Grandma's Potato Salad
Originally posted July 14, 2010. Updated 5/5/2021
Grandma's Potato Salad - I grew up on this potato salad, and it's still my favourite. The Italian dressing gives it a unique kick of flavour.
This recipe was originally posted last summer.. but with recent weather, BBQs, and a wicked craving for it.. figured it's about time to drag it back to the spotlight!
Lately, I've been on a mission to translate my family favorite "recipes" (no, that's not a misuse of quotation marks!) into actual recipes.
It's a bigger endeavor than it sounds to be - my family writes down recipes like we cook.
By that, I mean that "a handful of" or "some" are used as actual units of measurements, or any indication of actual quantity is left out completely.
We add an ingredient till things look or taste right, which is fine when you're comfortable with what you're doing.. but not so hot for conveying a recipe to my blog readers!
Gramma's Original Potato Salad Recipe
Take, for instance, my Grandma's Potato Salad recipe.
She makes the most amazing potato salad I've ever had, but this is her recipe, in its entirety:
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boil red potatoes, cut in 4
Don't overcook them
Cool them
Put in fridge, cover with italian dressing, let sit overnight
Take them out, add chopped green onion, celery, radishes, eggs (hardboiled and sliced)
Use Hellman's full fat mayo, don't use too much
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See what I'm dealing with? LOL.
The recipe is far too great to NOT share with the world, so here it is! First, though, a pictorial overview of the recipe:
How to Make Gramma's Potato Salad
Wash potatoes and cut into ¾-1" chunks.
Boil potato cubes until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, but still firm – about 30 minutes. Strain, and place into a large non-metallic bowl.
Pour Italian dressing over warm potato cubes, gently stir to coat, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Several hours before serving, slice green onion, celery, and radishes.
Fold vegetables into potatoes.
Add mayo (¾ cup if you like a drier salad, more if you like it creamier), gently stir until potatoes and vegetables are evenly coated.
Gently fold in the egg slices, season with pepper to taste.
Cover and chill until you're ready to serve it. (Best to chill for at least a few hours!)
Keto Potato Salad
Love this recipe, but need a low carb version?
I've got you covered! Try my Cauliflower Potato Salad, which I designed based on my gramma's original potato salad recipe!
More Recipes that Remind me of Gramma
Since originally writing this post, my gramma has sadly passed... but her memory lives on.
Here are a few recipes that remind me of her, whether as something she taught me to make, a replica of a retail treat we used to enjoy together, or one of my own recipes that she would request whenever I’d visit, as an adult.
Gramma's Perogies Recipe
Homemade Marshmallow Cones
Homemade Clodhoppers Candy
Puffed Wheat Squares
Honey Dill Dipping Sauce
Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
Baking Powder Biscuits
Easy Butterfly Cupcakes
Breakfast of Champions
French Canadian Pea Soup
Beep Drink Recipe
Sponge Toffee
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Gramma's Creamy Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3-5 lbs Red Potatoes Chopped into ¾"-1" Chunks
- 1 ½ Cups Italian Salad Dressing
- 3 Green Onions Thinly Sliced
- 4 Celery Ribs Thinly Sliced
- 8 Radishes Thinly Sliced
- ¾-1 Cup Full Fat Mayo
- 5-6 Large Eggs Hard boiled and sliced
- Ground Pepper
Instructions
- Boil potato cubes until tender enough to easily pierce with a fork, but still firm – about 30 minutes. Strain, and place into a large non-metallic bowl.
- Pour Italian dressing over warm potato cubes, gently stir to coat, cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Several hours before serving, add green onion, celery, and radish slices. Fold into potatoes.
- Add mayo (¾ cup if you like a drier salad, more if you like it creamier), gently stir until potatoes and vegetables are evenly coated.
- Gently fold in the egg slices, season with pepper to taste.
Nutrition
BBQ Sides and Desserts Recipes
Looking for a dish to bring to a cookout? Here are a few ideas!
Cactus Cut Potatoes & Dip
Canadian Candy Bar Salad
Cold Smoked Potato Salad
Creamed Corn
Dill Pickle Waffle Fries
Hop Brownies
HopCorn - Hopped Popcorn!
Marie's Pasta Salad
Melon Ball Trifle
Pina Colada Bundt Cake
Roasted Corn & Potato Salad
Rum Runner Trifle
Scalloped Corn
Smoked Cheese Balls
Sweet Corn Bruschetta
Stacey
Is that creamy Italian or regular Italian dressing? Normally I would assume the non-creamy, but in a potato salad, I'm not sure.
admin
Sorry, the non creamy! (I don't think I've seen creamy Italian before... then again, I'm either buying ranch, or making dressing at home!)
The creaminess comes from the mayo at the end. The dressing is just to marinate the potatoes!
Angelique Anderson
This is very similar to my family's potato salad as well. I am SO glad that someone else knows how to make this style of potato salad. I was starting to think that I was a freak!
We do try to use the red potatoes now, but when I was young the potato option at the store near us was often Russet or Nothing. As Nothing Potatoes make a pretty boring potato salad, we used Russets and ended up calling it "Smashed Potato Salad" as the Russets are more fragile when hot.
Mom always made her own dressing because she thought that the bottled Italian dressings of the time were too sweet. The onions, and chopped egg also went in with the hot potatoes to give them more flavor.
The hardest part was keeping my dad and I away from the marinating potatoes as they were cooling. We loved the finished product, but those potatoes sure did taste good.
Thank you so much for putting this up. I can't believe I missed this when you first posted, but I am so glad to see it now.
Nini
This was amazing!!!!!!! My family absolutely loved it!!!!! Thank you!!!
(I did not, however, use radishes. None of us care for them.)
admin
Right? I have SUCH a hard time keeping out of the potatoes as they are marinating! SO TASTY!
Geoffrey Anderson
I think adding some crumbled, applewood smoked bacon would kick this up a notch...
Beth Lareau
What Angie said! A rite of spring - and summer - and fall - and any excuse. Fights would ensue IF there were leftovers.
Dana L.
Thanks for this! My mom has been marinating her potatoes for potato salad at least since the early 90s. This will help me approximate what she does. I believe, because she likes her salad more mushy, she also uses russets, and then passes them through a really old potato masher (with a grate on the end). Just grated carrot, mayo, salt and pepper after that - delish!
M.Gaudette
I hope this doesn't sound dumb, but do I drain the salad dressing off the potatoes?? If not, won't it be mushy?
Marie Porter
No need to drain!
Some of it soaks into the potatoes, and the rest end up as part of the dressing.
Judy Bernstein
Sounds perfect!! How many people will it serve?
Marie Porter
About 8
Karen H.
Thank you for sharing this recipe! I have made my potato salad like this all of my life (I’m 67) because this is the way my mom used to make it….and I always loved it! I never had an actual recipe and just eyeballed everything. As another commenter said, I was thinking all of these years that I was the only person that made potato salad this way. It is so nice to see an actual recipe for it!
I have not put sliced radishes in mine before, but will have to add them next time to try it. I also started adding, at the end, diced crispy smoked bacon….just because bacon makes everything better and my family loves it!
Again, thank you!
Sheila Fink
This is exactly what I've been searching for! My mother marinated her potatoes in Italian dressing but that's all I remember, no measurements at all that I can remember. I have this pinned and will make later tonight to see if it's similar to hers....she's been gone for a while and didn't manage to get this recipe from her before she passed on