Easy Potato Salad (without hard-boiled eggs)

Ingredients

• Yukon gold potatoes - I used Yukon gold potatoes because they have a thin skin, they are small to medium sized, they have a beautiful yellow color that comes through in the potato salad and they are "middle of the road" in starch content. Overly starchy potatoes, like russet potatoes or Idaho potatoes, can be a little trickier to work with when making potato salad. The higher the starch content, the higher the chance that the potato will get mushy when you're cooking it. Another good option would be all purpose white potatoes.
• Carrots - You'll want to peel your carrots using a vegetable peeler and shred the carrots using a box grater or a food processor.
• Celery - The celery should be finely diced for this recipe. I love that the celery adds some crunch, but you don't want huge chunks of it in the salad.
• Yellow onion & green onions - You can substitute in red onion or white onion for the yellow onion if needed. When chopping green onion, you'll want to chop off the dried out ends and then you can chop up the green and the white portions. I prefer to mostly use the green portion though.
• Fresh herbs - I use fresh parsley and fresh dill for this recipe. I really love an herbed potato salad! Fresh herbs have the ability to elevate simple recipes into something truly special.
• Mayo, sour cream & Dijon mustard - Look for vegan or plant-based mayo to make this recipe 100% egg-free.
• Red wine vinegar & seasonings - Pretty much all potato salad recipes will call for an acid ingredient. I prefer red wine vinegar, but you can also use apple cider vinegar, white wine vinegar or regular white vinegar. I also add in celery seed, black pepper and kosher salt.

*See the recipe card below for quantities.

Equipment needed

• Large stock pot - You'll need a large pot to boil the potatoes in.
• Cutting board & chopping knife
• Large bowl - You'll need a large mixing bowl to mix all of the salad ingredients together in.

How to make

Step 1: After you've boiled your potatoes until they're fork tender (about 15 minutes), drained the cooking water and let them cool to room temperature, you'll chop the potatoes up into bite sized pieces. Mix the potatoes with the shredded carrots, diced celery, diced onion, green onion and fresh herbs.

Step 2: Add the mayonnaise, sour cream, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery seed, salt and pepper to the large mixing bowl with the vegetables and herbs.

Step 3: Mix all of the ingredients together until they are fully incorporated. Be careful when mixing that you don't smash the potatoes. The potatoes should be kept in bite sized chunks if possible. The salad can be served immediately or cooled in the refrigerator before serving.

Serving suggestions

Potato salad without eggs is a great side dish for just about any birthday party, BBQ or summertime holiday. I would serve this side dish recipe with burgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken, steak or fish. It's so versatile and can go with just about any protein!

Substitutions

I don't recommend making a bunch of substitutions, but if you want to get creative and put your own spin on it, here's some ideas as to what you could do.

• Veggies - You could swap out the carrots and celery for red, yellow or green bell peppers, sweet pickles, sweet pickle relish, dill pickles or fresh green peas.
• Fresh herbs - If you are lucky enough to have a garden full of fresh herbs, then you could add in some fresh chives, thyme, oregano or tarragon.

Expert tips

• Boil potatoes by placing them in the bottom of a large stock pot. Cover the potatoes with an inch or two of cool water. Add about a teaspoon of salt and then bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a rapid simmer.
• Keep a close eye on the potatoes while they're boiling. The key to potato salad is to not have potatoes that are too soft. You want the potatoes to easily pierce with a fork, BUT not fall right apart when pierced with the fork. You aren't making potatoes for mashing. Ideally you want cooked potatoes with a creamy texture that do not fall apart.
• To save yourself some time chopping, you can use a food processor to shred the carrots and dice the celery and yellow onion.

Storage

Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Keep the salad cold until you are ready to serve it.

Frequently asked questions

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