Simple Potato Salad with Easy Variations
Creamy, versatile and flavoursome, this simple potato salad is a recipe you’ll make again and again. The dressing combines mayonnaise and yoghurt for a lighter finish, while easy variations allow you to adapt it for any occasion. Perfect for barbecue season, picnics and summer buffets, it’s also an excellent side dish at any time of year.
Dive Right In
- Why You’ll Love This Simple Potato Salad
- The Best Potato Salad
- Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
- How To Make This Simple Potato Salad
- Potato Salad Variations
- FAQs
- Other Potato Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
Why You’ll Love This Simple Potato Salad
- Simple ingredients – made with just a handful of everyday ingredients you may already have in your kitchen.
- Full of flavour – mustard, chives and black pepper add plenty of savoury flavour without overpowering the potatoes.
- Light yet creamy – a combination of mayonnaise and natural yoghurt creates a rich, creamy dressing that’s lighter and more flavoursome than using mayonnaise alone.
- One recipe, endless possibilities – keep it simple or dress it up with your favourite add-ins and flavour combinations.
- Naturally vegetarian and gluten-free – suitable for a wide range of guests and dietary needs.
- A reliable crowd-pleaser – familiar, comforting flavours that appeal to adults and children alike. Ideal for barbecues, picnics, garden parties and buffet spreads.
- Budget-friendly – potatoes are an economical ingredient that go a long way when feeding a crowd.
- Make-ahead friendly – prepare in advance and chill until needed.
The Best Potato Salad
This is my go-to potato salad recipe, which I’ve been making for more years than I care to remember. It’s easy to prepare, everyone loves it and it’s wonderfully versatile. Although I often make it exactly as written in the recipe below, I frequently tweak it to suit the occasion or whatever I have to hand.
This simple potato salad pairs with just about anything. However, it’s particularly delicious alongside veggie burgers and sausages, grilled halloumi, quiches and other salads.
Although it makes a fabulous side dish, however, it’s so good it can quite easily steal the limelight. You can even make it the main part of a meal by adding protein such as egg, cheese or tempeh.
The addition of yoghurt to the mayonnaise, not only makes the dressing less cloying, but it adds gentle sour notes to balance the rich mayonnaise. It also gives the salad a creamier mouthfeel.
It’s an adaptable recipe that you can easily make your own. See the section on potato salad variations.
Ingredients, Variations and Substitutions
As its name suggests, this simple potato salad has a simple list of ingredients. If you don’t count salt and pepper, you only need five.
Chives
Chives work brilliantly in this salad and do a lot of heavy lifting. They add freshness, oniony tones and a much needed pop of colour. In this recipe I used a mix of onion chives and garlic chives which we grow in the garden.
Mayonnaise
Use a good quality mayonnaise if you can for this recipe. I make my own vegan mayonnaise and it’s the only one I’ve used for many years. It’s incredibly quick and easy to make.
Mustard
Use your favourite mustard in this salad. I use either English mustard or Dijon mustard as they have a bolder flavour than most others. Look for brands that have a high mustard seed content and low ingredient list, they vary quite a lot.
For a bit of texture, wholegrain mustard works nicely.
Potatoes
Any type of new or waxy potatoes are ideal for this recipe, but many main crop potatoes are fine to use too. Just don’t go for the really floury ones or they’ll end up going to mush.
I used organic Valor in the recipe you can see here. It’s a good allrounder and holds its shape well when boiled.
Yoghurt
Use plain natural yoghurt here rather than Greek yoghurt. Greek yoghurt is too thick, not as tangy and won’t balance the richness of the mayonnaise so well.
For a vegan version of this salad, use a good plain vegan yoghurt.
How To Make This Simple Potato Salad
This simple potato salad is really easy to make. Hands on time is short, but you’ll need to factor in ten minutes or so of cooling time when planning your meal.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for cooking temperatures and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Prepare Potatoes
Scrub the potatoes, but don’t peel them. The skins are not only nutritious, but they give a nice flavour too.
Cut them into bite sized chunks. This enables them to cook much faster than if you leave them whole. It also prevents the exterior from getting mushy whilst the centre remains hard.
Place the chunks in a saucepan and add the salt. Add just enough water to nearly cover them, then bring to the boil. Once boiling lower the heat and simmer for ten to fifteen minutes. How long it takes will depend on the size of potato and the variety used. Test for doneness with a sharp knife. If it slides in easily, the potatoes are ready.
Top Tip – If I have mint in the garden, I like to add a sprig when boiling potatoes. It imparts a subtle minty note to the potatoes and makes the kitchen smell gorgeous.
Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave them to steam dry for ten minutes or so.
If you add them to the dressing whilst they’re still hot, they’ll liquify it. Add them when they’re cold and they won’t absorb any of it. Ideally they should be more warm than cold though. It’s a balancing act.
Step 2. Make Dressing
Whilst the potatoes are draining, prepare the dressing. In a large mixing bowl stir the mayonnaise, mustard and yoghurt together until smooth. You can use the bowl you’re going to serve the salad in if you like. This saves on washing up, but might look a bit messy.
Snip in the chives, reserving a couple of leaves for garnish, if liked. Grind in some black pepper and give another stir.
Top Tip – If you’ve cooked the potatoes in salted water, you probably won’t need to add any additional salt to the salad. There’s also salt in the mayonnaise. Taste the dressing before adding the potatoes though and if you think it’s going to need it, add a pinch or two.
Step 3. Finalise and Serve
Tip the drained and partially cooled potatoes into the bowl. Using a large metal spoon, stir carefully until they’re all coated in the dressing. You don’t want to mush the potatoes at this point if you can help it.
