad - combining the potatoes, eggs and vegetables

Once the ingredients are mixed together, add the dressing and stir until it is evenly distributed.

Then, chill the potato salad in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.

two photos showing How to Make Potato Salad - adding the dressing and stirring to combine

Serve

Sprinkle with additional fresh dill and serve cold with your favorite BBQ dishes! Here are some of our favorites:

a bowl of Potato Salad garnished with dill and green onions

Store

Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

a spoon taking a scoop of potato salad

Potato Salad Recipe FAQs

Can I double this recipe?

Yes, you can double this recipe.

Do you have to put eggs in potato salad?

You don’t have to put eggs in potato salad. However I feel like they are kind of the “essence” of potato salad. And while the recipe tastes great without them, I highly recommend keeping them in the recipe.

How long does potato salad last in the fridge?

It lasts stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.

What makes potato salad watery?

If you do not allow the potatoes time to cool completely after boiling, the water will not evaporate off and it will make the potato salad watery. Also, if you wash the celery or onion before putting it in the salad be sure it is completely dry.

up close photo of potato salad on a plate with a fork

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Easy Potato Salad Recipe

Laura
This easy potato salad recipe is light and flavorful. Potatoes, celery, onions and eggs are combined with a delicious homemade dressing infused with herbs and spices.
5 from 5 votes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 16 Servings
Calories 168
Prep Time6 hours 20 minutes
Cook Time20 minutes
Chilling6 hours
Total Time6 hours 40 minutes

Ingredients 
 

  • 2 pounds red potatoes
  • 4 ribs celery (1 cup, finely diced)
  • 6 green onions (½ cup, sliced thin)
  • 6 hard boiled eggs (peeled and diced)

Dressing

Instructions 

Prepare the Potatoes

  • Quarter potatoes (or halve if they are small red potatoes) and place them in a 5-quart saucepan. Fill the pan with cold water until the potatoes are covered by 1”
  • Bring water to a boil and boil until the potatoes are soft and easily pierced with a fork (but not falling apart).
  • Drain the potatoes in a colander and let them cool until they are cool enough to touch. Mix/toss them every few minutes to help release heat from the bottom layer of potatoes.
  • Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins off of them, then dice them into ½” pieces.
  • Transfer the diced potatoes to a large bowl (preferably one with a lid because you will be chilling the salad).

Make the Dressing

  • While the potatoes are boiling, make the dressing.
  • Whisk together mayonnaise, mustard, honey, lemon juice, sea salt, pepper, paprika and fresh dill in a small bowl until combined.

Assemble

  • Add the celery, green onions, and hard-boiled eggs to the diced potatoes in the large bowl. Stir to combine.
  • Add the dressing and mix until evenly distributed.

Chill & Serve

  • Cover the potato salad and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
  • Sprinkle with additional fresh dill and serve cold.

Video

Notes

Ingredient Substitutions
  • Red Potatoes. Yukon gold potatoes are a good substitute.
  • Celery. I don’t recommend substitutions for the celery.
  • Green Onions. Choose your favorite variety – yellow, red, white, etc.
  • Mayonnaise. choose a mayo variety that fits your dietary needs.
  • Dijon mustard. any variety of mustard works well, just be sure to consider how the variety you use will change the flavor of the potato salad. (e.g. honey mustard will make it sweeter).
  • Paprika. smoked paprika adds a nice smokey flavor.
Store
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 0.5cup | Calories: 168kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 280mg | Potassium: 304mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 193IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Recipe Rating




5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is close to what I make. I use a lot of hard boiled eggs and six is common. I also use drained pimentos. Depending upon the size of the salad I may use a large jar and a small jar. I also use sweet pickle relish but ultimately I can and have you deal relish both work well. Some people put in crumbled up bacon but I don’t. Nor do I use celery and especially not onion with people having allergies to it. I put hard-boiled eggs sliced on top for a decoration and sprinkle it with paprika.

  2. 5 stars
    I just made the chocolate chip cookies. Easy recipe ….Due to health issues I cut sugar to 3/4 on white and brown; and used salted butter and omitted the salt. They were sweet enough and did not notice the difference w/o salt because we are salt free people.. Thanks for recipe

    1. I’m glad you love the chocolate chip cookies! You might want to leave this review on that page to help others making that recipe! 🙂

  3. When I make my salad I like the potatoe taste so I steam my russets . Peel cooked potatoes, dice med. size so not too small and get mushy when adding eggs ect.Then I take a little dill pickle use and lightly toss through diced potatoes. it helps to keep potatoes from absorbing all the mayo ect. Thanks for the recipes!..