This recipe for Mom’s famous potato salad has been around longer than me. Even with years of watching her make it, it never tasted the same when I tried. She finally, I think, shared all her tips and ingredients for the perfect potato salad.
This recipe is requested for Christmas dinner, Easter, cookouts, birthday parties, and almost all gatherings. It has become quite famous in our group of friends and family. It is a labor of love, and there are many steps before it all comes together. Below are some tips to make it a little easier if you don’t have a few hours to prep and cook.
Tips and Tricks
Prep the day before. You can boil and peel the hard-boiled eggs, chop the celery and green onions, and make the dressing the day before.
I like to cook the bacon in a smaller pan over low heat. I separate the bacon a little, but don’t worry about laying them all even in the pan. As it slowly cooks, use some tongs to move it around, and it will all get nice and crispy.
You have to use Hellmann’s Mayo for this; there is no substitute. I’ve tried Dukes and store brand, every time someone says ” it’s good but a little different than Mom’s”.
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Moms Famous Potato Salad
Equipment
- 1 Skillet
Ingredients
Potato Salad
- 5 pounds red potatoes
- 10 hard boiled eggs
- 3 stalks celery
- 4 green onions
- 1 pound bacon
Dressing
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon dill dried
- 2 teaspoon parsley dried
- 16 ounces mayonnaise hellmans
- 1 ounce sour cream heaping tablespoon
- 1 teaspoon salt kosher
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper fresh cracked
Instructions
Potatoes
- Wash your potatoes
- Cut the potatoes in half. If some are large, cut them into quarters so they are all about the same size. Place them in a large pot filled with cool water.
- Bring the potatoes to a boil. When they are at a boil, continue to cook for 15-20 minutes. They are done when you can easily pierce them with a fork. When they are tender, drain them into a colander.
- While the potatoes boil make the dressing.
- Cool your potatoes, I keep them in the colander in the sink for about 15 minutes until they stop steaming. Then I place them in the fridge to cool while I cook the bacon, eggs, dressing, and chop the veggies.
Dressing
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the mayo, sour cream, black pepper, onion powder, celery seed, dill, and salt.
- Mix well and set in the fridge until later
Hard Boil Eggs
- Place eggs in a pot with cool water and bring to a boil
- Bring to a boil and continue to boil for 5 minutes
- After 5 minutes of boiling, turn off the heat and let them sit on the stove for 10 minutes
- Drain the eggs and cool them by adding cold water and some ice to the pot
- After 5 to 10 minutes, drain the water and peel the eggs. Place them in the fridge until later. I like to give them a gentle shake in the pan after the water is drained to help crack them and make the peeling easier.
Cook Bacon
- Cook the bacon by your preferred method. I like to place it all in a skillet on very low and let it crisp up on the back of the stove while I cook the potatoes. After it is crispy, I let it drain and set it aside until later. I chop it up right before I add it to the potato salad
- You could also cook the bacon in the oven, or chop it up raw and cook the chopped bacon in a skillet. It really is whatever you prefer. I find it easiest to throw it in a pan on low and let it do its thing while I cook everything else. Your goal is crispy bacon.
Potato Salad
- Finely chop the green onions and celery.
- Chop up bacon if not already done
- Chop hard-boiled eggs.
- Cut the cooled potatoes into smaller pieces and place in a large mixing bowl or the empty pot you boiled them in. Just larger than 1-inch chunks. That usually means cutting the half potatoes into quarters, but it depends on how large they were to start with.
- Mix chopped potatoes, bacon, veggies, and dressing. You can save an egg and some bacon to dress the top if you want too. There is no easy way to get them mixed well. Your hands are the best tool. You want everything mixed together without breaking up the potatoes too much. Scrub your hands well and get to mixing, or use some gloves if you don't want to touch everything, or carefully mix everything using a very large spoon, making sure to get everything combined without making mashed potatoes.
- Taste and see if it needs more salt, it depends on how salty the bacon is. Sometimes I need to add a little more. Chill for at least an hour or overnight and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the brands and ingredients you choose.
