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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
Potato salad is the ultimate “get together” dish. It’s classic, comforting, and feeds a crowd! This recipe is better than anything store-bought and always has people asking for the recipe! It’s a family “secret”, after all.
Learn How To Make Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs to use in your salad, or you could try Air Fryer Hard Boiled Eggs if the traditional method never seems to quite work out! Beef Kabobs pair well with this recipe too, making this salad perfect for barbecue parties!
Reader Review
This is the potato salad of my childhood. My Mom and Grandma added green peas.
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: This potato salad is so easy to make, you’ll never want to go back to store-bought!
- Total Time: Get your potato salad prepped and in the fridge in under an hour!
- Storage: You will want to let the finished salad sit for several hours to allow the flavors to meld together. Keep refrigerated and use up within 3 days.
- Variations: Try adding sweetcorn kernels, diced pickles, or shredded carrots to put your own spin on this recipe!
- Tools For This Recipe: To make Mom’s Potato Salad, you’ll need the same tools as Mom’s kitchen, like a stockpot and colander.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Potatoes: The type of potato you choose matters! Yukon Gold potatoes have a creamy texture and a balanced moisture content. Russets are low moisture and much more starchy! Experiment with other types of potatoes and let us know how it went in the comments below!
Mayonnaise: Everyone has their favorite mayonnaise brand! Use your preferred mayo in this recipe. Karlynn’s tip: This recipe tastes great, but it tastes even better if you make your mayonnaise from scratch! Making it yourself involves raw eggs, but you can get cartons of pasteurized eggs from the grocery store to make it safer for everyone.
Mustard: Will you go for the all-American yellow mustard, or something with more je ne sais quoi like Dijon mustard? There are so many types of mustard to choose from!
How To Make Mom’s Potato Salad
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Boil the potatoes until they’re fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and cool them until you can handle them easily.
- Cut the potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Add the other base salad ingredients and set the bowl aside.
- Mix the dressing ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Add the dressing to the salad and stir it gently until everything is evenly coated.
- Sprinkle the salad with the granishes.
- Cover the salad and refrigerate it for at least 3-4 hours.
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Mom’s Potato Salad
- Overcooked Potatoes: This happens to the best of us when we turn away from the stove for a smidge too long. If your potatoes are overcooked, be especially gentle when handling to avoid mashing them up, or try switching to a rubber spatula and turn the salad onto itself to coat it with dressing.
- Draining the Potatoes: Make sure you drain the cooked potatoes well, so that your salad isn’t too wet!
- Serving at a Party: If you are serving this salad to guests, put on the garnishes right before the bowl touches the table. Taste test a spoonful of salad after you pull it out of the fridge. Does it need one last shake of salt? Once the salad gets your final nod of approval, then add the garnishes.
Storage Instructions
If you are making Mom’s Potato Salad for a potluck or a barbecue, you can lighten your workload by making this the day before the party. The flavors will have more time to develop and your guests will be none the wiser.
Refrigerator: You can cover this salad with cling film and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Freezer: I do not recommend freezing this recipe. When the cooked potatoes freeze, the water will squeeze out and turn the salad into a mushy, grainy mess when thawed.
Make More Delicious Salad Recipes
- Salmon Salad makes a great sandwich filling, or it can be lettuce-wrapped for a fresh dinner on a hot summer’s day.
- Carrot Raisin Salad has everything you would want for a fun, festive side during the holiday season!
- Our Creamy Tex-Mex Corn Salad with Green Chile Dressing is the perfect addition to a Southwestern meal, especially when cobs of corn are harvested fresh!
There you have it folks! Another creamy classic, ready for your next gathering. Homemade, and in under an hour no less!
Give this recipe a try and let me know how it turned out in the comments below. You know that I always love hearing about your cooking adventures!
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Mom’s Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lbs medium potatoes, like russet or Yukon gold, peeled and quartered
- 10 whole hard boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
- ½ cup celery, finely diced
- ½ cup radishes, chopped or sliced
- 4 green onions, green and white parts finely chopped
- 2 cups mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- salt and pepper, to taste
- paprika for garnish
- extra green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Place the potatoes in a large stockpot and pour enough water over top to cover them. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.
- Turn down the heat to medium high and boil for 20 – 25 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender but not falling apart.
- Remove from the heat and drain into a colander. cool for 10-12 minutes.
- Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, celery, radishes, and green onions.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and mustard. Scoop over the salad ingredients. Gently stir the mayo into the vegetables until everything is coated completely and mixed. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish if desired with a light sprinkle of paprika and diced green onions.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours before serving.
- This will store, covered, in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Rufus Ryland says
I have a folder on my Windows 11 PC entitled “RECIPES”. How do I get this recipe into that folder?
Di Brown says
Everyone has their special Potato Salad recipe. As mentioned, I add grated carrot to mine.And I also add diced apple. The apple adds tart sweetness.
My dressing is an equal mix of Italian salad dressing, ,mayo (Hellmans) and a good squeeze of Dijon mustard.
Love potato salad. I will try your Mom’s recipe. I bet it’s awesome!
Glenda says
Great recipe
Fran says
This is the potato salad of my childhood. My Mom and Grandma added green peas.
Florence Nelson says
2 cups of mayo? Too much and overwhelming taste for me. But yes, I use all the ingredients. Makes a good salad,
g says
When I make my potato salad I like to add 1 tbsp. of Frank’s sweet chili sauce; it adds a little sweetness, and a small kick, it is a secret ingredient that makes your salad stand out.
Sue Turcsany says
My recipe that I have been making for decades is similar but with a few changes. I don’t peel and quarter the potatoes before boiling. Instead I boil the whole potato with the skin still on. When done and cool enough to handle the skin comes off very easily. I like to have the potatoes still lukewarm when mixing in all the ingredients as they absorb the mayo and flavors better. You might use a bit more mayo but the outcome is fantastic. Don’t use radishes Use the chopped celery. I use chopped yellow or sweet onions and I add a splash of apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard and sprinkle in some celery seed and salt and pepper. I use about 4-5 Lbs of Yukon Gold Potatoes and less hard boiled eggs. I sometimes make it with the eggs and sometimes without. I still comes out great. Tastes the best when served a day later. The flavors meld and it even has more flavor.
Julia says
Thanks for this recipe! It’s nearly identical to the one my mom makes! I had some leftover cooked baby potatoes that I diced up and I usually add about a tbsp of sugar to the sauce. Mustard is definitely one of the secret ingredients!
Feisty Granny says
No one in my family puts mustard in their potato (or macaroni) salads One lady “adds a blush” to hers with catsup, but after tasting it, I’ll pass.
Karlynn J says
Ooh you should try it! This recipe even made it into my second cookbook! Mom is asked for her her recipe wherever she goes ( and her deviled eggs!) so that’s the best indicator it’s a winner!
Mustard gives it a little Color and that “tang” that cuts through the richness, which is a
culinary “secret” top chefs use to make a dish extraordinary!! It’s a must!