Twelve potato salad recipes and not one of them tastes the same. Martha Stewart’s potato salad recipes range from the classic creamy version with mayo and eggs to a warm German potato salad with bacon, a smoky chipotle version with corn, and a light no-mayo vinaigrette style you can eat in spring without feeling heavy.
I have made most of these and they all have a different mood. Some belong at a summer cookout, some belong at a dinner party, and one of them I just eat cold from the fridge at midnight.
1. Martha Stewart Potato Salad
Red potatoes steamed instead of boiled, dressed with buttermilk, mayo, and cornichons while still warm. This is Martha’s family recipe from her Aunt Catherine and the steaming is what keeps the potatoes firm enough to slice into perfect coins.
2. Martha’s Favorite Potato Salad
The same family recipe Martha has made for decades, with steamed red potatoes and a tangy buttermilk dressing. I always make this one when I want potato salad that tastes creamy without falling apart.
3. Classic Potato Salad
Yukon Gold potatoes with hard-boiled eggs, celery, and a creamy Dijon dill dressing. This is the one I make when I want potato salad that tastes exactly like a summer cookout.
4. All-American Potato Salad
Russet potatoes loaded with everything: cider vinegar, eggs, mayo, celery seed, and pickles. If your idea of potato salad means fully loaded and feeds a crowd, start here.
5. Basic Potato Salad
Cubed Yukon Golds with scallions, white wine vinegar, and light mayo. Six ingredients, nothing fancy, ready in under 30 minutes when I do not want to think about what to bring.
6. Dijon Potato Salad
Red new potatoes tossed with Dijon, olive oil, white wine vinegar, and parsley instead of mayo. This is the lighter potato salad I make when I want something that feels more like a French bistro side than a cookout staple.
7. Smoky Potato Salad with Corn and Chipotles
Red potatoes with chipotles in adobo, lime juice, and corn kernels mixed into a smoky, creamy dressing. I bring this one to BBQs when I want the potato salad to be the thing people talk about.
8. Balsamic Potato Salad
Sliced red and Yukon Gold potatoes with white balsamic vinegar, peperoncini, and arugula tossed in. Light and peppery, this one tastes nothing like traditional potato salad and that is what I like about it.
9. Test Kitchen’s Favorite Potato Salad
Russet potatoes with mayo, white vinegar, and whole-grain mustard. Martha’s test kitchen picked this as their favourite and I understand why because the whole-grain mustard gives it a texture other recipes do not have.
10. New Potato Salad with Red-Wine Vinaigrette
Whole new potatoes dressed in red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and olive oil with no mayo at all. This is the potato salad I make in spring when I want something light that tastes more like a salad than a side.
11. Old-Fashioned German Potato Salad
Baby Yukon Golds with crispy bacon, cider vinegar, and sugar served warm instead of cold. This is nothing like American potato salad and that is the whole point.
12. Deviled Egg Potato Salad
Fingerling potatoes with hard-boiled eggs, yellow mustard, and mayo in one bowl. It tastes like deviled eggs and potato salad had a baby, which is exactly as good as it sounds.