An All Season Salad: Potato and Egg Salad
Old Fashioned Potato Salad with Mayo and Eggs is an iconic summer side dish, a classic for the backyard barbecue and always present at a potluck. One of my favorite side dishes, this potato salad comes from my in-laws. A big thanks to Jim for letting me share the best ever old fashioned potato salad with mayo and eggs with you. A summertime favorite, in our family, it’s served all year round.
What You Need to Make Old Fashioned Potato Salad
Part of why this side dish is an easy go-to for any potluck is because all the ingredients are common pantry items that you probably already have on hand: potatoes, milk, sugar, onions, eggs, etc.
The other, is that potato salad at the deli counter can be pricy. These are simple, but also budget friendly ingredients.
- Potatoes – For this potato salad recipe, I’m using Russet potatoes, but you can really make this with red skin, yellow skin, baby potatoes, whatever you can get or have on hand. Those are creamier potatoes, so you’ll end up with a different texture, a little softer, but delicious, nonetheless.
- Eggs – A few hard boiled eggs chopped up adds a nice texture. My cook method should get you a beautiful yellow without the dingy green film.
- Celery and Onion – Both bring a nice crunch to the salad, and the onions bring a little bite.
- The Dressing – milk, mayo, sugar, salt, pepper, yellow mustard, and relish. Simple, simple, simple.
How to Make Old Fashioned Potato Salad
This really is the best potato salad ever. I love potato salad. I don’t know exactly why this is so good, but it is far better than anything I’ve found at the store. This comes together easily, and it yields plenty for a large group. Make this a day ahead if needed.
Boiling the potatoes is the most time-consuming part of this dish. While you’re waiting on your hot potatoes, prepare the onions, celery, and dressing.
Start by cutting the potatoes into equal cubes. Keep the skin on, do not peel the potatoes, save a little time. Place the potatoes in a large stock pot and cover with water, add a bit of salt. Next, bring the water to a boil. Once it starts boiling it should only take a few minutes to cook these small pieces of potato.
Old Fashioned Potato Salad with Mayo and Eggs
Do yourself a favor and please try this creamy potato salad recipe. Scale the quantity up or down for the servings you need. And take note of the steps on boiling eggs. This method yields yellow yolks without the dingy brown-green layer.
To get the perfect hard boiled egg, simply place the eggs in a saucepan and cover them with water. Bring them to a boil. Once boiling, remove them from the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Let the eggs sit for 15 minutes. Then, drain the water and replace it with cold water and ice. Let them cool off, then drain the water. Give the pan a good shake to crack the eggs. Peel and cut!
While the potatoes and eggs are cooking, dice up the celery and onions. Then, mix up the dressing. Put all of this in a large bowl. Add the cooled potatoes and chopped eggs. Mix it all up and you’re done! I prefer to let my potato and egg salad chill before serving and homemade potato salad is always better the next day.
Tips, Tricks, & FAQs
- Peel If You Like. I like to leave the skins on my potatoes, but feel free to peel before cutting.
- Macaroni Salad Too! Make an amazing macaroni salad using all the same ingredients, but substitute potatoes for macaroni pasta.
- Next Day Is Better. Like most pasta and potato dishes, this can be served the same day but is always better the next after everything has a chance to absorb and marinade together.
- How To Store Leftover Potato Salad. Store uneaten potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. It gets better the next day!
- Make Ahead. This side dish stores well, so make a big batch over the weekend and enjoy it during the busy work week. Toss hot dogs, brats or burgers on the grill and break out the best potato salad ever.
- You can also make this old fashioned potato salad without eggs and it will be just as scrumptious!
