Creamy No-Mustard Potato Salad
There’s no mustard and no relish in this super simple Potato Salad recipe! Just tender potatoes, creamy mayo, hard boiled egg, and some celery and onion for added crunch.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
✔ Super Simple: It just tastes great and it is so easy to make.
✔ No Mustard or Relish: If you like a pared back potato salad that’s all about the creamy dressing and maybe a bit of crunch from the celery, this is the recipe for you.
✔ Feeds a Crowd: This recipe makes 8 to 10 generous servings, yet I never wind up taking any leftovers home. That’s how good it is!
About This Recipe
This simple potato salad is made with very few ingredients, and it’s the perfect potluck salad to take to any summer BBQ or pool party.
There is absolutely nothing fancy about this potato salad recipe. The recipe was passed down to us by my husband’s grandma, who everyone called “Grandma Cookie.”
The potato salad has the perfect amount of celery, onion, and creamy mayo along with some chopped up hard-boiled egg. It’s made without mustard, and there’s also no relish or pickles in it.
Recipe Ingredients
This is as no-frills a potato salad recipe as you can make. Check your fridge and pantry before heading to the store, because you probably have everything on hand already.
- Potatoes — Technically, a great potato salad recipe should use waxy potatoes (like Red Potatoes, New Potatoes, or Fingerling Potatoes). But I think you could probably get away with whatever type of potatoes you like the best, or even a mix of Russet and Yukon Gold Potatoes. My all time favorite are Yukon Gold.
- Celery — Just two stalks are finely diced for added texture.
- Onion — Use any kind you have, noting that yellow onion is much sharper in flavor than red onion.
- Mayonnaise — Use the real stuff here, not Miracle Whip or a low-fat alternative. Our copy of Grandma Cookie’s recipe specifically says “Hellman’s Mayonnaise.”
- Hard-boiled eggs — I have an easy-peel hard boiled egg tutorial that works great for making potato salad. Or, you can microwave hard boiled eggs if you’re short on time.
- Salt and pepper — The original recipe calls for salt and pepper to taste, but if you can find it, we also love seasoning it with Jane’s Krazy Mixed Up Salt, a blend of “salt, dried onion and garlic, and herbs and spices,” according to the ingredients listed on the label.
How to Make Potato Salad Without Mustard
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Boil the cubed potatoes for 8 to 10 minutes. Peel and cube the potatoes, then place in a large pot. Top off the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook until fork tender.
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Stir everything together. Once the potatoes are tender and have had the chance to cool, gently stir in some diced celery and onion along with chopped hard boiled eggs and some mayo.
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Chill before serving. This gives the potatoes time to soak up some of the mayo and seasonings and makes for a better tasting potato salad overall.
The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
Recipe Tips
- To prepare potatoes for potato salad: Start with fresh potatoes; wash and scrub them well, then peel and dig out any large eyes or dark blemishes with a sharp knife. After boiling, use cold water to rinse the cooked potatoes. This helps speed the cooling process.
- Use an extra large mixing bowl to stir the ingredients up. You want plenty of room to evenly distribute the celery, onion, and hard boiled eggs throughout the potatoes and creamy dressing.
- Make it in advance: Prepare the potato salad at least 3 hours in advance so it can completely chill in the refrigerator before serving. You can also prepare it a day before and serve it the next day.
Storage Instructions
Store leftovers of this white potato salad in an airtight container or at least cover the bowl of potato salad tightly with plastic wrap. It will last up to 4 days.
What to Serve with Potato Salad
Looking for some main dish ideas to serve along this Classic Potato Salad recipe? Here are a few tried and true favorite recipes that taste great with potato salad!
- Grilled or Smoked Proteins: Smoked Pork Shoulder, Smoked Chicken, Grilled Lemon Rosemary Chicken, Grilled BBQ Chicken, Grilled Chimichurri Skirt Steak
- Burgers: Blue Cheese Burgers, Gouda Stuffed Burgers, Black Bean Quinoa Burgers
- Other Potluck Sides: Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad, Jalapeño Coleslaw, Tropical Fruit Salad
More Potluck Salads You’ll Love
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No-Mustard Potato Salad Recipe
Summer Potlucks and BBQs don’t seem complete without a big bowl of this Classic Potato Salad. Creamy mayo, celery, onion, hard-boiled eggs, and of course plenty of potatoes make up this recipe.In our family’s opinion, it is simply the best potato salad!
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. peeled and cubed Potatoes (personally I love Yukon Gold Potatoes)
- 2 Stalks Celery, diced
- 1 medium Onion, diced
- 1 cup Mayonnaise, plus extra if needed
- 2 sliced Hard Boiled Eggs
- Salt and Pepper, to taste or Jane's Krazy Mixed Up Salt
- Finely Chopped Fresh Parsley, optional - for garnish only
- Pinch of Paprika, optional - for garnish only
Instructions
- Bring a large stockpot of water to boil.
- Add the peeled and cubed potatoes and cook until potatoes are tender.
- Drain the potatoes from the boiling water into a colander, then let the potatoes cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooled potatoes, diced celery, diced onion, mayonnaise, and hard boiled eggs.
- Stir gently to combine, adding extra mayonnaise if desired to keep the potato salad moist.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill the potato salad in the refrigerator; it is best made ahead of time and chill for at least a few hours. Often, I make it the night before and chill overnight.
- This isn't in the original recipe, but it makes a nice presentation of an otherwise not very colorful dish to sprinkle some finally chopped fresh parsley and a pinch of paprika on the top just before serving.
- Serve cold.
Notes
This recipe is best made the night before you need to serve it.
The best potatoes for this recipe are Yukon Gold, Russet, or Red.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 297Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 173mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 3gSugar: 2gProtein: 5g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Ashley Burres says
I found this recipe because I went looking to see if I could find something similar to “our” potato salad! This is almost exactly the way I make it—taught by my mom, who was taught by my dad’s mom. Grandma was from Michigan and we lived in central Missouri. Now I live in southwest MO, and everyone around me makes very yellow potato salad. So I was feeling a little odd. Ha! We mix the mayo with a little milk for the dressing, and Morton’s Nature Seasoning instead of just salt and pepper! Thank you for sharing this and making me feel a little less alone in the potato salad world! ☺️
Dan says
Very good! Tastes just like Mom’s and Grand mom’s potato salad.
Nikki Krakauer says
You forgot chopped pickles! It needed lots more boiled eggs!
Katie says
Feel free to tweak the recipe according to your personal preferences!
Michael says
The potato salad that I make is similar except I mix the salt and pepper into about 1/3cup of red wine vinegar and splash that on the potatoes after they are drained and in the bowl. I do this while the potatoes are still hot. This gives the potatoes some flavor.
Katie says
yummy!