Grandma’s Potato Salad
Grandma’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad recipe is quick to cook, and will be a welcome side dish for your summer barbecue and picnics.
I make this recipe all the time in the summer for weeknight dinners, lunches, and to bring to potluck’s. The creamy texture goes well with burgers and hot dogs, and so many other dishes. Plus it’s homemade, which makes for a healthy potato salad because I know what ingredients it contains, and I can add to it as I wish. You can see the Substitutes & Additions section for ideas to tailor this recipe for your crowd.
This recipe is so simple not only to make, but also in it’s ingredients. Read on as I take you through the steps to create this mouthwatering potato salad that will have everyone coming back for seconds. Enjoy!
Recipe Snapshot
EASE: Very quick and easy potato salad to make.
PROS: It’s customizable – you can add chives, celery etc.. to make it to your liking.
CONS: It doesn’t freeze well, but there usually isn’t leftovers because it’s so delicious.
WOULD I MAKE THIS AGAIN? Yes, absolutely!
Potato Salad Ingredients
Best Potato Salad Preparation Tips
Tip 1
- Bring eggs to a boil in salted water. As soon as the water comes to a boil, cover the sauce pan with a lid and reduce the heat to low, and then set timer for 10 minutes.
- Adding salt to the water helps to solidify the egg whites quicker so that they don’t pour out of the shell if it cracks. As you can see in this photo of the cooked cracked egg, it kept it’s form because the water was salted.
Tip 2
- Rince cooked hard boiled eggs in cold water to cool them down a bit so that they are easier to handle while peeling.
- Peel the eggs shells, and finely chop the eggs in a bowl with a paring knife, or steak knife.
- Wash and peel the potatoes, and cut them into 1 inch cubes.
Tip 3
- Rince the cut potatoes in cold water. Giving the potatoes a rinse of water before cooking helps to reduce the starch. Then completely cover the diced potatoes with cold water, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiled, cover pan with a lid, reduce heat to low, and then set timer for 10 minutes.
- Drain cooked potatoes into a colander, and place potatoes in a bowl, in the refrigerator to cool completely before mixing in the dressing.
- For the potato salad dressing, mix the mayonnaise, salt, black pepper and sugar together first. Then add the white vinegar and mix until well combined.
Substitutes & Additions
- Mayonnaise: Miracle Whip can be substituted for the mayonnaise. It will give a different flavor to this classic potato salad.
- Potatoes: The best potatoes to use in this easy potato salad are: Yellow, Fingerling, New, Yukon Gold, and Red Skinned potatoes. Russet potatoes are excellent as well, and are often used for American potato salad, just take care not to over cook them.
- Additions: To elevate your potato egg salad you can add celery, chives, dill, and even crispy bacon bits. Let us know what your favorite additions are in the comments below.
Potato Salad: Frequently Asked Questions
Hard boiled eggs are needed for potato salad. Place egg(s) in cold salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Adding salt to the cooking water helps to reduce cracks in the egg shell and prevent egg whites from pouring out during the cooking process.
Waxy potatoes like, Red Skin potato, Fingerling, New potato, Yellow potato, and hybrids like Yukon Gold are great for potato salad. Russet potato is also excellent, but take care not to over cook it, as Russet’s can become too soft and mushy if over cooked.
Freezing potato salad is not ideal because the mayonnaise separates, and the egg whites get tough and rubbery which effects the taste and texture. However if you do decide to freeze potato salad, it is best to consume it within 1 to 2 months.
DID YOU KNOW: You can adjust the serving size and automatically recalculate the ingredient quantities, by hovering or clicking on the underlined number at the bottom of this recipe e.g. servings: 1, and drag the slider to the desired quantity.
This recipe includes a kitchen timer. Click on the underlined time in the recipe to start the timer.
Handy Tip: Prepare Ahead!
To save time, start cooking the eggs so they can cook while you peel and cut the potatoes. Then while the potatoes are cooking, the potato salad dressing can be prepared, and when the eggs are done they can be peeled, and chopped.
Grandma’s Potato Salad
Equipment
- 1 Large Mixing Bowl
- 1 Small Mixing Bowl
- 1 Set of Measuring spoons
- 1 Set of Measuring cups
- 1 or 2 cooking pots or sauce pans with lids
- 1 Paring knife
- 1 vegetable peeler
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
- 3 eggs hard boiled, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 lbs potatoes (5 to 6 medium sized) peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp vinegar white
Instructions
- Cover eggs with salted water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water to let eggs cool. Set aside.
- Cover potato cubes in salted water in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain in a colander, and rinse with cold water. Place cooked potatoes in a mixing bowl and cool in the refrigerator.
- Peel and finely chop hard boiled eggs. Gently mix into potatoes, and return bowl to refrigerator to cool.
- To make potato salad dressing: In a small bowl combine mayonnaise, salt, pepper, sugar, and vinegar. Mix until creamy. Add to potatoes and gently toss. Refrigerate until chilled.
Notes
calculated by an online nutrition calculator.
Nutrition
