Potato Salad Without Eggs

Potato salad is a great side dish that perfectly pairs with many meals. This humble yet outstanding dish originally came from Germany.

The original version of the potato salad was made by boiling potatoes in wine and herbs. This sounds pretty good to us, but we bet the version we made today is way better!

The initial potato salad was served with some bacon, potatoes, and celery dressed in oil and vinegar. These days, the basic recipe has not changed too much, and these still remain the key ingredients of the potato salad, with the addition of mayonnaise. 

Potato salad is one of those must-have sides when it comes to a BBQ and a picnic, but it can also be an important dish on the table during the holiday season. 

For those who like to experiment in the kitchen, potato salad is the perfect base to include some of your add-ins, like some extra mustard, crispy bacon, celery, spring onions, or pickles.

No matter what flavor profile you are going for, the start of any good potato salad begins with the potatoes.

The Best Potatoes For Potato Salad

The potatoes are divided in three categories:

1. Waxy potatoes
2. All-purpose potatoes
3. Starchy potatoes

1. Waxy potatoes have the least starch in them, and when boiled, they keep their shape. Their thin skin ensures that they are easy to peel, and if you are short on time, they do not have to be peeled at all.

Just make sure you wash them and scrub thoroughly. The common types of waxy potatoes are new potatoes, red potatoes, and fingerling potatoes.

2. All-purpose potatoes are the potatoes with a great mix of both waxy and starchy qualities. All-purpose potatoes work the best for all potato dishes, including potato salad.

Common types of all-purpose potatoes are Yukon gold and white potatoes.

3. Starchy potatoes, as their name says, are the potatoes with the most starch content. Russet potatoes are a classic type of starchy potatoes.

These will not hold well during the cooking/boiling time and will just fall apart.

In short, look for waxy or all-purpose potatoes for potato salad (or when you are boiling potatoes). 

How To Choose Potatoes For Potato Salad

Ever wondered about this? Do you know how to choose a good potato?

Although it seems easy, sometimes we forget about these basic rules: 

• Choose smaller potatoes as they have the best taste. Also, the potatoes which are the same size will cook equally so there will be no uncooked ones. 
• Choose only firm potatoes. Forget about potatoes that are wrinkly, sprouted, or look weird and exhausted. Stay away from the potatoes that are greenish. The greenish potatoes have been exposed to the sun too much and may have a bitter taste. 
• Once you buy potatoes, make sure they are stored properly. The potatoes must stay at a dry and cold place, especially if you are not going to use them within a few days. Any extra warmth will make them sprout. So, a clean paper bag and cold and dry place are the winning combos. 

How To Serve Potato Salad

The potato salad is served cold and pairs amazing with barbecue. Potato salad is super creamy and will enrich any meal. 

When serving the potato salad at the picnic table, please do remember not to leave it out for more than four hours.

Potato salad is notorious for giving people food poisoning during picnics. This is not the issue with the mayonnaise, but with the potatoes themselves. The boiled potatoes are a perfect medium for bacteria growth. 

Things To Remember When Making Potato Salad

As with any recipe involving potatoes, it all starts with cooking the potatoes. Before anything, you will have to boil the potatoes.

To check for doneness, use a fork or a toothpick. Do not under or overboil the potatoes. Cool the potatoes in an ice bath after boiling them. This will cool them down fast, but also ease the skin removal. 

While the potatoes are sitting in an ice bath, you can combine sour cream, mayo, and mustard. If you do not have sour cream, you can use crème Fraiche or Greek yogurt. They will both work fine.

Add potatoes and cider vinegar (or lemon juice) onion, and pickles. Top the salad with desired herbs (parsley, dill, or cilantro) and stir to combine. Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving. 

Serve the potato salad cold, alone or as a side dish. 

Now let’s get into the step-by-step instructions!

How To Make Potato Salad Without Eggs

Step 1

Gather your ingredients.

Boil the potatoes in water over medium-high heat for 20 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork.

Prepare the ice bath. Drain the boiled potatoes and place in an ice bath. Place the potatoes aside.

Step 2

Make the dressing; in a large bowl, combine cider vinegar, sour cream, and mayonnaise. Stir to combine.

Peel and chop the potatoes to a bite-size pieces.

Step 3

Add pickles, onion, and potatoes to the mayonnaise dressing.

Top with parsley, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 4

Stir to combine and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving.

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