Receta Potato Salad Recipe
A simple and classic potato salad – We love this stuff! Joanne and I would be happy to hover over a bowl of it any day. It has few extras thrown in, too. You’ll notice that we’ve made lots of suggestions for substitutions and mentioned where things are optional (like eggs). We love everything listed, but potato salad is personal. Always add to your likings and taste.
How to Make it Better — Potato Salad Recipe
Our recipe is pretty classic with just a few extras thrown in. Here are our best tips for making potato salad.
Best Potatoes for Potato Salad and How to Cook Them
For us, potatoes need to hold a little shape in potato salad – not fall apart. We go for small, waxy and thin-skinned potatoes. Small yellow, white or red potatoes are perfect. They will take between 12 and 20 minutes to cook. At 12 minutes we check for doneness — if a fork can pierce through easily, they are done.
We try not to use russet (baking) potatoes — they aren’t as waxy and seem to fall apart. We have used them on occasion (they still taste great). If that’s all you have, don’t worry. If using russet potatoes, dice them before cooking — they are usually much larger and would take a long time if cooked whole. Keep everything similarly sized then cook until a fork can easily pierce the potato.
For smaller potatoes (we prefer these), we cook them whole. Dicing them up will make things go faster, but when you cook the potatoes whole, they maintain more of their flavor and natural sweetness. We’re also partial to the texture of whole cooked potatoes. Speaking of cooking potatoes, there’s really no need to boil your potatoes. When you do they violently bash against each other. Instead, bring the water with potatoes to a boil then immediately reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. The potatoes cook just as quickly.
No matter what potato you choose to cook, don’t forget the salt. We cover the potatoes with 1 1/2 inches of water then generously salt the water. Two teaspoons of salt per quart of water should do it.
By salting the water, the flavor of the potatoes really comes out. They won’t taste salty, only like awesome potatoes.
Once your potatoes are done, drain them and stop the potatoes from cooking by adding them to an ice bath. After 2 to 3 minutes they will be cool enough to handle.
Now, you have two choices: skin- on or peel them. We peel them. Since cook them whole, it’s really easy to peel the potatoes — just pinch the skin and pull it away. (So much easier than peeling raw potatoes).
After that, cut into bite-size pieces and mix with dressing and other ingredients in our or your favorite potato salad recipe.
The Extras — Vinegar, Mustard, Pickles, Eggs and Herbs
Potato salad is a personal process and there are lots of opinions out there as to what makes it “perfect” or “the best.” The recipe below is our version — it includes everything we love. Here are a few things we love to add — remember that you can add none of it or more of it. It’s your potato salad, after all.
The Basics — The base to our potato salad recipe is pretty classic — a mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise. We add more sour cream than mayonnaise to lighten things up a bit — mayo can be heavy.
Mustard — We love adding mustard. It jazzes everything up. We’re partial to American-style yellow mustard, but Dijon or whole grain mustard work well, too.
Vinegar — We learned this tip from Alton Brown. After cooking and cutting, scatter a tablespoon or so of vinegar over the potatoes. The vinegar really makes the potatoes stand out. In our recipe we call for apple cider vinegar, but white wine vinegar, white vinegar or even some dill pickle juice work.
Pickles — Our house isn’t stable without dill pickles in the refrigerator so adding them to potato salad is a no brainer for us. If you don’t like them leave them out or replace with sweet pickles.
Eggs — Maybe it’s how we were brought up or what we’re used to. To us, potato salad without eggs is missing something. Hard boiled eggs add texture and extra creaminess. If you aren’t a fan, leave them out.
Fresh Herbs — The most common herbs in potato salad are parsley and chives, but dill, cilantro and tarragon all work well. In our recipe below, we use two both dill and parsley. Experiment for yourself to see what you love. Add a tablespoon at a time then taste. Also, remember dill and tarragon are a little stronger than other herbs so add accordingly.
How to do make potato salad? Do you have tips of your own? Share them in the comments below.
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Potato Salad Recipe
Why we love this recipe. Joanne and I would be happy to hover over a bowl of this potato salad any day. It’s relatively classic with a few extras thrown in. You’ll notice that we’ve made lots of suggestions for substitutions and mentioned where things are optional (like eggs). We love everything listed, but potato salad is a personal process. Always add to your likings and taste.
What you need to know. We choose small yellow, white or red potatoes and cook them whole. The potatoes maintain their natural moisture and sweetness this way. If you’re in a pinch, you can chop the potatoes, just remember they well take less time to cook. Adding fresh herbs are a nice touch – we like to use a combination of chopped parsley and dill. Parsley, dill, chives, tarragon and cilantro all work well. Add about 2 tablespoons of herbs at first then add more to taste. Dill and tarragon are strong, so you may not need the whole 1/4 cup.
Equipment you’ll need. A large pot, 2 medium bowls, 1 large bowl, measuring cups, spoons and a chef’s knife.
Created By: Joanne and Adam Gallagher
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (907 grams) small yellow, red or white potatoes
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (substitute: white wine vinegar or white vinegar)
- 1/2 cup (125 grams) sour cream
- 1/4 cup (55 grams) mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard (substitute Dijon or whole grain mustard)
- 1/2 cup (80 grams) finely chopped red onion (1 medium)
- 1/2 cup finely (50 grams) chopped celery (3 ribs)
- 1/3 cup finely (60 grams) chopped dill pickles
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped, optional
- 1/4 cup (12 grams) chopped fresh herbs (see note above)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Method
Cook Potatoes
Add potatoes to large pot then cover with 1 1/2 inches of water. Season with salt — 1 teaspoon for every quart of water.
Bring water to a boil then reduce to a low simmer. Cook 15 to 20 minutes or until potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork.
While potatoes cook, set up an ice bath. Add cold water to a medium bowl then add ice. Drain potatoes then add to ice bath. Once cooled, peel potatoes by gently pinching the skin and pulling it away.
Chop peeled potatoes into bite-size chunks then add to a large bowl. Scatter 1 tablespoon of vinegar over potatoes and lightly season with salt.
Prepare Potato Salad
While the potatoes cook, add onions to a small bowl then cover with warm water. Wait 10 minutes then rinse. (This tones down the onions a little).
In a medium bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise and mustard.
Add dressing, onion, celery, pickles, eggs and herbs to potatoes. Gently stir to combine. (Try not to mash the potatoes). Season with salt and pepper.
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. Serve cold or bring to room temperature.
Notes
Make-Ahead Tip: If we have the time, we make this a day in advance. The flavors really meld together overnight.
Storing: Keep refrigerated salad up to 3 days.
Cooking Hard Boiled Eggs: For instructions on how to cook hard boiled eggs, visit our post How to Cook Hard Boiled Eggs.
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About the Author
Adam
I'm Adam Gallagher and alongside my wife, Joanne, I photograph and share favorite recipes from our kitchen. Sharing our recipes began as a hobby, turned into a dream and now has become our business. I just love that.
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