Thelife- I followed four celebrity chefs' recipes for potato salad to find my new summer go-to.
- I'd make all of the recipes again, but I particularly enjoyed Guy Fieri's and Ina Garten's.
Potato salad is a summer staple and a surprisingly versatile dish at a cookout.
To find the perfect potato salad for my repertoire, I tested recipes from celebrity chefs Guy Fieri, Sunny Anderson, Ina Garten, and Ree Drummond.
Here's how they stacked up and which one will accompany me to backyard barbecues this summer.
Fieri's baked-potato salad requires a handful of ingredients
Fieri's recipes are often loaded with unique additions but this potato salad requires just eight ingredients, including salt and pepper.
The recipe calls for red potatoes, vinegar, mayo, sour cream, green onions, and bacon, which I subbed for a plant-based option.
This was an easy potato salad to throw together
I boiled the potatoes whole for about 20 minutes until I could easily pierce them with a fork. Then I let them cool before chopping them into 1-inch pieces.
Meanwhile, I fried some plant-based bacon until crispy.
I then fried the chopped potatoes in the small amount of "bacon fat" in the pan. This would likely be more flavorful with the real stuff, but I was content with the results.
After mixing the dressing together and tasting it, I realized it was quite tangy and potent, so I only used half of it.
I mixed the dressing and potatoes, then put the combo in the fridge for an hour to cool, topping the salad with the crumbled "bacon" and chopped green onions at the end.
Cutting the dressing in half was the right call
After my first bite, I was so thankful that I halved the dressing — it was nice and tangy without being overwhelming.
The salad was very creamy and the potatoes were soft, but the bacon and green onions added a nice crunch.
Anderson's recipe includes a charred-onion dressing
Anderson's charred-onion potato salad has a short ingredients list with a couple of interesting inclusions, like bagged, steamable potatoes and sweet onion for the charred dressing.
Although I was initially excited to cut down the cooking time by using microwavable potatoes, I couldn't find them at my grocery store, so I bought a small, multicolored option instead.
The recipe also called for salt, pepper, mayo, Dijon mustard, white-wine vinegar, and parsley.
The dressing was easier to make than expected
I chopped the sweet onion into quarters and cooked the pieces on a grill pan over high heat until they were covered in golden marks, then I put them aside to cool.
Meanwhile, I boiled the potatoes for about 15 to 20 minutes, also letting them cool before halving them.
While the potatoes rested, I blended the grilled onions and other dressing ingredients until mostly smooth.
I combined the potatoes with the dressing and let the mix cool in the fridge for a couple of hours, later garnishing it with chopped parsley.
The flavor was surprisingly bland, but that was easy to fix
This potato salad unsurprisingly had a potent onion smell, so I expected a strong flavor, but the dressing was a little bland. I added more salt, but it still could've used some extra vinegar.
If I made this again, I'd likely caramelize the onion instead of charring it for extra umami flavor.
Garten's potato salad requires 2 types of mustard and lots of dill
The Barefoot Contessa adds plenty of fresh herbs (mostly dill) to her potato salad.
Her recipe also includes mayo, Dijon and whole-grain mustards, buttermilk, salt, pepper, celery, red onion, and white potatoes.
The potatoes took a while to boil, but the rest of the process was a breeze
I boiled the potatoes in salted water until tender, or about 20 to 30 minutes.
I combined the dressing ingredients in a small container, then separately chopped the red onion and celery, the latter of which I cut into very small pieces.
Once the potatoes had cooked and cooled, I cut them into about 1/2-inch pieces and coated them in the dressing before folding in the onions and celery.
I loved the flavor and texture of this potato salad
This dressing had the perfect balance of spicy mustard to creamy, tangy mayo.
I loved the acidity and crunch from the red onion. Although I typically don't like celery, it was chopped so finely that I didn't really taste it but could still appreciate the added crunch.
I would slightly cut back on the dill, as it was pretty potent. But overall, this was an amazingly creamy and flavorful potato salad.
Drummond's recipe is a hybrid of egg and potato salad
In addition to calling for a classic mayo-mustard dressing, the Pioneer Woman's recipe seemed like a combination of egg and potato salad.
This recipe has the longest list of ingredients, including green onions, dill, sweet pickles and their juice, mayo, mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper.
I mashed the potatoes instead of chopping them
In addition to the strange inclusion of eggs, this recipe also said to mash the potatoes or run them through a ricer instead of cutting them into bite-sized pieces. Otherwise, it was very simple to follow.
I mashed the potatoes, made the dressing on the side, and combined the two parts before mixing in the pickles and hard-boiled eggs.
I liked the flavors at first, but the dish felt heavy after a few bites
Is it egg salad? Is it potato salad? Is it mashed potatoes? No clue, but it was good.
Drummond's salad had a great mixture of mayo and mustard. The dill was not overpowering, and the pickles added a uniquely sweet flavor and crunchy texture that wonderfully balanced the creamy mashed potatoes.
I liked the combination of eggs and potatoes at first, but it felt a bit heavy as I kept eating.
I'd try all of these potato salads again, but Fieri's and Garten's were my favorites
With a few tweaks, I'd make any of these recipes again, but Fieri's baked-potato salad and Garten's dill-forward dish were my favorites.
I'd recommend using half to 3/4 of the dressing for Fieri's and slightly cutting back on the dill in Garten's, but both options would make excellent additions at any summer cookout.
This story was originally published on July 1, 2021, and most recently updated on July 12, 2023.
Click to check out the other celebrity-chef recipes we've put head-to-head so far.