What Are the Best Potatoes for Potato Salad? (2024)

Choose your potatoes wisely.

Corey Williams is a food writer for MyRecipes and Allrecipes. She has a decade of journalism experience.

Best Potatoes for Potato Salad

In the culinary world, potatoes are categorized based on their starch content. Here's the low-down on each of the three main categories (waxy, all-purpose, and starchy) and whether they'll work in your potato salad:

Waxy Potatoes

Waxy potatoes are low in starch, but high in sugar and water. This means they hold their shape even after they're cooked and they're less grainy than starchy potatoes. Plus, they have thin skin that doesn't necessarily have to be peeled. This is perfect for people who are short on time or like a little bit of extra texture in their potato salad. Waxy varieties result in a denser potato salad than other types of potatoes.

What to Look For:

New potatoes
Fingerling potatoes
Red potatoes

All-Purpose Potatoes

These in-between potatoes are perfect for, well, all purposes. They have medium starch content and medium moisture content – they're considered the "Goldilocks" of the spud world. Their perfectly balanced texture works in all sorts of potato dishes.

What to Look For:

Yukon Gold
Purple Majesty
All Blue

Starchy Potatoes

These aptly named potatoes are high in starch and low in moisture. Since starchy potatoes are super absorbent, they're great for soaking up other ingredients like milk or butter. They tend to fall apart during cooking, so they work well for mashing. Starchy varieties result in creamy potato salads that soak up dressing well.

What to Look For:

Russet potatoes
Idaho potatoes
Many types of sweet potatoes

The Bottom Line

So, in the end, what are the best potatoes to use for potato salad? It depends on your taste.

Waxy potatoes are generally considered the best for classic potato salad because they retain their shape, you don't have to peel them, and they have a smooth texture.

People who prefer a creamy potato salad that soaks up dressing like a sponge, though, opt for a starchy potato.

If you're unsure, it's best to go with a middle-of-the-road option like an all-purpose potato (you can't go wrong with a Yukon Gold).

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How to Buy Potatoes

What Are the Best Potatoes for Potato Salad? (4)

No matter what variety you choose, there are a few things you should lookout for when buying potatoes:

Potatoes should be totally firm when you give them a gentle squeeze. There shouldn't be any give at all.
Look for potatoes with smooth, relatively clean skin. There should be little or no bruising, wrinkling, or discoloration.
Try to pick potatoes that are uniform in size and shape. They'll cook evenly, which will keep the texture consistent.

Potato Salad Recipes

What Are the Best Potatoes for Potato Salad? (5)

Now that you know exactly which type of potatoes to get for your potato salad, it's time to get cooking! Try one of these top-rated recipes:

Explore our entire collection of Potato Salad Recipes.

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