Simple potato salad recipe with celery and mayonnaise
This simple potato salad recipe combines waxy potatoes, crisp celery and a lightly tangy dressing. It is an easy potato salad recipe for four side portions, with no raw eggs or homemade mayonnaise to prepare.
Choose potatoes that hold their shape, such as red potatoes or Yukon Gold. Even pieces cook together; a mixture of tiny cubes and large chunks is more likely to leave some pieces broken and others hard. Allow about 30 minutes of work and cooking, followed by chilling.
This version omits the optional hard-cooked eggs from the comparison recipe. It also uses a smaller mayonnaise proportion, so the potato pieces remain clearly visible rather than swimming in dressing.
If the potatoes fall apart, they may be too floury or overcooked. A firmer variety and earlier checking are more useful than trying to rescue the texture with extra dressing. Avoid vigorous stirring while the pieces are fragile.
Potato salad is perishable even when it contains commercial mayonnaise. Keep it chilled and serve in small bowls. Discard portions left out more than 2 hours, or 1 Hour above 90 °F (32 °C); a picnic basket without ice is not refrigerated storage.
Ingredients
Step 1
Put potatoes in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook until tender, beginning checks near 10 minutes. A knife should enter without a hard center.
Step 2
Drain well and spread in a shallow dish to lose their strong heat. Wash and slice celery. Prepare onion while the potatoes cool.
Step 3
Stir mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Fold in potatoes, celery and onion gently, using a wide spoon so the potatoes do not become mashed.
Step 4
Cover and refrigerate promptly until chilled. Stir once before serving and adjust seasoning if needed. Add a spoonful of mayonnaise only if the coating has genuinely become too dry.
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