Go Back

Picnic Potato Salad

Picnic potato salad is a classic creamy recipe with tender russet potatoes and chopped hard-boiled eggs, dressed in a tangy mayo mixture. Chill for a few hours so the flavors meld before serving at your next outdoor gathering.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
chilling 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 650
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Russet potatoes
  • 3 lb russet potatoes peeled and cubed
Hard-boiled eggs
  • 5 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
  • 1.25 cup mayonnaise
Yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
White vinegar
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
Sugar
  • 1 tsp sugar
Salt
  • 0.25 tsp salt to taste
Black pepper
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper to taste
Paprika
  • 1 tsp paprika for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Boil and cool the potatoes
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Boil the peeled and cubed russet potatoes for 15 to 20 minutes, until easily pierced with a fork, with a visual cue that the cubes look tender.
  2. Drain the potatoes and spread them out to cool completely. Let them stand until they are no longer steaming, using a visual cue of dry, room-temperature surfaces.
Mix the salad base
  1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cooled potatoes, chopped hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, finely diced onion, and sweet pickle relish. Stir until the mix looks evenly distributed with no large dry pockets.
Make the dressing
  1. In a separate bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, yellow mustard, white vinegar, sugar, salt, and black pepper until smooth. Use a visual cue of a uniform, creamy dressing with no mustard streaks.
Combine, chill, and serve
  1. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and fold gently until everything is coated. Keep folding just until you no longer see dry potato, with a visual cue of glossy, creamy coverage.
  2. Refrigerate the potato salad for at least 3 hours to chill and set the flavors. You should see it thicken slightly as it cools.
  3. Just before serving, garnish the top evenly with paprika. Look for a light red sprinkle across the surface right before the picnic.

Notes

For best picnic texture, cool the potatoes completely before mixing so they don’t turn gluey—room-temperature potatoes fold cleanly. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days; freeze is not recommended because the mayonnaise dressing can separate. If you want a lighter option, swap mayonnaise for a light mayonnaise in the same amount for a similar creamy consistency.