Mom’s Classic Potato Salad

Mom’s Classic Potato Salad is an old family favorite. Creamy, and just right!

Happy Monday, everyone – and happy July 1st!

I hope you had a lovely weekend filled with fun in the sun. I laced up my walking shoes for the first time in over a week to zip around some trails, then Ben and I spent a few hours walking around the Des Moines Art Festival on Saturday. The weather was crazy! These dark storm clouds kept passing over the festival every 30 minutes or so, but never let loose – as long as we were there, anyway. I can’t imagine a worse scenario for a traveling artist. RAIN!

I also whipped up a batch of my Mom’s Classic Potato Salad for you. I promised I’d post this recipe before the 4th, and here she is!

If you attend a BBQ at my parent’s house in the summer, you are 99% guaranteed to be served Judy’s Baked Beans, Grandpa’s Pasta Salad, and Yo’ Mama’s Dirt Cake, or any combo of the three, but always, always, always Mom’s Classic Potato Salad. It’s a summertime staple.

My Mom (she cracks me up. Yes, Mom, I know who you are!) has made this recipe so many times that it’s ingrained in her memory, but last week I had her write it down ingredient by yummy ingredient, step by simple step. I’ve never actually made this classic potato salad myself – afterall, Mom always seems to make it best – and was so surprised by the recipe. Not nearly as much mayo as I thought, and a secret marinating step that gives the salad flavor from the inside out. You’ll see!

She’s fine-tuned the recipe over the years to fit our family’s tastes – eliminating add-ins like chopped onions and celery, which we don’t love – so feel free to jazz this recipe up with any mixins you like. The base recipe, which I’m sharing here, is a classic, creamy, dare I say, clean, tasting Potato Salad. The only one I’ll eat. It is SO good!!!

Start with zee potatoes. 2-1/2lbs potatoes, which is about 4 medium-sized potatoes. Make sure they’re all roughly the same size so they cook evenly. I used Russets.

Scrub the potatoes then place in a HUGE pot of cold water and bring to a boil. Boil for 20-30 minutes or until a knife can be inserted into the center of each potato.

Remove the potatoes with tongs then let cool slightly. When they’re cool enough to handle, but still warm, use a paring knife to help peel (it should be very easy) then chop into big chunks and place into a large bowl.

Meanwhile, mix up the dressing for the potato salad. Part of this dressing will be swirled over the warm potatoes, and part will be stirred in at the very end before serving.

In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup canola oil, 1 Tablespoon cider vinegar (same as apple cider vinegar) and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Then add 1/2 teaspoon sugar, a scant 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a heavy dash of paprika.

Give ‘er a little stir with a fork to combine.

Pour 3/4 of the dressing over the warm potatoes then stir and stash in the fridge for at least an hour or up to overnight. This is the “marinating” step that gives the potato so much flavor!

After making the dressing, while the potatoes are still cooking, hard-boil 4 large eggs. Just pop them into a saucepan then cover the tops by 1″ with cold water. Bring to a boil, place a lid on top, then let them sit off the heat for exactly 12 minutes.

Plunge the eggs into ice water, or run under cold water for a few minutes, then lightly smash each egg against a cutting board, roll so the shell cracks all the way around the center, and then peel. I find that still-warm eggs peel the easiest. Chop the eggs up then place ’em into the refrigerator.

Before serving, add the remaining dressing, 1/2 cup light mayonnaise, the chopped hard boiled eggs, and a dash of salt to the marinated potatoes then stir to combine, adding up to 1/4 cup more light mayo to achieve a creamier consistency.

That’s it! Classic, right?! Refrigerate until ready to devour, then dig in!

Creamy and SO dreamy, I hope you love this salad as much as my family and I do!