The eggier, the better. I like my own potato salad better than any other I’ve ever had. Waxy little potatoes, cubed, mixed with finely chopped celery and onion, shredded carrot, seasonings (salt, pepper, Old Bay, seasoned salt of some kind), plenty of chopped hard cooked eggs. Mix gently with a big spatula and mix in Hellman’s Mayonnaise till it looks the way you want it. Heavenly! (the grocery store here does sell four or more different kinds of potato salad, charging $4 - $5 for a little container.)
One of the first comfort recipes my wife mastered after our marriage was my mom’s potato salad: Yukon Gold potatoes, mayo and mustard, chopped red onions, celery, sweet pickles and chopped HB eggs. Add a few seasonings and Robert’s your father’s brother.
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As I said in part of my diabolical derailment of the deviled egg thread, my “American Standard” potato salad is an old Bert Greene* recipe called “paprika potato salad.” It’s pink!
Yes, potato salad must have chopped hard-boiled eggs in it, unless it’s hot German style.
Speaking of a pink potato salad, my family’s favorite potato salad is an adaptation of a Finnish-style salad.
Boiled waxy potatoes, chopped.
Boiled beets, chopped
boiled eggs, peeled and chopped.
raw onions and carrots, chopped.
green peas
mayo
seasonings
The beets make it pink, and give a lot of flavor. I prefer to use sweet vidalia onions, and frozen green peas, defrosted. A real Finnish version would have herring in it, no peas, and either a vinaigrette or sour cream instead of mayo. I don’t do herring.
My potato salad has eggs in it, and since it’s the best potato salad in the world, there’s your answer.
Guess my views are pretty ecumenical where the whole eggs-no-eggs in potato salad debate is concerned. I believe in both kinds. Kinda like chili: beans-or-no-beans…
Cute. 
There are some forms of potato salad I like…rarely I’ll find a person who makes it good and actually tasty.
My mom makes potato salad regularly and I do not like it at all. Never did. It’s horrible and disgusting and gross to me, although most everyone else seems to like it.
Anyway, I’ll have to ask her if she puts eggs in hers. If she does, then my answer is probably: “It should not have eggs”.
And it should DEFINITELY not have onions.
I love onions. I love shallots, leeks, scallions, garlic, ramps, and everything else from that corner of the plant kingdom. If someone wrote the cookbook of my life history, every recipe would begin with “peel and slice a yellow onion.”
That said, I NEVER put onions in my potato salad*. Not in my tuna or egg salad, either. (Ham salad, yes.)
- German or French potato salad does not count as potato salad here.
HORSERADISH horseradish. Not too much, be sure to mix well. And sweet relish is for ham salad, not potato salad.
His Cole-slaw is THE SHIT, though!
I’m not a big fan of traditional southern potato salad, but there are two kinds I like:
-Dill and mustard and vinaigrette
-Stinky potato salad.
This last is something I make rarely, because it’s got ingredients nobody else in my family likes. But it’s so good.
-Boil yer gold taters.
-Make a sauce of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, blue cheese, chopped kalamatas, chopped raw onions, garlic, pepper, and a spoonful or two–not too much!–of mayo.
-Stir the sauce in while the taters are hot.
-Eat cold or–preferably–warm.
So good!
Eggs yeah, but for og’s sake, please dice those potatoes. I’ve had some with I swear 3" square chunks.
I just remembered that I got one from the store that was explicitly a deviled egg potato salad. It wasn’t as good as my homemade deviled eggs, but the egg yolk and paprika were a nice addition.
Upthread, I meant sliced boiled eggs, not the mushed up yolks of deviled eggs like that store-bought one.
A local supermarket makes a “loaded baked potato” potato salad that’s really good.
My favorite is German potato salad, though. I love the stuff.
No hard-boiled eggs, please. Don’t care for them in general.
Spuds - Yukon Gold - 1 inch pieces work best
Mayo - Hellmans, Duke, or Cains - No Miracle Whip in my house.
Egg - about 6 diced up & mixed in, and 5 or so sliced and placed on top of the finished salad
Celery Salt
Onion Salt
Garlic Powder
Salt + Pepper
(all spices are to taste)
Paprika sprinkled on top
Pretty basic, but it works for me
French red fingerling potatoes, cubed, salted and steamed
White wine vinegar
Fresh dill
Cracked black pepper
Just enough mayo to coat the potato pieces
And that’s it!
I like it just about any which way, with or without eggs, pickle juice or cider vinegar, warm/cold…etc. Bonus points for Hellman’s mayo, of course. I just do not like it sweet, or with “al dente” potatoes. So that rules out most deli potato salad these days. Potatoes should be crumbly and soaking up the dressing.
I *really *like it with sliced black olives, but I seem to be alone in this, so I make it without and add it to mine later if I have some kicking around. Oh, and if I’m making it for a potluck, I’ll slice the hard-boiled eggs on top (instead of mixing in) so that all but the pickiest can have it their way.
No mayo, no eggs, no celery, no pickles(ye god!)
Baked Yukon Gold and redskin potatoes(with one big Russet) skinned, chunked and dressed, while hot, with the following mixture(also hot):
-Sliced shallots sauteed in olive oil, toss in dried tarragon and black pepper.
-Add chicken stock, cook down to a slightly syrup-y consistency, salt to taste. Make plenty, because the potatoes are baked they’ll suck up a lot of liquid.
-Let cool 'til room temp., dress with sour cream and shaved red onion. Correct the seasoning, potato salad usually requires a lot of salt.
-Best served at room temp. but even cold leftovers are incredibly tasty.
Wow. And I was starting to feel weird for not including eggs in my potato salad.
If we go completely non-traditional in defining potato salad, meaning a cold potato dish that can be eaten as a picnic food, this Indian-inspired recipe from Five Spices, Fifty Dishes is terrific:
No eggs in it, and the mustard is in the form of popped black mustard seed. Heavenly.