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Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Old-fashioned potato salad is a classic picnic salad with tender russet cubes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, and crisp celery. It’s mixed with a creamy mayo dressing flavored with sweet pickle relish, mustard, and apple cider vinegar, then chilled until thick and scoopable.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 560
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Russet potatoes
  • 3 lb russet potatoes peeled and cubed
Hard-boiled eggs
  • 4 hard-boiled eggs chopped
Celery
  • 0.5 cup celery diced
Onion
  • 0.25 cup onion finely diced
Sweet pickle relish
  • 0.25 cup sweet pickle relish
Mayonnaise
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
Yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
Apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Sugar
  • 1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
  • 1 salt to taste
  • 1 pepper to taste
Paprika
  • 1 tsp paprika for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Cook and cool the potatoes
  1. Boil the potato cubes in a Dutch oven until tender, about 15 minutes; the edges should yield when pierced. Drain and let them cool until no longer hot.
Assemble the salad
  1. Add the cooled potatoes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, finely diced onion, and sweet pickle relish to a large bowl, leaving visible cubes and egg pieces.
  2. Mix mayonnaise, yellow mustard, apple cider vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth and evenly colored, with no mustard streaks.
  3. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and fold gently until the potatoes look creamy and coated without mashing.
Chill and serve
  1. Refrigerate the potato salad for at least 2 hours so it thickens and flavors meld, then stir once just before serving.
  2. Garnish with paprika for a light dusting of color, then serve cold.

Notes

For the best texture, cool the potatoes fully before mixing so the eggs and celery stay distinct. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for 3–4 days; freezer not recommended due to mayonnaise separation. For a lighter option, replace half the mayonnaise with Greek yogurt while keeping the rest for body.