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Classic Potato Salad with Eggs

Classic potato salad with eggs made with tender russet potatoes and chopped hard-boiled eggs in a creamy, tangy dressing. Cubed potatoes are boiled until just tender, cooled, then folded gently with celery and onion for a traditional picnic-ready texture.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 520
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
Mayonnaise
  • 1 cup mayonnaise
Yellow mustard
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
White vinegar
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
Sugar
  • 1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper
  • 1 salt and pepper to taste
Paprika garnish
  • 1 paprika for garnish

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Boil and cool
  1. Bring a Dutch oven of water to a boil, add the russet potatoes, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes (watch for a fork to slip in easily).
  2. Drain the potatoes and cool them until no longer hot, about 5 minutes, so the dressing won’t thin (visual cue: potatoes look matte and room-temperature).
Mix the potato salad
  1. Combine the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, celery, and onion in a large bowl and stir until evenly distributed (visual cue: egg pieces are spread throughout the mixture).
  2. In a separate bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, white vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth and creamy (visual cue: dressing thickly coats the whisk).
  3. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and fold gently until everything is coated (visual cue: potatoes are lightly glossy, not mashed).
Chill and serve
  1. Cover and refrigerate the potato salad for at least 2 hours, until chilled and set (visual cue: salad looks slightly thicker and holds shape).
  2. Just before serving, garnish with paprika (visual cue: a light dusting of red on top).

Notes

For the best texture, cool the boiled potatoes until warm to room temperature before mixing—hot potatoes can break the creamy dressing. Refrigerate in a covered container up to 4 days; freezer: no. For a lighter option, use reduced-fat mayonnaise while keeping mustard and vinegar the same for the classic tang.