Easy Potato Salad

5 from 6 votes

You only need 5 ingredients for my grandmother's easy potato salad. It is a creamy, no-egg, make-ahead side that is perfect for cookouts, picnics, and Sunday dinners.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword easy potato salad, Easy Potato Salad Recipe, potato salad recipe no egg, potato salad without eggs

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Chilling Time 1

Total Time 1 40

Servings people

Calories 164.5kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

2 lbs. red potatoes (or Yukon Gold potatoes)
1 large celery rib, diced
2 green onions, sliced
⅓ cup mayonnaise, plus extra as needed
⅓ cup sour cream, plus extra as needed
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Optional garnish: additional sliced green onion, chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley or dill), or a dusting of paprika

Instructions

Boil the potatoes. Rinse and scrub the potatoes. Place them whole in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, add some salt, and cook until fork-tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Very small potatoes may be done in 10 minutes. Drain and let cool until you can handle them.
Peel and dice. Peel the potatoes and cut them into bite-size pieces.
Add the remaining ingredients. Place the diced potatoes in a large bowl. Add the celery and green onion. Gently fold in the mayonnaise and sour cream. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Chill and serve. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours. Add a spoonful of extra mayonnaise or sour cream, if needed, just before serving. Garnish with optional toppings.

Notes

Potato choice: Waxy potatoes like red or Yukon Gold hold their shape best. Avoid starchy russets, which fall apart.
Cold-water start: Add the potatoes whole and unpeeled to cold water so they cook evenly and don't get waterlogged.
Re-dress before serving: The potatoes absorb dressing as the salad chills, so taste and stir in extra mayo or sour cream if it looks dry.
Full-fat dairy: With so few ingredients, quality matters. We love Duke's mayo.
Make it your own: Stir in crumbled bacon, pickle relish, mustard, or chopped hard-boiled eggs.
Scaling for a crowd: 1 pound of potatoes feeds about 3 to 4 people, so this 2-pound batch yields roughly 6 to 8 servings. Triple it for about 20 people, and plan on about 8 batches for 50.

Nutrition