Back when I still lived in the Midwest I was operating under the delusion that I didn’t like mayo. I’ve now learned that I was just exposed to far too much Hellmann’s and not enough Kewpie. Having become a California girlie and J. Kenji Alt devotee, I’ve made some adjustments to the potato salad recipe I grew up with. Its soul is still made up of mayo and yellow mustard, with hardboiled eggs, celery, and pickle relish, but I’m more particular about how I boil the potatoes, and I’ve leaned into some operational tweaks that support a more repeatable level of perfection.
Snapshot
- Implements: large pot; mixing bowls; potato masher or fork; chef’s knife
- Stove setting: high heat for boiling potatoes
- Batch size: 8-10 servings
Ingredients
Potatoes
- 3 lb Yukon Gold potatoes
- 2 Tbsp white vinegar for the cooking water
- 2 Tbsp kosher salt for the cooking water
- 2 Tbsp white sugar for the cooking water
Deviled egg dressing
- 8 hard-boiled eggs
- ½ cup Kewpie mayonnaise
- 2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
- 2 Tbsp yellow mustard
- ⅓–½ cup pickle relish, plus more if needed
- Avocado oil, drizzled in as needed
- 1 Tsp freshly ground black pepper
Crunch and freshness
- 2–3 ribs celery, finely diced
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup parsley, finely chopped
- Kosher salt, to taste
Method
Cook the potatoes
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add vinegar, salt, sugar, and potatoes. Cook until tender but still holding their shape. Drain in a colander, then shake and toss the potatoes around a bit to rough up the outsides. Let them cool slightly.
Build the deviled egg dressing
Separate the yolks from the whites. Finely chop the whites and reserve.
Mash the yolks with Kewpie mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, yellow mustard, pickle relish, and black pepper.
Drizzle in avocado oil until the dressing loosens enough to coat the potatoes easily.
Add the crunchy stuff
Fold celery, green onions, parsley, and chopped egg whites into the dressing.
Combine
Add potatoes and gently fold until evenly coated.
Taste and adjust
Add kosher salt as needed.
If the salad feels like it needs more brightness, add additional pickle relish.
Rest
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. The flavor improves dramatically after a rest.
Notes, swaps, and guardrails
Why the vinegar goes into the potato water
The vinegar helps the potatoes hold their shape so the final salad stays chunky instead of turning into mashed potatoes with aspirations.
Adjusting acidity
Do not automatically reach for vinegar.
Between the vinegar in the potato water, the mustard, and the relish, there is already a surprising amount of acidity in the bowl.
If the finished salad feels like it needs more brightness, add more pickle relish first.
The relish adds acidity while also reinforcing the flavor profile the salad already has.
Adding straight vinegar changes the salad.
Adding more relish makes it more itself.
Black pepper matters
Use more than feels reasonable.
The richness from the eggs and mayo wants the contrast.
Do not skip the rest
The potatoes absorb seasoning as they sit.
Taste after mixing.
Judge after resting.
Dietary notes
The vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free labels apply to the base recipe.
Credit where it’s due
This recipe began with the Serious Eats Deviled Egg Potato Salad and then evolved through a series of highly opinionated Midwestern decisions.