All American Potato Salad

All American Potato Salad has it all to pair perfectly with a grilled steak, juicy cheese burger, or a simple sandwich. The potatoes are tender, the dressing is creamy with a slight tang, and the veggies give it a little crunch. Throw in a hint of dill pickle, some hard boiled eggs, and toss. A must-have, classic side dish recipe.

For this traditional side dish, All American Potato Salad is not only an easy recipe to follow, but it’s inexpensive to make. Who doesn’t love that?

Plus everyone loves potato salad, so it’s great having a tried and true recipe to fall back on. Make it ahead of time so the flavors thoroughly blend together. Delicious.

All American Potato Salad Ingredients

Potato salads everywhere have a wide range of ingredients. For instance, German Potato Salad has a vinegar dressing base as opposed to an American mayonnaise dressing base. 

There are different potatoes, different veggies to throw in the mix, different types of mustard, etc. I could go on. This recipe reflects just one way I make my potato salad.

Potatoes

Russet and Yukon Gold potatoes make for some great potato salad. If you don’t like peeling potatoes, use New Red Potatoes, which also have a little less sugar in them. 

Veggie Add-ins

Add some crunch to the potato salad with crisp veggies like celery, green onion, and pickles.

Other delicious add-ins are black olives, radishes, and who doesn’t love bacon?

You can also add cheese. In fact, add it shredded or cubed for different textures.

I also love fresh parsley, and not just sprinkled on top, but mixed right in.

The Dressing

As I mentioned, an American version of potato salad will have mayonnaise in it’s dressing base, but there’s more than just mayonnaise. For instance, there’s sour cream and mustard. I use regular yellow mustard, but spicy or Dijon can also be used. I also love a little splash of pickle brine (pickle juice!). 

Making potato salad.

Peel and cut up the potatoes into bite-sized pieces, approximately 1-inch cubes. Drop the pieces into cold salted water and bring to a boil. Allow to soft boil for 12 – 15 minutes, or until fork tender. That means the fork goes into the potato gently, but the potato doesn’t bust apart and disintegrate into mush.

Drain the potatoes and place in a bowl. Toss in the apple cider vinegar and salt. This is only 2 tablespoons of vinegar, not much, but we do this to help the potatoes keep their shape. Some people add the vinegar to the water as the potatoes are boiling, the choice is yours.

Next, grab the large bowl you plan on keeping the potato salad in. Whisk the dressing ingredients together: mayonnaise, sour cream, diced pickles, the pickle brine, mustard, sugar, and pepper. 

Add in the chopped fresh veggies: celery, green onions, and parsley, plus the chopped eggs. Lastly, add the potatoes and toss it all together. 

Cover the dish and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but it really is better the next day. So many things are, the magic happens overnight in the refrigerator. 

Then, right before you serve, sprinkle on some paprika for a splash of color, or add any other favorite toppings. I sometimes add more hard boiled eggs or parsley, as seen in some of these photos. 

One last side note:

Hold off on adding salt until after it’s had time to refrigerate. The pickles and the pickle brine both have salt in them, and that might be enough to your liking. You can always add more later. 

Other great side dishes:

Sometimes it’s hard to know what to bring, or what side to make that’s going to compliment other food. Here are some great recipes (served both hot and cold) that go with a lot of main courses:

• Black Bean and Corn Salad
• Mom’s Cucumber Noodle Salad
• Italian Pasta and Lettuce Salad
• Buttered Parmesan Broccoli
• Lemon Ricotta Pasta

All American Potato Salad

I want to see your All American Potato Salad, so follow me on Pinterest and post your picture. We all want to see your favorite toppings and pretty serving dishes. 

Also, you can leave a comment below and rate the recipe. I hope you enjoy it, and thanks so much for reading this far. Have a blessed day.

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