Basic Potato Salad

This simple potato salad recipe calls for just four basic ingredients: scallions, mayonnaise, white-wine vinegar, and Yukon gold potatoes. Yukon golds are waxy potatoes, and they won't crumble like starchier ones; they hold their shape through the mixing and stirring. While they're steaming, mix the vinegar with scallions, and season with salt and pepper. Tossing the cooked potatoes in this tangy mixture while they are still hot allows them to absorb the flavors.

After they cool, stir in the mayonnaise and more scallions, and the salad is ready to serve. The result is a tangy, just-dressed-enough summer side that’s simple without being boring. Perfect for cookouts, potlucks, and parties, this recipe couldn’t be easier to pull together.

Why We Use Yukon Gold Potatoes for This Potato Salad

Yukon Gold potatoes are our favorite all-purpose variety because of their creamy texture and flavor, and they are the best type of potato to use for this recipe. They are widely available and well-suited to all kinds of potato dishes, from mashed to scalloped.

As an alternative, use another waxy type of potato, such as Red Bliss. Waxy potatoes are low in starch and high in moisture, so they hold their shape well in a potato salad.

Do not use starchy russet potatoes—the kind best suited for baked potatoes—as they will fall apart in your salad.

Our Simple Potato Salad Technique

The foolproof method produces an easy potato salad every time. Here are the steps that set our recipe apart:

Leaving the Skins on the Potatoes

Perhaps the most controversial thing about our easy potato salad is that we leave the skins on the potatoes. There are several reasons for this: ease (one less prep step), look (we like the pop of color that the skins offer in the potato salad), and they add texture.

Cutting the Potatoes

Aside from choosing the right potato variety, the most important step for making a good basic potato salad is cutting the pieces into uniformly sized pieces so they cook evenly. If you have a mix of sizes, smaller pieces will be overcooked or start to fall apart, while the larger pieces will not be cooked through.

Steaming Rather Than Boiling

Many potato salad recipes call for boiling the potatoes. Depending on the potato used, the size of the pieces of potato, and how long they are cooked for, boiling can result in overcooked, watery potatoes, which results in a mushy potato salad. Steaming gives you more control and keeps the pieces intact, which is what you want for potato salad. 

How to Steam Without a Steamer Basket

No steamer basket? No problem. To make this recipe without one, there are two easy options:

Use a metal colander: If you have a metal colander, place it in the bottom of a deep pot and add an inch of water. It'll lift the potatoes off the bottom of the pot while letting the steam work its magic on those spuds.

Use foil and a plate: To pull off this hack, roll three large sheets of foil into balls—each about the size of a clementine—then place them in the bottom of your pot. Add an inch of water, then set a heatproof plate on top. Use a slotted spoon or a spider to remove the potatoes once they're cooked, rather than trying to lift them out with the plate.

Making Potato Salad Ahead

Potato salad can generally be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Some people say it tastes better the next day. Even if you’re not in that camp, you need to allow about 1 hour for the potatoes to cool before adding the mayonnaise.