Food Cooking Tips & Techniques Cooking The 5 Commandments of Potato Salad Perfection Plus six delicious potato salad recipes to try this summer. By Betty Gold Betty Gold With more than a decade of experience writing and editing food and nutritional content, Betty Gold is the former senior digital food editor at Real Simple and acting senior food editor at Well+Good. Betty has also spent time working in product analysis at Good Housekeeping and in food production on The Martha Stewart Show. Highlights: * Bachelor of Science in Food Studies & Nutrition from New York University * Industry professional for 11 years * Served on mastheads at Food Network, Bon Appetit, and Good Housekeeping Magazines * Worked in publications department at James Beard Foundation Real Simple's Editorial Guidelines Published on July 2, 2020 Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Getty Images It's a summer staple for a reason. Potato salad is one of the best barbecue-slash-picnic side dishes, and forgetting to serve it—or worse, screwing up the recipe—is punishable by law (we wish). Creamy, fork-tender potatoes plus a tangy mayo- or vinaigrette-based dressing and some crunchy veggies, served alongside your favorite barbecue fare = peak summer meal perfection. Follow these five simple steps to nail your potato salad recipe once and for all. The 9 Commandments for Cooking Perfectly Crispy Oven-Roasted Potatoes 01 of 06 Choose the right type of potato. This depends on your personal preference. If you like a salad with contrasting textures—think firm potatoes and creamy dressing—go for waxy potatoes like Yukon gold or red potatoes, which hold their shape better after they're boiled. If you prefer creamier, starchier potatoes that absorb more dressing (and you don't mind if they fall apart in your final product); russets are where it's at. 02 of 06 Season the water. Heavily salting the water you're boiling in helps infuse your potatoes with seasoning from the inside out. Skip this step and your spuds will be bland, as they'll only be salted on their outsides. 03 of 06 Don't overcook; don't undercook. The only thing worse than a mashed potato salad is a crunchy one. To avoid undercooking your potatoes, make sure you start boiling them in cold water. Why? Dropping raw spuds in boiling water allows their outsides to get mushy before the insides are cooked through (more often than not, they'll still be raw).On the flip side, to make sure you don't overcook them, remove your potatoes from the boiling water when they're al dente, meaning just fork tender. 04 of 06 Cut them evenly. This is key to maintaining a consistent texture throughout. If your spuds vary in size, some will be overcooked and others will be raw. Take your time when slicing and dicing—the final results are worth it. 05 of 06 Dress them at the right time. If you're making a mayonnaise-based dressing, allow the potatoes to cool completely before you mix the ingredients together to avoid melting the mayo (this results in an overly oily dish).For a vinegar-based dressing, mix potato chunks with the vinaigrette while they're still warm to fully infuse the flavors. 06 of 06 Recipes to Try BBQ Potato Salad Garlic-and-Herb Potato Salad Creamy Potato Salad With Bacon Sesame-Ginger Potato Salad Herb Potato Salad German Beet-and-Potato Salad Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit