Homemade Potato Salad for a Crowd

Potato salad is a side dish I think everyone should know how to make. Why? Homemade potato salad is simple, incredibly frugal and like so many things, homemade is more delicious than store bought.

We were hosting a weekend workshop at church recently and I was in charge of food. Saturday lunch was going to be simple with sandwiches and fixings, chips and veggies, pasta salad and potato salad, and homemade cookies. I looked (briefly) at buying potato salad but changed my mind when I saw the price.

Our local grocery store had pre-made potato salad on sale for $2.49/lb. I could buy 10 pounds of potatoes for that same price! The answer was a no brainer. Homemade potato salad it was!

There are many  variations of potato salad but my favorite potato salad recipe is one with only five basic ingredients. It’s my Great-Grandma Hoffmeyer’s recipe so it is a time tested recipe that has been made for several generations and countless summer picnics.

Homemade potato salad is one of my favorite recipes to take to a summer cookout because it is a very frugal recipe to make. Plus, a bowl of potato salad goes a long way! I’m sharing my recipe – and crowd proportions – below.

Please note that the proportions are assuming you will be serving other foods (besides potato salad) as side dishes. I’ve made this potato salad for many large gatherings and have found the proportions to be accurate and more than generous.

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Ingredients:

Potato salad to serve 10 people (a family sized recipe)…

6 medium potatoes
5 hard boiled eggs
1 ½ cup celery, diced
½ cup onion, diced
1 1/3 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Potato salad for 25 people…

5 pounds potatoes
1 dozen hard boiled eggs
3 cups celery, diced
3/4 cup onion, diced
2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Potato salad for 50 people…

10 pounds potatoes
2 dozen hard boiled eggs
1 bunch celery, diced
1 cup onion, diced
1 quart mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Potato salad for 75 people…

15 pounds potatoes
3 dozen hard boiled eggs
1 ½ bunches celery, diced
2 large onions, diced
1 ½ quart mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Peel, cube and boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Test by poking with a fork. While potatoes are boiling, dice onions and celery. Peel and chop hard boiled eggs.

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl while the potatoes are still hot. Stir in mayonnaise. Add more or less mayonnaise to taste. Season with salt and pepper.

Cool potato salad in the fridge until ready to serve.

Additional Notes:

The secret to this simple potato salad is that you must mix all the ingredients while the potatoes are still hot. It results in a delicious and creamy potato salad, with chunks and a tiny bit of a mashed potato feel.

The celery is optional but it does add a nice crunch. The onions are your other bit of crunch. Adjust proportions to your taste.

Salt and pepper your potato salad generously. You can always add more later, but potato salad does seem to soak up those basic seasonings.

If you prefer a bit of mustard flavor in your potato salad (as they do down South), simply squirt in a teaspoon or two of yellow mustard and stir well.

You can prep your eggs the day before by hard-boiling them and peeling them. I do this regularly. Then, I store them in a sealed container in the fridge until I’m ready to make the potato salad the next day. It’s so much easier to quickly chop up the eggs if they are already cooked, peeled and cooled.

When you are making a big batch of potato salad (10 pounds or more), I like to peel and dice my potatoes the night before. Be sure to use a sharp paring knife. This paring knife is my favorite, and at under $8, a bargain! Once they are diced, put them in a large pot and cover with salted water. Doing so will keep your potatoes from browning and again, save you time when you are ready to make the salad.

Whether you are making homemade potato salad for a crowd or for your family, you are sure to please with this five ingredient homemade potato salad. Do you have a favorite recipe to make when you are serving a crowd?

Homemade Potato Salad for a Crowd

This 5 ingredient potato salad is both easy and delicious. It includes party proportions so you can easily make this potato salad for your family or a large crowd.

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Ingredients

To serve 10 people (a family sized recipe):
• 6 medium potatoes
• 5 hard boiled eggs
• 1 ½ cup celery, diced
• ½ cup onion, diced
• 1 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
To serve 25 people:
• 5 pounds potatoes
• 1 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 3 cups celery, diced
• 3/4 cup onion, diced
• 2 1/2 cups mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
To serve 50 people:
• 10 pounds potatoes
• 2 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 1 bunch celery, diced
• 1 cup onion, diced
• 1 quart mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste
To serve 75 people:
• 15 pounds potatoes
• 3 dozen hard boiled eggs
• 1 ½ bunches celery, diced
• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 ½ quart mayonnaise
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Peel, cube and boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Test by poking with a fork.
• While potatoes are boiling, dice onions and celery. Peel and chop hard boiled eggs.
• Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl while the potatoes are still hot.
• Stir in mayonnaise. Add more or less mayonnaise to taste. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cool potato salad in the fridge until ready to serve.

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