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Our easy Potato Salad recipe is creamy, delicious, and the best side dish at any BBQ! I make it with Yukon Gold Potatoes, hard boiled eggs, pickles, celery, and a creamy homemade dressing.
Want more side dishes? I love this Corn Salad, Cucumber Salad, Baked Beans, and Street Corn Pasta Salad.
Our Classic Potato Salad is the Real Star of the BBQ
There are so many reasons to love a good ol' classic potato salad, and our recipe has the yummiest sauce, and flavor combo, making it deserving of its position as a summer BBQ staple. (It's always so hard to choose between this traditional potato salad recipe, and our baked potato salad recipe. They are different, and both fantastic!) I love that I can potato salad ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until ready to serve.
How to make Potato Salad:
Boil Potatoes: Place whole, unpeeled potatoes in a large pot of water. When it comes to a boil, lower heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water from pot, leaving potatoes inside, then cover with a lid so they can steam for 5-10 more minutes. Peel potatoes, if desired, then cut into 1-inch chunks.
Make Potato Salad Dressing: Combine egg yolks, mayonnaise, buttermilk, mustard, a splash of pickle juice, and salt and pepper in a bowl.
Combine: Pour dressing over the potatoes. Add chopped egg whites, celery, onion, and pickles. Stir well then cover and refrigerate for a few hours until ready to serve.
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions:
To Make Ahead: potato salad can be made 1-2 days ahead of time. It tastes best if refrigerated for at least a few hours before serving. Store leftover potato salad in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Classic Potato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
For the salad
- 3 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 Tablespoons yellow mustard, (or half dijon)
- 2 dill pickles, , finely chopped, + splash of pickle juice
- salt and pepper
- 2 ribs celery, , chopped
- 1/4 cup red onion, , chopped
Instructions
- Boil and Chop Potatoes: Place the whole, unpeeled potatoes in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Drain the water completely from the pot and then cover the pot with a lid to allow the potatoes to steam for 5-10 minutes. Peel potatoes, if desired, and cut them into ½ inch chunks.
- Make Dressing: Separate egg yolks from the whites of the hard boiled eggs and place the yolks in a bowl. Mash the yolks with a fork and then stir in the mayonnaise, buttermilk, mustard, a splash of pickle juice, and salt and pepper, to taste.
- Assemble: Pour the dressing over the warm potatoes. Chop the egg whites and add them to the potatoes along with the celery, onion, and pickles. Stir well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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*I first shared this recipe in May 2013. Updated May 2019, May 2023 and July 2024.
This is the best potato salad recipe I’ve ever made and eaten. I make it exactly as written and my family L♥️VES it!! A Classic American masterpiece . Thank you!
Thanks for your kind words!
My family loves black olives. Have you ever put them in your potato salad? I love using your recipes. Never have they failed me
I personally havent put black olives in there, but it sounds good!
This recipe has become one of my two go-to recipes for potato salad. The other recipe is an absolutely different style so I can’t rate one over the other, but this one is absolutely outstanding. My family loves it, my friends love it, and you can adjust the amounts of the add ins (we love a little more red onion) and add your own flair if you so choose, although it really is perfect exactly as written.
I do it the German way,I’m from the south and they add vinegar dressing there but I make it normally like the Northern Germans do,with mayonnaise. Add in sliced radishes,can’t EVER,EVER find buttermilk here in western Canada. I use Whole, boiled eggs and an egg slicer.
I made this recipe for a friends 50th birthday party and doubled the recipe. I’m not so traditional (and I didn’t budget extra time for peeling and cutting the extra potatoes) so we ate it WARM. Holy moly. BEST POTATO SALAD EVER. I mean EVER.
First time I tried this recipe for a summer BBQ and it was delicious. It’s now a fan-favorite. Thanks for the recipe. (I bet it’d be delicious with bacon too — everything is better with bacon.)
I am extremely picky about potato salad and have not found a really good recipe until this one. I did use heavy whipping cream and 1 teaspoon vinegar for buttermilk. I also added 2 T. of turbinado sugar. Also dill from the garden. It was delicious!!
My goodness this is like eating my moms potato salad years later. So good!!! Instead of onion, just added dry minced onion and followed the recipe as written. Blending egg yolks first with the dressing was spot on
Great quick & simple recipient but I added onions!
Most perfect and delicious!!
Too chunky and not right ratio of potatoes to rest of ingredients.
I cooked it today for a 4th of July celebration. My 70+year old Neigbor was invited and he loved it saying that his mother used to make the same one. I was not born in the US and I didn’t know the taste of the real original potatoe salad. For me it was the best feedback. I really loved this recipe. Creamy dressing no vinegar mustard and sugar taste. I only substitute buttermilk for kefir. Truly a keeper!
This a really good recipe. Couldn’t find buttermilk so used half and half and some apple cider vinegar. It is now my go to potato salad.
Best I’ve ever had. I added Old Bay Seasoning for the salt and other spices.
made this, never made potato salad before and randomly landed on yours. hands down got the best reviews. people loved it. said it was the best potato salad they have ever eaten. super easy and quick to make. the only I added was a little bacon bits on top but that was it. I will be making this from now on if I ever need a summer salad to take to a party or cookout!!!