Best Side Dishes is an Amazon Associate and may receive compensation for purchases made through affiliate links.
If you love easy potato salad recipes as much as I do, you're going to love the recipes in this collection! From Instant Pot potato salad to my super flavorful Spanish Potato Salad (ready in just 30 minutes!), these are the best potato salad recipes for serving with meals of all kinds. Especially BBQ over the summer!
Jump to:
Best Potato Salad Recipes
My family and I are big fans of easy potato salad recipes. I love them because of how simple they are to make, and my family loves them for how delicious they are! If you've had a truly amazing potato salad with the perfect level of creaminess and balance of flavors, you know exactly what I mean.
Of all the potato salads I've made over the years, my favorite has to be my Spanish Potato Salad recipe. This is one of the best potato salads, complete with red potatoes, olives, chives, eggs, and an amazing blend of spices inspired by traditional Spanish flavors.
Along with my favorite Spanish potato salad, give these easy potato salad recipes a try. You won't be disappointed!
- Instant Pot Potato Salad: Oh-so creamy and easy to make, my Instant Pot Potato Salad is guaranteed to be a hit alongside whatever meal you serve it with. It's ready in under 40 minutes, complete with eggs, onions, celery, and a tasty seasoning blend.
- German Potato Salad: My favorite thing about German Potato Salad is that you can serve it warm or cold, and the flavors will stand out spectacularly either way. Ready in just 35 minutes using simple ingredients, I guarantee you will love this creamy bacon and potato salad with fresh herbs.
- Spanish Potato Salad: The star of the show among my easy potato salad recipes, my Spanish Potato Salad is packed with flavors inspired by Spanish cuisine and includes everything you love in a classic potato salad. Zesty, tangy, and delicious, I guarantee you will want to make it again and again! Scroll to the recipe card below for the instructions.
Potato Salad Recipes FAQs
The key to making a great potato salad is to use the right blend of seasonings and a balance of creamy and vinegary flavors. Traditional potato salad typically uses a vinegar and mayo-based sauce, though some recipes omit one or the other to stick to a single liquid base (such as using only vinegar, or only mayonnaise). Balance out your seasonings and add ingredients like bacon, onion, and egg to give potato salad plenty of body and flavor!
Whether you dice potatoes up ahead of time or boil them whole is up to preference, and will have no impact on flavor so long as you do not over- or under-cook the potatoes. I find cooking them whole and allowing them to cool makes it easier to peel them before cutting them; however, for Spanish potato salad, for example, I like leaving the skin on the potatoes, so I cut them ahead of time.
Waxy potatoes, such as Yukon gold or small red potatoes, are best to use for potato salad as they retain their shape well, hold up very well to sauces and seasonings, and have a buttery smooth texture. I do not recommend using russet potatoes for potato salad.
Spanish Potato Salad Ingredients
- red potatoes
- eggs
- Spanish olives
- fresh chives
- mayonnaise
- whole grain mustard
- lemon juice
- smoked paprika
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- salt and pepper
How to Make Spanish Potato Salad
- To prep your ingredients, wash and scrub red potatoes thoroughly, cutting off any damaged or discolored areas from the skin using a paring knife. Dice the potatoes into bite-size pieces, mince Spanish olives, and mince fresh chives.
- Add the diced potatoes to a large pot. Fill with water enough to cover the potatoes by 1-2 inches. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and bring the pot to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and allow it to come to a high simmer/low boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside in a bowl.
- Place 4 eggs in a small sauce pan. Cover with water by 1-2 inches and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a full minute, then cover the pan and turn the heat off. Let the pan sit, covered, on the hot burner for 12 minutes to fully cook the eggs. Alternatively, follow my recipe for Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs to quickly make a batch.
- Drain the hot water and let the eggs cool by running them under cold water, or by placing them in a bowl of ice water. Peel once they cool completely. Cut your eggs into diced pieces, leaving 1 to slice for garnish.
- In a medium bowl, mix whole grain mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir until combined.
- In a large bowl, add half of your potatoes, eggs, olives, and chives.
