Aunt Penny’s Classic Potato Salad Recipe is essentially a simple mustard potato salad that has hard boiled eggs, onion and celery. It’s simple, delicious and I’ve been loving this recipe since I was 15 years old. Perfect served with burgers, hotdogs or ribs. Your barbecue isn’t complete without it.
Pat’s Aunt Penny has been making this classic potato salad recipe since forever and it’s the absolute best potato salad recipe I’ve ever tasted. Never can I buy store-bought again because it doesn’t come anywhere close to her recipe. No matter if it is Easter or Fourth of July, we can always count on a big bowl of Aunt Penny’s potato salad to be on the table.
When Aunt Penny first gave me this recipe, she told me she starts with 5 to 6 pounds of potatoes and the rest of the ingredients are done by sight and taste, so it was a bit of a challenge figuring out the precise measurements. However my husband has been eating her potato salad 15 years longer than me, so in the end, he has the ultimate say. And it passed.
If you’re looking for an easy potato salad recipe that can be customized to your preference, let this be the one!
In her recipe she does add green pepper (which I personally love) but my husband isn’t the biggest green pepper fan so I leave it out when I’m making it for us, like today. You can nix the yellow onion and substitute green onions in its place and Yukon gold for russet potatoes. This recipe can also be easily be halved for a small family dinner. However Aunt Penny’s classic potato salad recipe is meant to feed a large crowd.
To Make Aunt Penny’s Potato Salad You Will Need:
- russet potatoes
- mayonnaise
- mustard
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- yellow onion
- celery
- hardboiled eggs
Start by peeling, rinsing and chopping 5 pounds of russet potatoes into large bitesize pieces.
Fill the pot with cold water 1 to 2 inches above the potatoes. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-high and cook until fork tender. On my stovetop it takes about 15 to 20 minutes to bring the pot to a boil and another 20 to 25 minutes after that to cook the potatoes. But I frequently check the potatoes after the 15 minute mark just to be sure.
While the potatoes are boiling away, quickly whip the dressing together. In a medium bowl, add 1-1/2 to 2 cups of mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons yellow mustard. Then season with 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt and 3/4 teaspoon of black pepper.
Stir, cover and refrigerate until you’re ready to toss it with the potatoes.
I also hard boil the eggs.
Once the potatoes are cooked, strain them into a colander. Then allow them to cool, about 25 minutes or so, otherwise the potatoes will absorb all that dressing up.
Once the potatoes have cooled down to room temperature, add in 1 cup chopped yellow onion, 3 stalks sliced celery (or about 1/2 cup), 6 chopped hard boiled eggs.
Then pour in the dressing.
Next toss it to coat the potatoes with the dressing. And the onions, celery, eggs and green pepper (if using) should be evenly throughout.
Taste test and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you need to add a little more mayo, you can do that now as well.
Cover, chill until your bbq is hopping and you’re ready to serve.
This is the best potato salad. Classic tender potatoes, crunchy veggies but what I love most are the hard boiled eggs. The best part.
Thank you, Aunt Penny for being so generous and allowing me to share your recipe. It’s one I plan to make for years to come.
xoxo
Enjoy! And if you give this recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Aunt Penny's Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1½ cups mayonnaise, homemade or store bought, or more to taste
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt, more or less to taste
- 3/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, more or less to taste
- 5 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large bitesize chunks
- 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled and coarsely chopped
- 3 ribs celery, sliced (about heaping 1/2 cup)
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 1/2 cup chopped green pepper, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl combine the mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot add the potatoes and fill the pot with water, covering the potatoes by an inch or two.
- Cover, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are fork tender. Strain and cool to room temperature.
- Place the (cooled) cooked potatoes into a large bowl. Add in the celery, onions, green peppers (if using) and chopped hard boiled eggs.
- Pour in the dressing and toss to combine.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed before covering and refrigerating until you're ready to serve.
Buy the Cookbook: Simply Scratch : 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy Now available on Amazon »
THANK YOU in advance for your support!
My mom made this exact potato salad my entire childhood. Only difference is that she added diced radish as well. Ive been making it my whole life. The go to potato salad.
Ooh I like the idea of radishes, giving the salad a pop of color! I’ll have to give that a try next time. 🙂
This is very close to the potato salad I’ve been making for 40+ years and my mom made for years, too. The biggest difference is that I add the still warm potatoes to the rest of the ingredients and immediately sprinkle them with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and about the same amount of sweet pickle juice.
Love the subtle additions, I’m going to try the pickle juice my next time making it. Thanks for sharing, Sally!
I make the same potato salad with green onion instead of the yellow and I also add radish for color.
My go to potato salad. So good!
For me, the ideal potato salad must have chopped sweet pickles. I also, like above, like to sprinkle the warm potatoes with sweep pickle juice and apple cider or rice vinegar. Aside from those differences, I pretty much follow your recipe. Delicious!
How much is a serving? Under nutritional information it just says serving size is “1.” Even though the yield says 18, I think it would be helpful to say if “1” equals 1 cup. Since I’ve never made the recipe, and even after I do, I don’t want to measure out how many “1 cups” I get.
Thanks,
Gayle
Unless I’m reading the nutritional value incorrectly, where do you come up with 488 total fat calories per serving?
It’s been WAY too long since I made my Mom’s potato salad and my brother requested it. I couldn’t remember if she included onion or not. Looked at your recipe and knew…this is how my Mom made it! Thanks for refreshing my memory!☺️ (No green peppers for us, either.)
That’s so great, Lisa! Happy to help . Enjoy!
This is identical to my family recipe for Potato Salad. Generations of my family have enjoyed this classic potato salad! I like mine extra crunchy, so I double up on onions, celery and green pepper. My mom often added diced sweet pickles and juice, topped with paprika. My gramma used Russet potatoes but I switched to Yukon Gold years ago. Really, this is the real deal for good ole Potato Salad.
This potato salad recipe was just what I was looking for. Simple perfection, classic, no frills — it’s not “too” anything. It’s just right. Because of its refined flavor profile, it goes with so many different foods making it versatile and sure to please most taste buds.
I’ve made this so many times and it’s delicious! This is how I remember potato salad being when I was a kid in the 80’s and 90’s 🙂 My dad who is 75 especially loves it! Thank you for another great recipe.