Jack’s Potato Salad

Jack’s Potato Salad recipe is fantastic! But don’t just take our word for it…scroll through the comments and read all of the rave reviews.

The Best Potato Salad Recipe

Jack’s Potato Salad recipe is one of the reasons we started blogging. Ten+ years ago, we started A Family Feast as a fun way to share our most-requested recipes with family and friends – and to this day, this is one of those recipes that we’re constantly asked for anytime Jack makes it! 

Jack’s Potato Salad is a mixture of tender-cooked new red potatoes and hard-boiled eggs, combined with a wonderful dressing made with mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, onion, white and cider vinegar, sugar and other seasonings. 

This potato salad recipe is so good – as much for the combination of ingredients and flavors as it is because of the cooking technique that Jack has perfected over the years. (We share all of his tips and tricks below!)

• It’s the perfect marriage of flavors – creaminess from the mayonnaise, a little bit of zestiness from the mustard and vinegar, and a touch of sweetness from the sugar. You’ll be craving seconds!
• The texture of this potato salad is also perfect. The cooked potatoes are tender but not mushy and there is the perfect amount of dressing to coat but not smother the various ingredients.
• You can make this potato salad recipe ahead of time and chill before serving, but it’s also fantastic served still-warm.

• Potatoes – We use new red potatoes in this recipe because they cook up to a texture that is perfect for potato salad and they keep their shape even when cooked. Plus, we like the appearance of the red skins in the mix.
• Eggs
• Vinegar – Both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar are used in the dressing.
• Sweet Onion
• Seasonings – Including salt, celery salt, white ground pepper, poppy seeds.
• Granulated Sugar
• Dijon Mustard
• Mayonnaise – We are partial to the flavor of Hellmann’s mayonnaise for this recipe. Or, you could make your own mayonnaise.
• Oil – Use a combination of extra virgin olive oil and canola oil.

You can, of course, adjust the ingredients you put in the potato salad (eggs or no eggs, onion or no onion, more mustard, other herb and seasonings, etc.) to suit your own tastes and preferences. Just be sure to follow Jack’s general cooking technique to ensure that the potatoes stay perfectly moist and tender without getting too mushy.

Secrets to Making a Perfect Potato Salad

There are several secrets to making a perfect potato salad:

1. First, boil the potatoes whole, with the skins still-on. This keeps the potatoes from absorbing too much water as they cook. You’ll cut them in chunks as they come out of the water.
2. Second trick is to oil the hot potatoes as you cut them. This stops the chunks from getting too soggy because the oil coats and seals the potatoes, preventing too much of the dressing from soaking in.
3. Third, mix the mayonnaise mixture separate from the potatoes, then add it to the hot oiled potatoes and hard boiled eggs. By having the dressing already mixed, this will help prevent over-mixing which can also result in mushy potatoes and eggs.
4. Finally, chill the warm potato salad on a flat sheet pan so it cools more quickly, then transfer to a serving bowl once chilled. If you chill in a serving bowl, the inside of the salad will stay warm for longer which can encourage bacteria to grow, plus the inner potatoes will get soft from the residual heat.

1. Boil the potatoes whole in salted water until tender.
2. Cook the eggs while the potatoes cook. Follow this technique for Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs. Peel and cut eggs into large chunks. Set aside.
3. Mix the dressing while the potatoes cook.
4. Combine the two oils together in a spouted measuring cup (for easy pouring).
5. Remove cooked potatoes from the pot of water one at a time and place onto a cutting board. (A spider strainer like this is a helpful tool.) Cut into large, bite-sized chunks, then place in a large mixing bowl.
6. Once you’ve cut about a quarter of the hot potatoes into chunks, drizzle with one quarter of the mixed oil and gently toss to coat.
7. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 above with the rest of the potatoes.
8. Pour mayonnaise mixture into the bowl with the potatoes and gently mix to combines.
9. Add chopped eggs and gently stir again to combine.
10. Pour the potato salad onto a sheet pan, spreading in an even layer.
11. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.

• Can I make Jack’s Potato Salad ahead of time? Yes, you should make this potato salad ahead of time so it can fully chill before serving.
• How do I store leftovers? Keep chilled in a covered container for up to three days.
• Did you sell this potato salad at Krogers? No – sorry! Over the years, we’ve had a number of readers write to us asking about a discontinued ‘Jack’s Potato Salad’ that used to be sold in the deli at Kroger supermarkets. Unless Kroger was using our recipe (unknown to us), this is not a copycat recipe of their potato salad and we have nothing to do with their potato salad.

Jack’s Potato Salad recipe with originally posted on A Family Feast in May 2013! We’ve updated the post and photos but the delicious recipe remains the same.

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Photos from original 2013 post