My old-fashioned potato salad recipe is incredibly easy and tastes better than anything you can buy in the supermarket. A combination of potato, onion, pickles, celery, mustard, and mayonnaise never tasted so good! The perfect recipe for those of us who prefer our potato salad without those chopped eggs.
Try with classic crispy pan-fried chicken!
Why This Recipe Works
Most importantly, this simple potato salad is deliciously flavorful, easy to make, and tastes even better the next day.
Homemade potato salad is good any time of the year. Great for brown bag lunches, picnics, or BBQs. Make a larger batch for an office potluck.
Ingredients
- Potato – Peeled russet or red potatoes work great for a classic potato salad. If you use a red potato, leave the peel on and slice instead of cube.
- Celery – The celery needs to be finely chopped, and removing the strings from the celery is always good, but it’s not critical. If you have extra potatoes, make these tasty warm scalloped potatoes.
- Onion – Sometimes I use green onion.
- Pickles– Sweet Pickles, bread-and-butter pickles, or pickle relish are really good. Some people even prefer the flavor of Dill pickles in their potato salad recipe. Use whatever you have on hand for your unique taste.
- Mayonnaise – this recipe calls for plain mayo, however, you can use garlic mayo for a little extra oomph. Some people prefer a sour cream base as you can substitute 1:1.
- Mustard – Plain yellow mustard is the classic ingredient, or if you like a little more heat, use a Dijon mustard.
Optional
- Olives
- Pimentos
How to make old-fashioned potato salad
- Boil the potatoes until tender. Be careful not to overcook them; otherwise, they will turn to mush when you mix in the other ingredients. Let them cool down completely before adding the other ingredients.
- In a medium bowl combine the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, and sweet pickle juice. Adjust the amounts to your taste preference.
- After the potatoes have cooled, add in the celery and onions, and mix.
- Next, add in the mayonnaise mixture slowly until you get a creamy consistency.
- Chill before serving.
Can I microwave the potatoes instead of boiling them?
If I want a firmer potato, I’ll microwave it instead of boil. Leftover baked potatoes are also good to make this old-fashioned potato salad recipe
Have extra potatoes, make these tasty warm scalloped potatoes.
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Classic Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 large russet potato peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoons onions diced
- 1 celery rib finely chopped
- 2 sweet pickles minced
- 1 teaspoon pickle juice
- 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons mustard
- black olives sliced (optional)
- 1 teaspoon pimentos optional
Instructions
- Boil potatoes until tender, let cool down completely
- In a medium bowl combine the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, and sweet pickle juice. Adjust the amounts to your personal taste preference.
- After the potatoes have cooled add in the celery and onions, mix together
- Add in the mayonnaise mixture slowly until you get a creamy consistency.
- Optional step: Top with sliced olives and pimentos.
- Chill before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Disclaimer
I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist. The nutrition amounts given below is an estimate only and provided as a general guide only.
I found this searching for “potato salad no eggs.” Bonus: it’s small batch, so I don’t have to worry about waste. It was really good! It definitely captures the taste of traditional potato salad.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe!