Nan’s Mashed Potato Salad has all the flavor of the best potato salad you will ever want. Creamy, dreamy, and the perfect side dish for Easter, Mother’s Day, and all your gatherings all summer long.
If you love potato salad and want to experiment, here are a few others that I am sure you will enjoy!! Try our Grandma’s Potato Salad or our Little Potato Green Bean Salad.
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Potato Masher Stainless Steel, Best Mashed Potatoes
What is in Mashed Potato Salad?
Pretty simple ingredients, but all have a purpose for flavor and more.
Apple cider vinegar plays a two-part role in your potato salad; it gives the potatoes a little tang and also keeps them from drying out.
Ingredients
Potatoes – You can use either Russet, Yukon or Golden Yellow.
Apple cider vinegar – As mentioned above, the vinegar adds flavor and moisture.
Mayonnaise – Most people enjoy mayo in their potato salad.
Yellow mustard – You can substitute Dijon, too, if you like.
Sweet paprika – This is in the potato salad, and I also love to garnish the top of pasta and potato salad with a little paprika for color.
Kosher salt and Fresh ground pepper – Basic seasonings but so necessary.
Celery, finely chopped – This adds crunch and flavor.
Sweet pickles, finely chopped – If you aren’t a fan of sweet pickles, then you can use dill, but I love a pickle in my potato salad.
Green onions – Green onions that are finely chopped, including the green stems, are the best.
Hardboiled eggs, chopped – These are great in the salad and on top.
Crispy bacon crumbled, or more if you like – Bacon adds a bit of a divine salty profile to your salad, but if you want to make it vegetarian, you can omit this.
How to Make Mashed Potato Salad?
Peel, large dice, and boil the potatoes until fork tender.
Drain the potatoes and sprinkle them with the apple cider vinegar; allow to cool.
In a large bowl, mash or whip the potatoes using a potato masher or hand mixer.
Add the mayonnaise, mustard, and spices to the bowl and mix until combined.
Then add the pickles, 3 of the hardboiled eggs, celery, bacon, and green onions and gently stir until just mixed together. Alternatively, if you don’t want your bacon to go soggy, as it sometimes does, then sprinkle it on top as a garnish.
Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chopped eggs and a sprinkle of paprika.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. You can make this up to a day ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator.
Enjoy!!
Recipe Pro Tips!
Add-ins and Variations!
Change up the potato salad if you like. Have something on hand that you would like to add, such as red, green, or yellow peppers or radishes, feel free to add these.
Relish or olives make a nice addition, or even pickle juice from sweet or dill pickles.
Fresh herbs like parsley, basil, chives, or dill make nice additions, and if you are growing them in the spring or summer months, you may have plenty.
Instead of mayonnaise, some people like the tang of sour cream or Greek yogurt. You can also have this in combination with the mayo.
You can also switch up the green onion to sweet onion or red onion.
How Long Will My Potato Salad Last For?
If properly sealed in a container, potato salad can last up to 5 days. Do not freeze potato salad; it just won’t turn out like it was to begin with.
Do you Need Other Salads to go with your Potato Salad?
We are full-on salad mode most of the time here, but especially when spring and summer arrive. Let me show you a sampling of our favorites.
Nan’s Mashed Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 lbs. potatoes Russet or Golden Yellow
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/3 cups mayonnaise
- 3 tbsp yellow mustard you can substitute Dijon if you like
- 1/4 tsp sweet paprika plus more for garnish
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper
- 3 stalks celery finely chopped
- 9 medium sweet pickles finely chopped
- 5 green onions finely chopped, including the green stems
- 4 hardboiled eggs chopped
- 5 strips of crispy bacon crumbled, or more if you like
Instructions
- Peel, large dice, and boil the potatoes until fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes and sprinkle them with the apple cider vinegar; allow to cool.
- In a large bowl, mash or whip the potatoes using a potato masher or hand mixer.
- Add the mayonnaise, mustard, and spices to the bowl and mix until combined.
- Then add the pickles, 3 of the hardboiled eggs, celery, bacon, and green onions and gently stir until just mixed together. Alternatively, if you don't want your bacon to go soggy, as it sometimes does, then sprinkle it on top as a garnish.
- Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with the remaining chopped eggs and a sprinkle of paprika.
- Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving. You can make this up to a day ahead of time and keep it in the refrigerator.
- Enjoy!!
Comments & Reviews
Swathi says
Mashed potato salad is delicious I tried with my sourdough bread.
Oscar says
I just made Nan’s Mashed Potato Salad, and it’s the best potato salad I’ve ever had! It’s creamy and dreamy, making it the perfect side dish for any gathering.
Sonja says
Ok look, I’m German and am very particular about my potato salad, because my moms (and now mine) is clearly the best.
But now I stumbled over yours and my own recipe might have to scoot to the side and make room for this to share the top spot.
I love that you included bacon, which just makes everything so much better. The pickles added the familiar tang and crunch that my favourite salads share and the whole thing came out so creamy, I just had to keep tasting it, to make sure the seasoning is just right (and trying to hide it from my man, who wanted a bite too).
nancy says
i love your version of Potato Salad. So tasty. I will be making this again for our next potluck
Melinda says
What a delicious way to enjoy potatoes! I used Yukon Gold potatoes for this mashed potato salad since I had those on hand, and I like how sweet and tender they are. You were right about the apple cider vinegar adding just the right amount of tang to the recipe.
Juyali says
I made this for a potluck. It was a hit! Thank you for the easy and yummy recipe.
Tara Noland says
So glad you and everyone loved it.