- Drizzle half of the dressing over the ingredients, and mix together.
- Repeat with the second half of the ingredients, and stir until combined.
- Garnish with egg slices, olives, chopped chives, and smoked paprika. Enjoy!
Easy Potato Salad Recipes Tips
- You can cut your potatoes ahead of time to make potato salad, or cook them whole. If you cook them whole, they will be easy to peel after cooling. If you want to leave the skin on your potatoes, dicing them ahead of time will allow them to cook more quickly.
- For a mayonnaise-based potato salad, let the potatoes cool completely before dressing them. For a vinegar-based potato salad, you can dress them while they're still hot so the potatoes easily absorb the vinegar.
- Use waxy potatoes, like red potatoes, Yukon gold, new, or fingerling potatoes, to make potato salad. Avoid high-starch potatoes like russet.
- Cook potatoes by fully submerging them in cold water and bringing the pot to a boil. This will give you even cooking for your potatoes. Boiling the water and then adding the potatoes will make them cook unevenly, so make sure to heat your pot with the potatoes already in the water.
- For extra flavor, add salt to the water while the potatoes cook. The potatoes will absorb some of the salt, which ensures every bite will be nicely seasoned. Make sure to taste test when adding more salt later.
More Potato Recipes
Try more of my best potato recipes for side dishes:
Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments below, and leave a rating! We love to hear from you.
Easy Spanish Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
- 1 bowl for mixing
- 1 pot for cooking eggs
- 1 pot for cooking potatoes
- 1 Knife
Ingredients
- 8 medium red potatoes
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup Spanish olives
- ⅛ cup fresh chives
- ½ cup mayo
- 2 Tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 3 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 pinch salt adjust to taste
- 1 pinch pepper adjust to taste
Instructions
- To prep your ingredients, wash and scrub red potatoes thoroughly, cutting off any damaged or discolored areas from the skin using a paring knife. Dice the potatoes into bite-size pieces, mince Spanish olives, and mince fresh chives.
- Add the diced potatoes to a large pot. Fill with water enough to cover the potatoes by 1-2 inches. Sprinkle in a pinch of salt and bring the pot to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and allow it to come to a high simmer/low boil. Cook for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Drain, and set aside in a bowl.
- Place 4 eggs in a small sauce pan. Cover with water by 1-2 inches and bring to a boil. Let it boil for a full minute, then cover the pan and turn the heat off. Let the pan sit, covered, on the hot burner for 12 minutes to fully cook the eggs. Drain the hot water and let the eggs cool by running them under cold water, or by placing them in a bowl of ice water. Peel once they cool completely. Cut your eggs into diced pieces, leaving 1 to slice for garnish.
- In a medium bowl, mix whole grain mustard, mayonnaise, lemon juice, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir until combined.
- In a large bowl, add half of your potatoes, eggs, olives, and chives.
- Drizzle half of the dressing over the ingredients, and mix together.
- Repeat with the second half of the ingredients, and stir until combined. Garnish with egg slices, olives, chopped chives, and smoked paprika. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- You can cut your potatoes ahead of time to make potato salad, or cook them whole. If you cook them whole, they will be easy to peel after cooling. If you want to leave the skin on your potatoes, dicing them ahead of time will allow them to cook more quickly.
- For a mayonnaise-based potato salad, let the potatoes cool completely before dressing them. For a vinegar-based potato salad, you can dress them while they're still hot so the potatoes easily absorb the vinegar.
- Use waxy potatoes, like red potatoes, Yukon gold, new, or fingerling potatoes, to make potato salad. Avoid high-starch potatoes like russet.
- Cook potatoes by fully submerging them in cold water and bringing the pot to a boil. This will give you even cooking for your potatoes. Boiling the water and then adding the potatoes will make them cook unevenly, so make sure to heat your pot with the potatoes already in the water.
- For extra flavor, add salt to the water while the potatoes cook. The potatoes will absorb some of the salt, which ensures every bite will be nicely seasoned. Make sure to taste test when adding more salt later.
Leave a Reply