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Picnic Potato Salad

Picnic potato salad with a classic creamy dressing made from hard-boiled eggs, diced celery, and sweet pickle relish. Boiled russet potatoes are cooled completely, folded with the dressing, and chilled for a picnic-ready texture.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
chilling 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 40 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Calories: 720
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Russet potatoes
  • 3 lb russet potatoes Peeled and cubed.
Hard-boiled eggs
  • 5 hard-boiled eggs Chopped.
Vegetables and relish
  • 0.5 cup celery Diced.
  • 0.25 cup onion Finely diced.
  • 0.25 cup sweet pickle relish Sweet relish.
Creamy dressing
  • 1.25 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1 tbsp white vinegar
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 0.25 tsp salt To taste.
  • 0.25 tsp pepper To taste.
  • 1 tsp paprika For garnish.

Equipment

  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Boil and cool potatoes
  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, then add the russet potatoes and boil until tender, about 10-15 minutes at a rolling simmer. Drain and cool completely so the salad stays creamy instead of watery.
Chop and assemble the potato base
  1. Chop the hard-boiled eggs and set aside. Dice the celery and finely dice the onion, then combine them with the cooled potatoes, chopped eggs, and sweet pickle relish in a large mixing bowl.
Make the creamy dressing
  1. Whisk the mayonnaise with yellow mustard, white vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper until smooth and well combined. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to match your preference.
Combine and chill
  1. Pour the dressing over the potato mixture and fold gently until evenly coated. Avoid aggressive stirring to keep the potato cubes intact.
  2. Refrigerate the potato salad for at least 3 hours, covered, to let flavors meld and the texture set. Keep chilled until ready to serve.
Garnish and serve
  1. Just before serving, sprinkle paprika over the top for color. Serve cold for the best picnic-style texture.

Notes

Pro tip: cool the boiled potatoes completely before mixing—warm potatoes melt mayo and can turn the salad loose. Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 4 days; it’s best fresh and may soften after that. Freezing isn’t recommended due to mayo texture. For a lower-fat swap, use light mayonnaise (or half mayo/half plain Greek yogurt) while keeping the chill time the same.