Learn how long to boil potatoes for potato salad so they come out nice and tender, not mushy or watery. This guide gives you everything you need to know to make the perfect potato salad every time!
Suitable for gluten free and vegetarian diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.
Potato salad is an American classic. It’s a popular side dish, especially in the summer. And while there are so many different recipes for making potato salad, the one thing they all rely on is a perfectly cooked potato. That’s why it’s so important to know how long to boil potatoes for potato salad.
Nothing is worse than potato salad made with crunchy, undercooked potatoes, or potato salad that is mushy like mashed potatoes and has a watery dressing. This comprehensive guide will help you select the perfect potato and teach you exactly how long to boil potatoes for potato salad that features fork-tender cubes of potato coated in a creamy mayonnaise-based dressing, seasoned with fresh herbs, and served cold.
Yeap, once you know how to boil potatoes, it’s easy to serve a potato salad that everyone will love. Like this Red Potato Salad recipe which is a true crowd-pleaser!
The Best Potatoes for Potato Salad
Potato salad can be made with any potato, but waxy or all-purpose potatoes are generally considered the best option.
Waxy potatoes include creamers, Yukon gold potatoes, new potatoes, and fingerling potatoes. The yellow and red skins on these potatoes are typically thin, making peeling optional. Additionally, these potatoes will hold their shape when cooked, so you will still see cubes of potatoes in your salad.
Starchy potatoes like russet potatoes make tasty potato salad, but they don’t hold their shape, so the consistency may be more like chunky mashed potatoes.
How To Cube Potatoes
Boiling whole potatoes can prevent the potatoes from becoming soggy in the middle. Cubing the potatoes beforehand is so easy and is the preferred method for most people.
- Gently scrub the potatoes and rinse them with water to remove any dirt.
- If desired, peel the potatoes and discard the peels.
- Cut the potato in half lengthwise.
- Cut each half in half again.
- Repeat until you have even-sized cubes. Smaller potatoes may only need to be quartered, while larger potatoes may require more cuts.
How To Boil Potatoes For Potato Salad
Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.
- Gently scrub and rinse the potatoes to remove any dirt. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch cubes.
- Add the potatoes and 2 teaspoons of salt into a pot and then fill it with cold water until the potatoes are submerged 1 ½ inches below the water level.
- Bring the water to a rolling boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
- Cook the cubed potatoes for 8-12 minutes. Begin checking for doneness after about 6 minutes and continue checking every minute or so until cooked through.
- Drain the cooked potatoes into a colander and run them under cold water or immerse them in an ice bath to halt the cooking process.
- Proceed with your favorite potato salad recipe.
How Long To Boil Potatoes For Potato Salad
Boiling cubed potatoes make it so easy to make the perfect potato salad. While you can boil whole potatoes for potato salad, cubing them is preferred. Cutting the potatoes into 2-inch cubes ensures you have an even cooking time.
- Cubed Potatoes: 8-12 minutes when cut into a 2-inch dice
- Whole Medium Potatoes: 15-20 minutes
- Whole Large Potatoes: 25-30 minutes
Cooking potatoes with the skin on can alter the cooking time. The potatoes are ready when a fork, knife, or skewer easily pierces the center of the potato.
How To Season Potato Salad
The best way to season potatoes is to add salt to the cooking water. Salting the water is the only way to season the inside of the potatoes. If you salt the potatoes for cooking, taste them before adding additional salt to your recipe.
Salting the cooking water also allows the water to boil hotter, which helps to cook the starches more thoroughly, resulting in a creamy texture.
Classic Mix-ins for Homemade Potato Salad
Mayonnaise and mustard are the standards when making dressings for potato salads. Celery and onion add a bit of crunch. Fresh herbs like dill provide flavor. Potatoes are like a blank canvas, and the possibilities are endless for making the best potato salad. A few of our favorite mix-ins include:
- Shallots
- Green Onions
- Ranch Dressing
- Bacon
- Pickles
- Olives
- Diced hard-boiled eggs
- Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
- Dijon Mustard
- Fresh or dried herbs
- Celery Seed
- Pepper
- Slivered Almonds
- Cranberries
Expert Tips
- Waxy potatoes will hold their shape better than starchy potatoes.
- Russet or Idaho potatoes can be used for potato salad but tend to mash rather than hold their shape.
- Salt the water to impart flavor to the potatoes.
- Use one teaspoon of salt for every pound of potatoes.
- After boiling, rinse potatoes under cold water or dunk them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.
- Drain the potatoes completely to avoid watery potato salad.
- Potato salad made with mayonnaise should be kept cool. Potato salad should never be left out for more than 4 hours.
- Check for doneness by piercing with a fork several minutes before you expect the potatoes to be fully cooked.
- The potato cooking water can be saved and used to flavor soups and other recipes.
How To Store Potato Salad
- Potatoes tend to turn brown when cut, so you should cut the potatoes just before boiling them.
- Cooked potatoes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for several hours before preparing the potato salad.
- The prepared potato salad should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge and consumed within 3 days.
- Leftover potato salad should not be frozen.
FAQs
Cutting potatoes into 2-inch cubes makes it so easy to make potato salad. The potatoes cook evenly, and they are the perfect bite-sized pieces. Cook, cool, and mix your salad recipe.
Peeling potatoes is a personal preference. Thin-skinned yellow and red potatoes don’t need to be peeled, but starchy potatoes, like russets, should be peeled. Unpeeled potatoes may take a minute or two longer to cook.
Sometimes potato salad can be watery. To prevent this, be sure to cook potatoes until they are just done. Overcooked potatoes absorb additional water. Additionally, be sure to completely drain the potatoes before preparing potato salad.
More Recipes You May Like
- Red Potato Salad.
- Instant Pot Potato Salad.
- How To Cook Frozen Hash Browns.
- How Long To Bake Salmon at 350 degrees.
Weight Watchers Points
There are 3 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
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How Long To Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (900g) potatoes
- salt
- water
Instructions
- Gently scrub and rinse the potatoes to remove any dirt. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2-inch cubes.
- Add the potatoes and 2 teaspoons of salt into a pot and then fill it with cold water so the potatoes are submerged 1 ½ inches below the water level.
- Bring the water to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer.
- Cook the cubed potatoes for 8-12 minutes. Begin checking for doneness after about 6 minutes, and continue checking every minute or so until potatoes are cooked through and fork-tender.
- Drain the cooked potatoes into a colander, run them under cold water, or immerse them in an ice bath to halt the cooking process.
- Proceed with your favorite potato salad recipe.
Notes
- Waxy potatoes will hold their shape better than starchy potatoes.
- Salt the water to impart flavor to the potatoes.
- Use one teaspoon of salt for every pound of potatoes.
- Rinse potatoes under cold water or dunk them in an ice bath to stop the cooking.
- Drain the potatoes completely to avoid watery potato salad.
- Potato salad made with mayonnaise should be kept cool. Potato salad should never be left out for more than 4 hours.
- Check for doneness by piercing with a fork several minutes before you expect the potatoes to be fully cooked.
- The potato cooking water can be saved and used to flavor soups and other recipes.
- Storage – boiled potatoes can be covered and stored in the fridge for several hours before using them to make potato salad.
- There are 3 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
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