Potato Salad

5 from 3 votes

This classic recipe makes a Southern-style salad, with eggs, chunky potatoes, creamy sauce, and tons of flavor!

Prep Time15

Cook Time20

Total Time35

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 214kcal

Place unpeeled potatoes in a pan. Cover with cold water, add 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt, and bring to a boil. Boil gently for 20 to 25 minutes.
Drain potatoes, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of vinegar, and allow to cool for 20 to 25 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooling, chop the celery, prepare the hard boiled eggs, and make the dressing.
For the dressing, combine Miracle Whip, pickle relish, yellow mustard, onion, fresh dill, salt, and pepper. Mix until creamy. Set aside.
Peel potatoes and coarsely chop. Add celery, eggs, and dressing. Stir well but gently. Refrigerate. It is best to make this well ahead of time, even if it is the day before.

Storage:

In the fridge: The best way to store your potato salad is to refrigerate it in an airtight container. I recommend doing this with any leftover potato salad, as well as in between servings to keep it nice and fresh. As stated above, it’s best to make ahead of time and let it sit in the fridge for a day. Properly stored, homemade potato salad will last for 3 to 5 days.
In the freezer: You could freeze leftover potato salad to extend the shelf life, although I do not recommend this. The ingredients like mayo and celery do not freeze well. The mayonnaise may separate when it thaws out and the celery tends to get mushy.

Tips:

If using only mayonnaise, add 1 tablespoon vinegar
If using a half and half combination, add 3/4 teaspoon vinegar
Before chopping, soak peeled onion in cold water for 10 minutes to take away sharpness, if desired.
Golden or red potatoes are best because they are less starchy. Boiling them with the skins on makes peeling them easier and also keeps them from becoming mushy.
My family preferred the Miracle Whip, but others will love using mayonnaise instead. Either way, the salad turned out the same as far as creaminess. Whatever people prefer here!
Red onion would add some nice color. Yellow onion was used in these photos. Soaking it in water helped make the onion slightly milder, which would definitely be helpful with a red onion. But this step is optional, also depending on the preference of the reader.
If you want to keep the crunchy feature from the celery but your family does not like celery, then omit the celery and add chopped dill pickles. But then add either less relish or omit it.
For easier peeling of the potatoes, use a sharp paring knife to gently peel the skin from the warm potatoes. If your potatoes cool completely then the skin doesn’t come off as smoothly and you can end up mushing your potatoes. Additionally, do not use a potato peeler on your warm potatoes because it will break apart your potatoes a lot as you peel them.