Every potluck should have a Potato Salad. (Every picnic too, for that matter.) And every person should have a go-to recipe for classic, creamy, picnic-perfect Potato Salad. But I’ve got you covered there. You can have the recipe for this one here. It’s the Potato Salad that you think of when you think of Potato Salad. The one with a creamy mayo dressing that’s bumped up with sweet relish and the one that offers no surprises, but is just fundamentally the gold standard deli side that you already know and love. It’s classic, and we love a good classic.

I like my Potato Salad simple and here are the things I like in it:

Potatoes. That’s probably obvious. I like Yukon Golds; they have a little more flavor, are subtly sweet, and are just a little more toothsome than Russets. Celery and green onion, and then the dressing, which is just mayo, sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, and a touch of mustard. (Yellow works fine but I prefer Dijon.)

First, you want to boil your potatoes. Cover them with cold water that’s been salted and just set them over high heat until they’re fork tender. Starting with cold water ensures that the potatoes cook through evenly and you don’t end up with any hard spots. It should only take fifteen minutes or so if your potatoes are diced reasonably small.

While those boil, I like to start with the dressing. I make it right in the bowl I’m going to serve the salad in, because why create another dish to wash? Whisk together mayo, sweet relish, apple cider vinegar, a dollop of mustard, and some salt and pepper. It’s that easy.

Then, add your potatoes, celery, and green onion.

And just gently stir it all together until it has all come together. I like to err on the side of having over-cooked potatoes because their edges crumble a bit and work their way into the dressing. It makes it even creamier, somehow.

Chilling it at least two hours gives the potatoes time to cool down and also time for all the flavors to come together.

It’s nothing fancy. It’s not even anything unexpected. It’s just Potato Salad as it’s meant to be — creamy, comforting, and the ultimate approachable side for any potluck, picnic, or party.