Want to elevate your potato salad game? Start with the right potato—try waxy red potatoes or versatile Yukon Golds. No peeling required! These varieties hold their shape, avoiding the mashed potato salad effect. We’ve all been there, and it’s disappointing.

Roast, Don’t Boil

Skip boiling and roast your potatoes instead. Roasting brings out their natural sweetness, creates caramelization, and helps them maintain their structure. Toss the potatoes with a little oil and salt before roasting. For easy cleanup, I recommend using a parchment-lined sheet pan. A small step that makes a difference.

Feeling Adventurous? Try substituting half—or even all—of the potatoes with peeled golden beets. Beets take longer to roast, so if you’re doing a half-and-half mix, start roasting the beets about 10 minutes before adding the potatoes. The result? An earthy twist on the classic.

Ditch the Store-Bought Mayo, Homemade dressing is the key to a standout potato salad. Store-bought mayo often makes salads heavy and bland. Instead, whip up a dressing with equal parts vinegar and oil, Dijon mustard and maple syrup for balance. The maple syrup tempers the acidity of the vinegar and oil. I like to add dehydrated onions for a secret umami-sweetness. Raw apple cider vinegar is my favorite—it’s flavorful and gentle on digestion.

For a beet-based salad, swap the mustard for prepared horseradish.

The Power of Add-Ins

Add-ins make your potato salad. I’m for the crunch factor, using extra celery. If you can find lacto-fermented dill pickles, use those. Fresh herbs like chopped flat-leaf parsley and dill say summer.

Now, about eggs. I’m particular about hard-boiled eggs—no blue-edged, chalky yolks. My method: bring a pot of water to a boil, lower in the eggs, and once the water returns to a low boil, set a timer for seven minutes. This yields cooked whites and yolks that are set but moist.

Once you’ve mixed in the dressing, let the salad sit for a moment, then taste. You’ll likely need more salt and pepper. Potatoes crave salt, and cold dishes often need an extra kick of seasoning—salt, heat, and acidity—to shine.

Why Does This Salad Work?

This revamped potato salad hits the right notes. The roasted potatoes provide sweetness. The dressing balances creaminess, tang, and umami with a mustardy-peppery zing. Crunch comes from the pickles and celery, while the fresh herbs sing freshness and aroma. And let’s not forget the eggs—they add protein and a layer of creaminess.

Potato Salad Safety

For summer potato salads, it’s not the mayonnaise you need to worry about—it’s the potatoes. Store-bought mayo is pasteurized, and even homemade versions include acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar, which inhibit bacterial growth.The real culprit is starchy, low-acid foods like potatoes and rice, which can harbor bacteria like staph.

To keep your salad safe, follow the USDA’s guidelines: refrigerate within two hours of preparation, or within one hour if the temperature is above 90°F. For outdoor gatherings, transport your salad in a cooler with ice, set the serving bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice, and refrigerate leftovers.

Extra Food Coop blog recipes include: Ethiopian Style Beet and Potato Salad, Pickled Herring, Beet, and Potato Salad, New Potato Salad with Fresh Peas.

Sidonie Maroon is the culinary educator for the Port Townsend Food Co-op. For more recipes on this topic and others, please visit our website www.foodcoop.coop