Transfer the potato salad to a serving bowl, if using. To garnish snip the reserved chives over the top. If you have chive flowers, they look good too.
Serve straightaway whilst still warm or later at room temperature. Alternatively, cover the salad as soon as it’s cool and store in the fridge for up to five days. Remove from the fridge an hour before serving so the salad can regain room temperature.
Top Tip – When you cook potatoes, then cool them, you turn digestible starch into resistant starch. Resistant starch is good for our gut microbiome as it feeds the beneficial bacteria that live there. It also has a surprising number of other benefits. (Ref: Healthline)
Potato Salad Variations
Really, the variations on this simple potato salad are nearly endless. It’s excellent just as it is, but you can change it up to suit your own tastes or occasion. It very much depends on what you’re serving it with. My advice though is to keep the additions restrained or the potatoes will get overwhelmed.
Use whatever fresh soft herbs you like or have to hand instead of, or as well as, the chives. Add spices, pickles or vegetables such as carrots, celery, cucumber, tomatoes or peas. Capers, gherkins and olives are all good and for a bit of protein, chopped boiled eggs work well too.
If you’re a fan of onions, they make an excellent addition. Try sliced spring onions, finely chopped shallots or finely chopped red onions. Garlic is a good addition too, just finely grate it first.
Whilst Mediterranean potato salads are typically dressed with vinaigrette rather than mayonnaise, many of the ingredients associated with them pair wonderfully with this creamy potato salad. In fact, it’s such a versatile base that you can take inspiration from cuisines around the globe when creating your own variations.
Here are a few suggestions:
To accompany Greek themed meals, swap the mustard for a clove of crushed garlic and add a few sprigs of chopped mint or some dried oregano. Crumbled feta cheese never goes amiss either.
For a Spanish take on things, add chopped roasted red peppers along with chopped olives and a little paprika. Chopped boiled eggs work well too, if you like.
Go Italian and swap the chives for basil. Ditch the mustard and add chopped capers and maybe some olives, tomatoes and red onions. You could even mix a spoonful of basil pesto into the dressing.
And if it’s French you fancy, use Dijon mustard. Then add some chopped tarragon and parsley to the salad along with some finely chopped shallots.
If Middle Eastern meze is your thing, use a teaspoon of Aleppo pepper instead of the mustard and a teaspoon of sumac too. Finely grate in a clove of garlic and add some finely chopped parsley and maybe some mint.
For an Eastern European take on the salad, swap the chives for dill. Add chopped pickled gherkins along with chopped boiled eggs and maybe some peas and chopped spring onions.
It’s likely that German potato salad was the original potato salad and that all others evolved from there. It was much simpler than it is today and wasn’t made from mayonnaise. Use German mustard and add some dill or parsley to the mix. Fried onions are customary and if you fancy some protein, fry some smoked tempeh to stand in for the traditional bacon.
Hot things up with some Mexican inspiration. Swap the chives for coriander leaves (cilantro), omit the mustard then add finely chopped chillies and maybe a squeeze of lime juice. For extras, try chopped tomatoes, sweetcorn and/or black beans.
FAQs
New potatoes and waxy potatoes are ideal for potato salad, but any all-purpose potato should work. The ones not to use are floury potatoes as they tend to fall apart when cooked and go mushy when stirred.
A classic British potato salad is made with boiled potatoes mixed into a mustardy mayonnaise dressing. There are many variations, but fresh herbs generally feature. Here I’ve used a mix of mayonnaise and yoghurt to make for a lighter but creamier dressing.
As long as you transfer your potato salad to the fridge as soon as it’s cool, it will last for up to five days. Keep it in an airtight container and try to eat it within three days to stay on the safe side.
Other Potato Recipes You Might Like
- Aloo gobi: cauliflower and potato curry
- Easy Spanish tortilla with new potatoes
- Leftover mashed potato omelette
- Mexican potatoes
- Parsnip and potato mash
- Vegetarian tartiflette
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make this simple potato salad or a variation of it, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for potato salads?
Please rate the recipe too. And do tag me @choclette8 on Instagram with your images, I really enjoy seeing your take on my recipes.
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Choclette x
Simple Potato Salad. PIN IT.
Simple Potato Salad with Easy Variations
Ingredients
- 600 g potatoes (3 medium sized potatoes) – scrubbed not peeled
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp mayonnaise I used my homemade vegan mayonnaise
- 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
- 1 tsp mustard of your choice
- 1 small bunch chives
- good grinding of black pepper
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into bite sized chunks. Place them in a saucepan and add the salt. Cover with water, then bring to the boil. Once boiling lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes. How long it takes will depend on the size of potato and the variety used. Test for doneness with a sharp knife. If it slides in easily, the potatoes are ready.600 g potatoes, ¼ tsp salt
- Drain the potatoes in a colander and leave them to drain for ten to fifteen minutes. Add them to the dressing whilst they’re still hot and they’ll liquify it. Add them when they’re cold and they won’t absorb any of it. Ideally they should be more warm than cold though.
- In a large bowl stir the mayonnaise, mustard and yoghurt together until smooth.2 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tbsp natural yoghurt, 1 tsp mustard
- Snip in the chives, reserving a couple for garnish, if liked. Grind in some black pepper and give another stir.1 small bunch chives, good grinding of black pepper
- If you’ve cooked the potatoes in salted water, you probably won’t need to add any additional salt to the salad. There’s also salt in the mayonnaise. Taste the dressing before adding the potatoes though and if you think it’s going to need it, add a pinch or two.
- Tip the potatoes into the bowl and stir carefully until they're all coated in the dressing.
- Snip the reserved chives over the top, if liked. Serve straightaway whilst still warm or later at room temperature.