Accept no substitutes.
Summer is on its way, which means it’s almost time for cookouts. Burgers sizzling on the grill, and all the fixings on the side…fresh veggies, baked beans, coleslaw, and of course, potato salad. A cookout just isn’t complete without it.
There are probably hundreds of ways to make potato salad – maybe even thousands. You can use red potatoes or white potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes…dress them with mayo or mustard or vinaigrette…and mix them with anything you can name. I’ve seen potato salads with onions, celery, olives, snow peas, avocados, bacon, dill, even curry powder. And of course, every single person in the world claims that their own family recipe makes the best potato salad.
Well, they’re all wrong. This one is the best.
It’s an absolutely classic potato salad, with a mayo-mustard dressing, hard-boiled egg, and enough fresh veggies to give it a good crunch. It’s everything a potato salad should be, with nothing extra.
Don’t believe me? Just try it and see.
THE BEST POTATO SALAD RECIPE
(printable recipe at bottom of post)
INGREDIENTS
6 medium white potatoes or Yukon golds, about 2 lbs pounds, quartered
2 Tablespoons white vinegar
2 large celery stalks, diced
1/2 cup onions finely diced
5 hard boiled eggs, peeled
1½ cups mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
paprika for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
1. Place potatoes in large pot and add enough water to cover potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cook covered 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and let cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into cubes.
2. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add potatoes, celery and onion; toss. Roughly chop up hard boiled eggs. Stir in eggs. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and chill. Store covered in refrigerator.
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The Best Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 medium white potatoes or Yukon golds about 2 lbs pounds, quartered
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 large celery stalks diced
- 1/2 cup onions finely diced
- 5 hard boiled eggs peeled
- 1½ cups mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoons celery seed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- paprika for garnish
Instructions
- Place potatoes in large pot and add enough water to cover potatoes. Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat to low. Cook covered 25 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Drain potatoes and let cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes into cubes.
- Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add potatoes, celery and onion; toss. Roughly chop up hard boiled eggs. Stir in eggs. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and chill. Store covered in refrigerator.
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Jenny says
Oh my, this looks amazing! I can’t wait to try it 🙂 Can you tell how you boil your eggs to ge them so PERFECT??? Mine are often hard to peel and the yolks don’t turn out as yellow as yours appear – please share your technique!
Deepa Suresh says
Wow. Looks delicious. Only query is can we replace egg with any other ingredient? Basically, if I were to try this as a vegetarian dish. BTW, nice snaps. Thanks.
Kathleen Nash says
Do you recommend peeling the potatoes first. You do not say in the directions but show it in the picture.
Randy says
I was wondering the same thing as Kathleen asks in the previous comment – peel the potatoes first or leave the peel on? I use Organic Potatoes and the peel contains a lot of nutrients. Whenever I use organic potatoes I leave the peel on; when I use conventional potatoes I peel the potatoes first.
Shari says
Do I peel the potatoes first? I don’t see the answer to this question as posed by other readers. Is anyone monitoring this site? Thank you!
Corey says
That just depends on your taste Shari. Most of the time I do peel the potatoes.
Eric says
I love red and yellow potato skin so I did not peel them.
Wadene Kerby says
This is the recipe I use! I always get rave reviews. The only think I do different is add a little chopped dill pickle and a splash of pickle juice.
Eric says
Excellent base recipe the only change was I added home made pickles and substituted the vinegar with pickle juice. Delicious
Clara says
This is the recipe I’m pretty sure my dad used all the time when i was younger. Brings back memories!
Allison says
I loved this potato salad. Kids loved it as well! It’s just creamy enough to grab their attention and the favour tops it all.
Paul Reich says
So first time -ever- making potato salad. The instructions are pretty vague when it comes the eggs. Do I dice those up too? I picked this recipe to work with because the ingredients looked like a good mix. Let us know please- maybe edit the recipe please?
Corey says
Recipe has been updated Paul. You just have to roughly chop them up before mixing in. I hope that helps 🙂
Wadene says
Very good recipe. The only thing I did different was add a chopped dill pickle and just a little pickle juice.
Corey says
Pickles do make everything better 🙂
Wendy B says
Made this recipe yesterday. I like to make potato salad a day ahead. This morning we tasted it. The salad is fantastic! I added radishes to it, put in half the amount of vinegar (never made potato salad using vinegar), and added a little more mustard.
Definitely will make the salad again! Thanks for sharing.😊
Grace Shirk says
When do we add the celery seed? It’s on the ingredients list but I’m not finding it in your instructions.
Corey says
You will mix it in with with the mayo, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper.
Christina says
No joke, this is seriously the world’s best potato salad recipe!!! I have made it so many times! It is definitely a family favorite!!!!
Corey says
So happy you love it Christina
Motia says
Turned out perfectly! I added a couple more eggs and some cheddar cheese cubes.
Corey says
Mmmmm cheese cubes always make things better 🙂 Love that addition
Jen Worrell says
Hi, can I use russet potatoes instead and if yes do I need to cook the potatoes longer? Thanks
Corey says
I have only made the recipe as written Jen, but I think that should workout ok. Unsure about the length of time needed to cook the potatoes.