Traditional Potato Salad Recipe

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Last updated on April 20th, 2023

This Traditional Potato Salad recipe is made with Hellman’s mayonnaise and is the perfect BBQ classic summer side dish! An easy hellmans potato salad recipe that will remind you of picnics with you grandma!

There are some classic recipes where less is more and this is definitely one of them! It’s such a simple and easy potato salad recipe that I’m almost embarrassed when people ask me for the recipe.

But they always do because it’s a hit everywhere I take it! It’s the same recipe my mom always made growing up, and there’s nothing quite like a homemade, family-style potato salad recipe to make you feel nostalgic.

How to Make Traditional Hellmans Potato Salad

With a Hellman’s mayonnaise dressing and just potatoes, onions and hard-boiled eggs, this amazing dish recipe has minimal ingredients and comes together pretty quickly. Plus, it’s great to make ahead and keep chilled in the refrigerator before you’re ready to eat.

The key to a  flavorful potato salad is the… drumroll, please… POTATOES!!

The kind of potato you choose and make sure it’s cooked just right! I prefer Russet potatoes for my potato salad. They hold their shape really well but still get tender enough that the dressing clings to them and stays distributed evenly.

You can experiment with other types of potatoes, but I always end up coming back to russets.

How long do you boil potatoes for potato salad?

Before you start boiling your potatoes, make sure you scrub them really well to remove all the dirt.

I leave my potatoes whole and with the skin on when I’m boiling them. This makes it easier to remove the skin after they’re done cooking.

You can easily leave the skin on and chop them into large chunks and then add to the water. Some people prefer their potato salad with the skin-on. It gets very thin and adds some nice color to the dish.

But since I peel the skin after cooking, that’s how we’re going to proceed with this recipe!

Add your clean potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Add salt (just throw a couple of teaspoons in, no need to measure). Bring the pot to a fast simmer, low boil.

Now the technique to make sure they’re done correctly is super scientific here… just check it with a fork!

You want your potatoes tender the whole way through to the center, but you don’t want them to cook for too much after that point otherwise they will turn to mush when you’re mixing everything together.

For large, whole russet potatoes, I usually start checking for doneness around 17-20 minutes. Once my fork pierces through to the center, they’re done. (if you cut your potatoes into chunks first, they should be done around 13 minutes).

Once they’re tender, remove them from heat and drain. Allow that potatoes to cool for 10 minutes or so until they’re cool enough to handle.

At this point, I use a small paring knife to easily remove the potato skins. Feel free to leave them on if you want! Then just dice your potatoes into bite-size pieces.

Mayonnaise Dressing for Potato Salad

For my family, there is no substitution for Hellman’s mayonnaise. It has to be Hellman’s or we won’t even touch it.

Ingredients for Potato Salad Dressing:

3/4 cup Hellman’s mayo
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white vinegar

That’s it! Mix it up in a bowl and then pour it over your chopped potatoes!

You can do whatever add-ins you want but for traditional potato salad, we do chopped onions and chopped hard-boiled eggs.

Little secret, I am not a fan of hard-boiled eggs at all. AT ALL. So since I was a little girl, my mom always mixes everything together except the eggs. She puts some in a small container for me and then mixes the eggs into the larger batch for everyone else. I still do this for myself when I’m making it for my family.

But if you want to really get crazy with this hellman’s classic potato salad recipe, you can add in chopped bacon bits, green onions, shredded cheese, celery… whatever makes it a classic potato salad recipe for your tastebuds!

And then serve it alongside one of your favorite main dishes! Potato salad goes great with:

• BBQ Meatballs (this recipe feeds a crowd and can be made ahead of time!)
• Coconut Chicken Tenders (one of my most popular recipes!)
• Asian Pork Burgers (my son asks for these at least once a month)
• The Perfect Grilled Steak (these tips work every time!)

This classic potato salad recipe is a classic for a reason! It’s easy to make, classic flavor, delicious, and perfect for a summertime side dish. Give it a try for your next potluck or picnic and see for yourself how everyone loves it!