The Secret To Extra Creamy Potato Salad Requires No Extra Ingredients

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While you'd think the perfect creamy potato salad might involve the use of some secret ingredient (like, say, bacon drippings), the truth is, sometimes all it takes is good technique to get that extra-luscious texture. We spoke to Clem Haxby, who's a nutritionist, chef, and author of the cookbook "The Salad Project: How to Build Unlimited Salads," who tells us that it's less about what goes in the potato salad, and more about how we dress it that contributes to its final texture.

Rather than add dairy such as evaporated milk, Haxby says that it's more simple than that. "A good creamy potato salad comes from emulsifying your dressing properly — use mayo, a touch of vinegar, and a bit of starchy potato water for silkiness." This is a similar principle to using pasta water to give sauces their ideal silky texture in dishes like cacio e pepe. And to ensure that the salad is creamy, Haxby says: "Dress the potatoes while warm, so they absorb flavor without drying out. Then chill before serving for that perfect creamy consistency."

If you've got an alternative style of potato salad that doesn't involve a mayonnaise-based dressing, you can still achieve that silky coating by sticking to a similar technique. Clem Haxby says, "Toss warm potatoes with olive oil or pesto right away so the coating seeps in. You can also fold in a spoon of yogurt or add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil with a sprinkling of sea salt before serving for gloss."

This is a good tip to remember before dressing a different style of potato salad like a German one, which is served warm and with a vinaigrette, rather than the buttermilk mayo-type dressings that Ina Garten prefers. So just be sure to remember that an emulsified dressing that includes a bit of potato water (not too much) ensures that your potato salad will stay creamy after it cools down — no need to introduce any newfangled things to it. All you need to do is incorporate trustworthy cooking practices, like the pros.