The best part about summer are the barbecues and picnics that we have all season long. And the most classic, go-to dish to serve is easy homemade potato salad. It's loaded with baby potatoes and eggs with a kick of green onions and tossed in a mayo sauce. It's creamy, it's packed with flavour, and is a crowd pleaser. Plus, it's super simple to make in just about 30 minutes.
What is in Potato Salad?
- baby potatoes - I like to slice them up because they cook faster and make the salad look prettier.
- eggs
- mayonnaise + white vinegar - this forms the sauce that we toss everything into.
- green onions - I use green onions because they offer a softer, less pungent flavour that raw onions do and enhance the flavour so well.
- salt and pepper - to taste.
How to Make the Best Homemade Potato Salad
- Cook the potatoes. Place potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until they are tender.
- Hard-boil the eggs. Place eggs in a pot and cover with water by at least 1 or 2 inches. Bring to a boil on high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and run eggs under cold water. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and chop into small cubes.
- Toss together the salad. In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise and vinegar. Add cooled potatoes, eggs, and half the green onions. Season with salt and pepper and gently toss together. I use a spatula to fold the ingredients together.
- Serve. Garnish with the remaining green onions, and serve.
Tips for Making Potato Salad
- Wait until ingredients have cooled. Do not be tempted to assemble the salad until all the ingredients have cooled down, at least to room temperature. Otherwise, the texture of your mayo sauce may thin out and in some cases split.
- Make it in advance. The best thing about this is that you can make the whole salad in advance and kick your feet up with your friends at the barbecue.
- Double the recipe. This recipe makes 3-4 small side salads. If you are catering for a larger crowd, double or even triple the recipe. If you aren't feeding a crowd, well you should probably double it anyway because leftover potato salad the next day simply cannot be beaten.
More Summer Barbecue Recipes
- Summer Corn Salad
- Teriyaki Grilled Salmon
- Easy Greek Chicken Souvlaki Skewers
- Teriyaki Chicken Skewers with Pineapple
- Simple Homemade Peach Iced Tea
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Recipe
Easy Homemade Potato Salad
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 side salads
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Easy homemade potato salad is loaded with baby potatoes, eggs, and green onions and tossed in a mayo sauce and is a go-to for summer barbecues and picnics.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. baby potatoes (approximately 15), scrubbed and sliced
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon green onions
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water and bring to a boil. Cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes until they are tender. You can test by sliding a knife into one of them – they should slide off. Once done, drain and set aside to cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, hard-boil the eggs in a separate pot. Place eggs in a pot and cover with water by at least 1 or 2 inches. Bring to a boil on high heat. Boil for 5 minutes, then turn off the heat and let the eggs sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and run eggs under cold water. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel and chop into small cubes.
- In a large bowl, mix together mayonnaise and vinegar. Add cooled potatoes, eggs, and half the green onions. Season with salt and pepper and gently toss together. I use a spatula to fold the ingredients together.
- Garnish with the remaining green onions, and serve.
Notes
Wait until the ingredients have cooled. Do not be tempted to assemble the salad until all the ingredients have cooled down, at least to room temperature. Otherwise, the texture of your mayo sauce may thin out and in some cases split.
Make it in advance. The best thing about this is that you can make the whole salad in advance and kick your feet up with your friends at the barbecue.
Double the recipe. This recipe makes 3-4 small side salads. If you are catering for a larger crowd, double or even triple the recipe. If you aren't feeding a crowd, well you should probably double it anyway because leftover potato salad the next day simply cannot be beaten.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes (+10 minutes cooling time)
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Salad
- Method: Boil
- Cuisine: American
Gabrielle says
Delicious, also I have to admit that the initial appeal of this recipe was that I didn't have to peel all the baby potatoes XD
My mom LOVES potato salad and she said that it's one of the best she's ever had. She actually pinched some ahead of our barbecue tonight. I forsee making lots of this potato salad this summer. Also I didn't have any spring onion so I substituted 1/4 of a red onion and defired it so it was less pungent.
Sam Hu | Ahead of Thyme says
Thank you! So happy you liked the recipe!