My dad loves potato salad, and so in honor of upcoming Father’s Day, I thought that I’d share my favorite potato salad recipe. The dressing is delicious, and a perfect opportunity for you to work on making homemade mayonnaise. If you don’t feel up for a whisking challenge, never ye fret—this is based on an Ina Garten recipe, and store bought mayo is fine. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a commission if you take advantage of the offer (thank you!).

Herby Potato Salad—get ready for your party invites

Herby Potato Salad will become your go-to recipe. Years and years ago, when I started getting a bit more adventurous with my cooking, my dad asked me to bring potato salad to the Father’s Day cookout. I decided to get a bit creative and made my own mayonnaise and a version of this Herby Potato Salad. It was, shall we say, a hit.

This is delicious, and it’s something you can pull together in the morning and devour at lunch. It’s based on a classic Ina Garten recipe, and your lucky guests will thank you. As with all things here, we’ve making a smaller batch, but it scales easily (you could even scale it down, using just one large potato).

Practice your homemade mayonnaise technique

Of course, for Ina, store bought is more than fine for the mayo, as it is here, but if you’re looking for practice making mayonnaise, this dressing is a good way to do it, as you’ll be thinning it a bit in order to make the dressing, so you have some wiggle room if yours did not get to fluffy perfection.

It has been a minute since I made mayonnaise, and I need to get back into form.  I didn’t get as much oil into my mayo before I had to call it, but it more than worked, especially for dressing. I’m still going to show you how to do it, because whisking mayo by hand will make you feel like you won a cooking show.

Ingredients for Herby Potato Salad

Seriously good dressing

The dressing itself is made with mayo (store bought is fine), buttermilk, loads of herbs (I use dill, chives, and parsley, but you do you—tarragon is amazing), shallots, mustards (yes, two kinds). If you want to add celery, go right ahead. I don’t care for raw celery, so I don’t use it.

You’ll have more dressing than you need for a small batch of potato salad, but I don’t think you’re going to mind or have a lack of uses for it.

The potato trick

A mushy potato does not make for good potato salad. Choose a waxy variety, cut into bite-sized chunks, and then boil in salted water until you can insert a fork into it, but still have resistance. Drain the potatoes in a colander. Put the colander on top of the pot you cooked the potatoes in and quickly cover in a tea towel for about 15 minutes to let them steam and finish cooking.

If you drained your potatoes too quickly (it happens), never ye fret. You can just add some water to the bottom of the pot, heat it, and continue to steam the potatoes until they’re cooked enough.

Dress the potatoes while they are still warm

The other trick is to dress the potato salad while the potatoes are still warm. This allows the potatoes to absorb the dressing, which takes an already very good potato salad and makes it truly memorable.

Roasted Herby Potato Salad
For something different, try roasting the dressed potatoes and serving with leftover dressing

For something different, try roasting it

While we often eat potato salad in the summer, if you’re looking for something different, spread the potato salad out on a baking sheet and roast at 425F until golden brown. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt and serve with leftover dressing.

A couple of notes

If you make the homemade mayonnaise, be aware that you are using raw egg yolks. Be sure to keep the potato salad refrigerated until just before serving.

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Herby Potato Salad garnished with dill

Herby Potato Salad

Celebrate summer's long lazy days with this delicious potato salad. Whip this up in the morning and you'll be chowing down for lunch.
The herb-forward dressing based on a classic Ina Garten recipe is a perfect opportunity to practice your homemade mayonnaise technique (be prepared: it's a workout)*, but not to worry if you do not. If not, then this comes together very quickly.
I love dill and chives in this, but feel free to switch up the herbs. Tarragon is lovely. This makes double the dressing you will need. Use the rest on salads or as a dip.
Add celery if you wish. Or maybe a hard-boiled egg.
If you're looking for something really different, spread the dressed potatoes on a baking sheet and roast at 425 until golden brown and serve with extra dressing.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Chilling 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 40 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
  

  • 2 yellow potatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
  • kosher salt

For the Mayonnaise (optional)

  • 3 egg yolks* see note below about raw eggs
  • ¾ cup oil, either olive or neutral (or a combination)
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • ½ lemon, juiced to taste
  • kosher salt

For the Dressing

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp buttermilk if you are using store-bought mayo, increase to a quarter cup
  • 1 ½ tbsp shallots, chopped
  • 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tbsp Whole grain mustard
  • ½ cup minced herbs (I like dill, parsley, and chives) tarragon is delicious
  • kosher salt

Instructions
 

Make the Mayonnaise (optional)

  • Place a bowl on a non-slip silicone trivet (preferred), or a tea towel and brace the bowl against your stomach. You will need to whisk vigorously one-handed as you add the olive oil, so it's really important to anchor your bowl.
    NOTE: If it's a cold day, warm the outside of your bowl with hot water and dry quickly before placing on the trivet to help stabilize the emulsion
  • Add the egg yolks to the bowl and whisk with a wire whisk until the egg yolks are bubbly
    Whisked egg yolks until foamy in a pour bowl
  • Starting very slowly (try for a drop at a time), start whisking in the oil. Whisk as fast as you possibly can (it's a workout), incorporating the oil. It is very important to incorporate the oil before adding more (if it's separating, whisk harder and stop adding oil until it's blended).
    Once the mixer starts to thicken, you can add the oil a bit faster, incorporating it into the mixture. You might not use all of the oil, and it's better to stop than to risk having the mayonnaise break
    Homemade Mayonnaise
  • Add the mustard and the lemon juice, and then whisk some more. Add a little more oil and whisk in. Your finished mayonnaise might/probably will be thinner than you're used to seeing. That's OK, especially for the potato salad
  • Transfer to a jar, place a piece of plastic wrap over the top (to prevent a skin from forming), and refrigerate until ready to use

Cook the Potatoes

  • In a pot large enough to hold the potatoes and water to cover, add the potatoes and water. Salt very generously. Bring to a boil and cook until you can insert a knife into the potatoes, but you still get resistance. Turn off the heat
  • Drain the potatoes into a colander and put the pot back on the burner (heat off). Add the colander on top of the pot, and place a clean tea towel over the colander to allow the potatoes to steam. Leave it 10-20 minutes until the potatoes finish cooking (see note)
    Orange Le Creuset pot with clean tea towel (potatoes steaming)

Make the Dressing

  • While the potatoes are cooking, make the dressing by adding all ingredients and mixing. Taste and add kosher salt as needed. Set aside until ready
    Herby Mayo Dressing

Make the Herby Potato Salad

  • When the potatoes have finished steaming, add the warm potatoes to a bowl large enough to hold the potatoes and mixing. Add half the dressing and mix to combine.
    Cover and refrigerate for a few hours before serving. If you've made the homemade mayonnaise, do not remove from the refrigerator until just prior to serving*
    Herby Potato Salad garnished with dill

Video

Notes

If you accidentally undercooked the potatoes, and they do not steam enough, don't worry. Just add a bit of water to the bottom of the pot, and turn on the heat to continue to steam them until they are cooked. The potatoes should be cooked, but not mushy.
*If you make homemade mayo, you are using raw egg yolks to do it.  “Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness.”
Use fresh eggs, at room temperature and refrigerate the mayonnaise until you are ready to use it.
Keyword dill, herbed potato salad, herby potato salad, potato, potato salad, summer
Tried this recipe?Let me know what you think!

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