Country Style Potato Salad
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Making your own potato salad may seem like a hassle, but with this easy Country Style Potato Salad recipe you can customize the flavors to your liking. In addition to the boiled potatoes, all you need are a few hard-boiled eggs, a couple of chopped veggies, seasonings, dressing, and youโre done!
Cookouts and potlucks are a wonderful way to eat a variety of food, without having to cook it all yourself. Along with the customary hamburgers and sausages you’ll find a bowls of yummy side dishes.
One staple food item that always seems to appear on the table is potato salad, right?! But the store-bought version often leaves something to be desired.ย
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We’re sharing tips to help you get the best results with this recipe. If you don’t need the tips, scroll to the bottom for the full recipe and a printable recipe card.
Well, youโre in luck. This Southern-style recipe is just the solution. Making your own potato salad lets you control the ingredients and the spices so you can make it exactly how you love it.
If you’re looking for more easy salad recipes be sure to check out these unique pasta salads and summer salads. You’ll find side dishes to round out your meal and easy main dishes.
The Best Potato Saladย Recipe
While I often think I don’t have time to whip up something homemade (letโs face it, buying potato salad at the store is much faster), this version can be made ahead of time and refrigerated until ready for serving.
The best part is you likely have most of these ingredients in your pantry! If you donโt, none of them are out of the ordinary or even expensive. And that means you wonโt be wondering what to do with any leftover single-use ingredients.
Country Style Potato Salad Ingredients
- potatoes: You’ll want to make sure they are a similar size for even cooking. No need to dice or peel the potatoes before boiling – easy peasy!
- red onion: ย Why red onion? They add beautiful color along with that distinct onion flavor. They are a bit milder than other onions, but you wonโt be cooking them, so they will still have that zing you love.
- celery: Whenever a little crunch is needed, celery comes to the rescue! I love that celery is cheap, but adds just the right amount of flavor and bite to the softer ingredients.
- hard-boiled eggs: These will need to be ready to go when the potatoes are cooked. I prefer to make mine in the Instant Pot since it takes all the guesswork out of it.
- spices: You donโt need much in this department, just salt, black pepper, and paprika.ย
- sweet relish: It adds just enough of that sweet pickle taste without overwhelming the entire dish. Use whatever brand you have on hand.
- mayonnaise: I know better than to try to cajole you into using my favorite brand. Mayo seems to be one of those condiments that people have intense personal opinions about. So just go ahead and use your favorite brand, anything works.
- yellow mustard: While mustard has a distinct flavor, yellow mustard can add that flavor, without it being over the top. Plus, it isnโt spicy, so it wonโt overpower your potato salad.
Get the complete ingredients & directions in the recipe card below.
How to Make Country Style Potato Salad
- First, add your potatoes to a large saucepan.
- Cover with water and cook until fork-tender.
- After the potatoes are cooked, add them to an ice bath to stop the cooking process. This also makes them easier to peel.
- Remove the skins and cube the potatoes, then add the potatoes to a large bowl with the chopped onion, chopped celery, and chopped hard-boiled eggs.ย
- In a smaller bowl, whisk the spices, mayo, relish, and mustard then add to the potatoes and stir to combine.
What Kind of Potatoes Should I Use?
Waxy potatoes will hold their shape better after cooking. We like to use Yukon Gold for this salad. We’ve also used Red potatoes with good results and even Russets in a pinch.
How Long to Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad?
If youโre wondering about how long it takes to cook potatoes until โfork-tender,โ start at about 15 minutes of boiling. Then (hereโs the fun part), stab one of your cooking potatoes with a fork.
Yes, โfork tenderโ is literal. If the fork breaks the skin and pierces the potato easily, the potatoes are done. If not, continue cooking and testing it every 5 minutes or so.
Tips for an Easier Prep
- Chopping onions can be a tearful experience. Onion goggles, while perhaps a little silly looking, really do work for keeping the tears at bay. If you don’t want the goggles, I highly recommend buying a vegetable chopper.ย
- Most vegetable chopper models come with different sized blade plates which also allow you to also dice other vegetables fast and uniformly. Believe me, this little contraption makes you look like pro dicer without a lot of effort!
- If you donโt have an Instant Pot, let me go ahead and make your life easier – invest in the pressure cooker. It will give you perfectly cooked, easy to peel eggs every time. It’s also one of the quickest ways to put dinner on the table.
- If you don’t want to venture into Instant Pot cooking world, check out egg cookers. An egg cooker will take the guesswork out of cooking eggs and give you perfect, easy to shell hard-boiled eggs.
What to serve with potato salad
This savory potato blend is a staple at summer BBQs and picnics. It also pairs well with baked chicken thighs and ham and cheese crescent ring.
More Easy Salad Recipes
Country Style Potato Salad
Equipment
Ingredients
SALAD INGREDIENTS
- 6-8 medium potatoes, Yukon Golds, about 2 pounds
- ยผ cup red onion, chopped finely
- 3 stalks celery, chopped finely
- 3 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
DRESSING INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons yellow mustard
- ยผ cup sweet relish
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon black pepper
- ยฝ teaspoon paprika, plus more for garnish if desired
Instructions
- Add potatoes to a large saucepan, cover with water, going 1-2 inches above the potatoes and cook until fork tender.
- Remove cooked potatoes from pan and add to a large bowl filled with water and ice (this stops the cooking process and makes peeling easier). Leave in the ice water bath about 5 minutes.
- Remove skins from potatoes, rinse and cut into small cubes.
- In a large bowl add the chopped potatoes, celery, onions, relish and eggs.
- In a small bowl, combine the Dressing ingredients and whisk until well combined.
- Add dressing to potatoes and stir gently to combine.
- Cover and store in refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Adjust the ingredients to tailor to your taste preferences.
- Substitute with red or russet potatoes.
Nutritional Estimate
Nutritional information is provided as a reference, using an online calculator. We recommend verifying the information independently for accuracy.