Old Fashioned Potato Salad with Mayo and Eggs
Equipment
- baking sheet with sides
- chef's knife
- Colander
- cutting board
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- Medium saucepan pot with lid
- Mixing bowls
- spoon
- Stock pot with lid
- whisk
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 lbs Russet Potatoes
- 12 cups water (or the amount needed to cover the potatoes)
- 3 teaspoons sea salt (or more, 1 teaspoon to 3 cups water)
- 5 eggs (optional)
- 1 cup fine diced celery (~1 large stalk)
- 1/2 cup sweet onion (~ 1/2 large onion)
Dressing
- 1 cup mayo
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup sweet relish
- 1 teaspoon mustard
Instructions
Potatoes
- Wash. Wash potatoes. Peel if desired, but in this recipe, I keep the skins. It's less food waste and less effort.3 1/2 lbs Russet Potatoes
- Cube. Potatoes are roly-poly little things, so safety first. I like to slice the potato in the middle lengthwise, so you have a flat surface, and it won’t move as easily. Then, with the flat side of the potato on the cutting board. slice the potato 1/2” thick the short way, and then each of those pieces into lengths, then cubes. Keep them as uniform in size as you can so they cook evenly.
- Stock Pot. Place potatoes in a large stock pot.
- Salt. Cover the potatoes with water. Make sure there is at least 1-1 1/2" of water above the potatoes to ensure the potatoes are covered. Add salt, mix, and cover the pot with a lid.12 cups water (or the amount needed to cover the potatoes), 3 teaspoons sea salt (or more, 1 teaspoon to 3 cups water)
- Boil. Bring the water to a boil. It will feel like eternity. Don't watch the water, it knows. Instead see the egg instructions to work on while you wait. Then come back to this.
- Start the Clock. Start the timing for the potatoes once the water is at a full rolling boil and keep it boiling for 6-7 minutes. Once the potatoes start boiling it won't take long to cook because of the 1/2" size of the cubes.
- Test. To test the potatoes, carefully remove a few cubes and place them on a cutting board or plate. A fork should easily pierce the potatoes or easily cut through. When cool enough, taste a cube. They should not have any crunch, but still be a little firm. Test the largest piece you can find. They also should have a good flavor so that you could eat them plain. If they are crunchy at all, continue to boil.
- Drain. When the potatoes are done, carefully drain them into a colander. Watch out for the steam and boiling water as you pour. If you don’t want to pour the potatoes out, use a large soup ladle or spoon to move them from the hot water to the colander.
- Cool Down.After the potatoes are well drained, spread them out on a cookie sheet to cool. Go to 'Veggies'.
Eggs
- Eggs. While waiting for the potatoes to come to a boil, start the eggs. This method should produce a hard-boiled egg with a yellow yolk, not a green/gray yolk.5 eggs (optional)
- Boil. Place the eggs in a saucepan pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, put a lid on the water and turn off the heat. Let the egg sit for 20 minutes. Go back to potatoes. But keep an eye on the eggs and move to the next egg step when the 20 minutes has ended.
- Drain and Cool. Next, drain the hot water from the eggs and replace it with ice cubes and cold water. Let the eggs sit until they are cool enough to handle.
- Drain and Peel. Drain the cold water. Keeping the eggs in the pot, give the pot a shake so the eggs collide and crack the shells. Peel. Rinse under water if needed to aid in the removal of the shell.
- Chop. Rough chop the eggs and set aside.
Veggies
- Celery. Wash and fine dice the celery. To do this, cut off the base end of the celery removing the white bitter bottom inch or two and remove the top just below the ‘knot’. I save these pieces in a plastic bag in my freezer to use in making chicken broth. Then slice the stalk into ¼” ribbons from top to bottom. Cut these into tiny cubes.1 cup fine diced celery (~1 large stalk)
- Onion. Peel, slice, and fine dice the white onion.1/2 cup sweet onion (~ 1/2 large onion)
- Next…Set both veggies aside and prepare the dressing or return to cool off the eggs.
Dressing
- Whisk. Place all dressing ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine. The dressing should coat the back of a spoon and be runny.1 cup mayo, 2 Tablespoons sugar, 1/2 cup whole or 2% milk, 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/3 cup sweet relish, 1 teaspoon mustard
- Combine. In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, celery, onions, and dressing. Gently fold the dressing into the potatoes. This is done best with a large mixing spoon.
- Eggs. Lastly, fold in the chopped eggs.
- Enjoy! Serve immediately, or chill until ready to serve. I believe this potato salad tastes best when it can be refrigerated for several hours or overnight before serving.
