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Best Ever Potato Salad Recipe
The BEST EVER Potato Salad recipe from a friend’s grandmother, with a special secret ingredient in the dressing! It converted me from being a potato salad hater to a potato salad lover!
Potato salad falls into the same camp for me as egg salad. It’s a mayonnaise-based salad that I have long disliked because of how over the top mayonnaise-y it typically is. Until this recipe. It was a life changing experience and I neeeeeed to share it with you.
This recipe comes from a friend’s grandmother and on the recipe card she gave me it is titled “Best Ever Potato Salad”. A bold statement and one that always gives me pause, but it is absolutely, 100% warranted in this case. First of all, I tend to trust old-school family recipes over others; second, the grandma was confident enough to call it the best, and lastly, it has a secret ingredient that takes it over the top. So I am totally comfortable in telling you that it is, indeed, the best ever.
Watch How to Make the Best Ever Potato Salad!
The secret ingredient? Bacon drippings. Ahhhhhh.
MY OTHER RECIPES Along with all of the great ingredients that give this salad a great depth of flavor and lots of texture, the dressing on this potato salad is what makes it insanely special. After frying up the bacon, you save a couple tablespoons of the bacon drippings and whisk in a modest amount of mayonnaise, some Dijon mustard, a bit of sugar and smidge of salt. It is ah-mazing. The flavor is robust, not terribly mayonnaise-y (huge bonus in my book), and a perfect accent to all of the flavors and textures in the salad.
I have served this to people who, like me, claim to hate potato salad because of how gloppy it can get with mayonnaise. I have also served it to people who claim that they only like their mom’s/grandma’s/aunt’s recipe and no others.
All of these people? They have tripped over themselves raving about this recipe, declaring it the best they’ve ever had.
So there you have it. The best potato salad, ever. You’ll want to keep this recipe stashed away for all of your summer parties and picnics! Be prepared for lots of recipe requests!
If You Like This Potato Salad Recipe, Try These:
Three years ago: Peanut Butter Nanaimo Bars
Four years ago: Hamburger Buns
Did you make this recipe?
The BEST EVER Potato Salad recipe from a friend's grandmother, with a special secret ingredient in the dressing! It converted me from being a potato salad hater to a potato salad lover!
Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. (If you're not sure how to boil the potatoes,
this is a good resource.) Drain the potatoes and set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the skillet and remove the pan from heat.
Add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and salt to the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet and whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion and green pepper. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and gently stir to evenly coat. Stir in the bacon.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 574kcal
Fat: 47g
Saturated fat: 11g
Cholesterol: 173mg
Sodium: 1032mg
Potassium: 714mg
Carbohydrates: 22g
Fiber: 2g
Sugar: 4g
Protein: 14g
Vitamin A: 5%
Vitamin C: 23.1%
Calcium: 3.7%
Iron: 9%
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Going to try itangie
I made this and it was not false advertising at all! This is so far, the best potato salad I have never hated. I am not a big potato salad person but this, i ate. And ate. And ate. I served it our chairman’s luncheon meeting and the boss gave it a thumbs up. I did not change a thing. it is awesome. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Very similar to my recipe which was my mother’s recipe that was her grandmother’s recipe. Only difference is the added sugar and mustard – we don’t use those ingredients. I can add a tip on the potatoes here so that you’ll never have a mushy potato salad. When your potatoes come out of the hot water line them up on tinfoil and let them cool that way side-by-side. It removes any excess water and excess starch and it comes out perfect and never mushy.
Making your own potato salad seems so intimidating sometimes! I feel like I’m just getting the hang of it!…
Thank you for sharing your recipe. It was super easy to follow and taste so delicious. I added one green apple 🍏 diced finely and half a red onion. I will be garnishing with garlicscapes.
Absolutely the best tasting potatoe salad i have ever tasted. So yummy! I could eat the whole bowl myself. Thanks grandma so tasty, only way i will be doing it from now on. 😁
Best potato salad ever!!! I doubled the potatoes as i had 14 guests. It was enough to serve them all and it all went in one go! Thank you for sharing.
I hate it when people comment that they altered a recipe but i have been trying to make a southwestern potato salad (with cubed chedder, red pepper) and could not find anything, then I tried your tip with the bacon fat and mustard and omg omg thank you thank you heaven….(: