It’s a common side dish at summer get-togethers and barbecues. No, I’m not talking about baked beans, I’m talking about creamy, slightly tangy, and oh-so-delicious potato salad. The bowl of unassuming potato salad often gets pushed to the side for other carb-laden dishes like macaroni and cheese, and in some cases, it definitely should. But sometimes it can be a cool counterpoint to a burger or hot dog, you just need to get the right kind. But how do you sort through the white and beige salads at the grocery store?
To find the best-tasting potato salad for your next summer party, I rounded up my family and we tasted 12 different store-bought options. To keep things fair I only bought potato salads that were mayo-based and made sure that we didn’t compare this to my aunt’s legendary homemade potato salad. Each option was evaluated on the initial look, the texture, and the overall taste.
What we tasted:
- Freshness Guaranteed Amish Potato Salad
- Freshness Guaranteed Original Potato Salad
- Kroger Southern Style Potato Salad
- Publix Deli Baked Potato Salad
- Publix Deli Homestyle Red Potato Salad
- Publix Deli New York Style Potato Salad
- Publix Deli Southern Style Potato Salad
- Reser’s Deviled Egg Potato Salad
- Reser’s Red Skin Potato Salad
- SE Grocers Old Fashioned Potato Salad
- SE Grocers Red Potato Salad
- SE Grocers Southern Style Potato Salad
These are the options I found, and let’s just say some of them are really good and most should stay on the shelf in lieu of something else.
Initial Look
I was initially intrigued by this one since it had large chunks of red potatoes and the dressing looked very creamy. But once I took that first scoop out and put it on my plate I should have stopped there.
Texture
The texture was very mushy and grainy, which is not what I’m looking for when it comes to potato salad. The ingredients mentioned there was supposed to be celery in this but I couldn’t distinguish that iconic celery crunch that I was desperately seeking to make this any better.
Overall Taste
As one of my family members said, this tasted like unwashed potatoes, and I would have to agree. There was a lingering taste of dirt in the potato salad, which is something I never expect from Publix Deli selections. The soil-like taste was one that wasn’t found in any of the other potato salads, which made this choice easy to put at the bottom of the pack.
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Initial Look
At first glance, this potato salad didn’t look like anything special, and after removing the lid I was proved right. This potato salad is a boring color with no real distinguishable chunks of anything, and a gloopy dressing holding it all together.
Texture
The one word to describe this potato salad is mushy. The potatoes were very overcooked and the celery and pickle relish that was said to be mixed in were so small that they were barely noticeable on my palette.
Overall Taste
This potato salad lacked seasoning making it very bland and boring. Because of the lack of salt, the sweetness from the pickle relish really came through making the dish lean more sugary rather than savory, which is not super appealing with potato salad.
Initial Look
Initially, this potato salad looked promising with large chunks of potato, flecks of green from celery, and a creamy dressing. But I was sadly mistaken.
Texture
The downfall to this potato salad was the texture which it lacked almost any due to over-boiled potatoes. While the potatoes were chunky the moment I put a bite in my mouth they quickly disintegrated into nothing.
Overall Taste
If you like onions in your potato salad this is the one for you. The onion powder in the dish was overwhelming and made the entire dish taste like cooked onions. I’ve never had onions in potato salad, and now I know why.
Initial Look
Let’s just say this was one of the least appetizing potato salads of the group to look at. It looked very gritty as if the potatoes had been mixed in hastily and broke up into little bits while being tossed in the potato salad.
Texture
Just like this one looked gritty, it also had a gritty texture once I put it into my mouth. The unappealing texture was a big downfall for a potato salad that actually tasted decent.
Overall Taste
Overall, my taste testers and I really liked the flavor of this one, but the look and texture make it a less appealing option. I could taste the pickle relish and the tangy dressing that was amped up by a dash of vinegar. If you can get past the texture this is an okay option for potato salad.
Initial Look
This potato salad has a smooth dressing that incorporates well with the potatoes making for an appealing look. The larger chunks of potato made me want to dive right in to taste.
Texture
The potatoes in this dish were well-cooked and not over-boiled, which was a pleasant surprise since most of the other options had mushy potatoes. The dressing was nice and creamy, without taking away from the overall dish.
Overall Taste
I liked that the potato salad was slightly sweet from the pickle relish, but still had a good amount of salt to balance everything out. The addition of eggs left a slightly sulfuric aftertaste, which can happen with hard-boiled eggs, but it wasn’t the most pleasant taste to have to linger in my mouth.
Initial Look
I loved that the Publix Deli Baked Potato Salad had noticeably big chunks of potato and green onion throughout the package. The dressing is slightly thicker than the more traditional potato salad due to the addition of sour cream but that didn’t hinder me from wanting to dive in.
Texture
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I really liked the texture of this potato salad. The potatoes were well cooked and maintained their integrity without becoming mushy or gritty. The smooth dressing complimented the soft potatoes well.
Overall Taste
While I was a big fan of this potato salad thanks to the addition of the sour cream, most of the people in my tasting group wanted a more traditional taste. Those who, like me, don’t like lots of mayo on anything, including potato salad, will want to try this one.
Initial Look
The look of this potato salad was a surprise because it was more yellow than I was expecting from a true southern-style potato salad. There were visible veggies like shredded carrots throughout, which added a nice pop of color that many of the other options lack.
Texture
Thanks to the addition of the carrots, the potato salad had a nice contrast of textures with the creamy dressing, well-cooked but not gritty potatoes, and a crunch from the carrots.
Overall Taste
My tasting group and I agreed that this potato salad was a tad too sweet for a true southern potato salad. The seasoning was good on the potatoes, which you could tell had been cooked in salted water, but the dressing was laden with sugar that seemed unnecessary because of the sweetness coming from the carrots.
Initial Look
While it’s not much to look at inside the container, it’s the taste that counts with potato salad, right? Well, let’s hope so because this one looked like a heap of mayo and potatoes that were stuffed into a container without any care for presentation.
Texture
This was a pretty standard potato salad in terms of texture. The potatoes were cooked to perfection without being waterlogged or falling apart, and the dressing was creamy.
Overall Taste
When it comes to southern-style potato salad the Publix Deli Southern Style Potato Salad gets top marks. None of the flavors overpower another and everything works together well. The seasoning is on point with a nice level of salt and pepper to bring out all of the yummy potato flavor.
Initial Look
Because of the addition of boiled eggs, this potato salad had a bit of a yellow tinge, which set it apart from a sea of white potato salads. The chunky potato and egg whites were popping out of the top layer of the container, making it a feast for the eyes before diving in for a taste.
Texture
Overall the texture was pleasant. The potatoes were cut into big chunks, which made it easy to scoop up with my fork. The dressing was ever so slightly gritty from the egg yolks, but that was easy to look past because it tasted good.
Overall Taste
I loved the addition of dill in this potato salad, which added a bit of freshness that many of the options lacked. The dressing was seasoned well and wasn’t too sweet like so many of the other potato salads on the list.
Initial Look
After opening the package of this potato salad I noticed how white it was compared to many of the other options. What stood out among the white dressing and white potatoes wasn’t the chunks of potato, but the bright orange carrot pieces that dotted the container.
Texture
While the potatoes and the dressing were standard potato salad fare, the carrots added a much-needed crunch to an overall soft dish.
Overall Taste
Publix Deli New York Style Potato Salad was very tasty. The potatoes were nice and soft without being overcooked and grainy. The dressing was creamy and held everything together nicely, and the addition of carrots added a bit of sweetness that worked well with the savory dressing.
Initial Look
SE Grocers Red Skin Potato Salad was a gem among so many not-so-great options. The potatoes were large and the red skin really popped against the white dressing.
Texture
One thing that kept this from being the top potato salad was the fact that the dressing was a little runny and not as thick in texture as the top selection. I’m not sure if that’s because this was on the shelf for too long, even though it was within the sell-by date, or that’s just how it comes. The potatoes were nicely cooked and still had a good toothsome texture.
Overall Taste
The potato salad was perfectly seasoned and the dressing held up to the number of potatoes that were shoved into the container. The potato salad tasted fresh and almost homemade.
Initial Look
My taste testing group agreed that the Reser’s Red Skin Potato Salad was the one that looked most homemade coming right out of the container. There were large chunks of potato and plenty of red skin popping out amongst the dressing.
Texture
The potatoes that were in this selection were firm without being undercooked, and the dressing was nice and hearty. Together they made a perfect bite of potato salad.
Overall Taste
The Reser’s Red Skin Potato Salad is the best option if you can find it for a store-bought potato salad. It was well seasoned and there was just enough dressing to hold everything together without the salad being thick and gloopy. The balance of sweet and savory was executed perfectly, and the addition of vinegar helped to cut through the mayo-based dressing well.
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