Ensalada de Papa Recipe (Puerto Rican Potato Salad Recipe) is creamy, packed with flavor and loaded with potatoes, onions, eggs, pickles and more. This easy recipe for potato salad makes the perfect holiday side dish, barbecue side dish or potluck recipe!
Our Ensalada de Coditos and Creamy Dill Pickle Pasta Salad are other great cold macaroni salad recipes to make for family and friends.
Table of Contents
Ensalada de Papas Ingredients
These are the basic potato salad ingredients to make Puerto Rican Potato Salad (Ensalada de Papa Receta); keep reading to find variations you may love: peeled potatoes (or unpeeled), mayonnaise, chopped boiled eggs, yellow mustard, onion, celery, pickles, paprika, salt and black pepper.
Best Potatoes For Potato Salad
You can’t go wrong with red, gold or russet potatoes when making potato salad recipes. We tend to use red potatoes for potato salad as we usually have them on hand. To make skin on potato salad we’d stick with the red or gold. When making russet potato salad, we recommend removing the skin.
How to Make Ensalada de Papa
Making potato salad is quick and easy. This quick potato salad is in the refrigerator melding in just 30 minutes. Here’s how to make Potato Salad (Como hacer Ensalada de Papa).
- Make The Hard Boiled Eggs – Use your favorite method. We always make Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs. They’re hands off and the easiest to peel. Some peeps boil the eggs with the potatoes, when making potato salad with eggs, but we’re not fans of this method.
- Make The Potatoes – Boil the potatoes in salted water to fork tender, not soft. If you boil them too much they will be too mushy to make Puerto Rican Potato Salad (Ensalada de Papa puerto rico) with. Strain, transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and cool for at least an hour.
- Prep The Rest of The Ingredients – While the potatoes are cooking, chop the rest of the ingredients and set aside until the potatoes have cooled.
- Stir, Taste and Repeat – Once the potatoes have chilled, mix in all the ingredients, taste and adjust as needed. It may need a bit more salt, pickles or mayo! That’s the best part of Ensaladas de Papa– you can adapt it to your taste.
Puerto Rican Potato Salad
Here are a few popular variations of Ensalada de Coditos – this recipe, as written is potato and egg salad (ensalada de huevo y papa):
Potato Salad Recipe No Eggs
We love puerto rican potato salad with eggs (Ensalada de Papa con huevo), but get it’s not everybody’s jam. Just omit the eggs altogether. You don’t need to replace them with anything.
Potato Salad with Miracle Whip
Replace the mayonnaise with equal parts Miracle Whip. No other edits are needed.
Potato Salad With Vinegar
If you decide not to include pickles or pickles juice, or if you just prefer potato salad with vinegar, it’s easy to add in. Just start with 1 teaspoon and increase as your taste warrants. Apple cider vinegar or white vinegar is our go-to. You can also throw in Pickled Mustard Seeds.
Potato Salad With Mustard
Our potato egg salad includes mustard, but isn’t the overwhelming flavor. We know some peeps love some mustard with a side of taters. To make mustard potato salad, add in an extra tablespoon of mustard….Or more if you dare. This Dijon Mustard recipe would make a great addition.
Potato Salad With Celery
We’re not celery fans, but traditional Ensalada de Papa has it, so we include it. Just the bare minimum. To really enhance the celery flavor add in some celery seeds and an extra stick of celery.
Of course if you’re looking for a classic potato salad recipe, this Southern Potato Salad Recipe is a keeper.
What To Put In Potato Salad
To amp up this cold potato salad (Ensalada de Papa fria), consider adding any of these ingredients to take this classic potato salad to the next level.
Pickled Peppers (Including Pickled Banana Peppers)
Pickled Red Onions
Smoked Deviled Eggs
Sliced Olives
Shredded Carrots
Bell Pepper
Leftover Smoked Potatoes
Leftover Mexican Potatoes
The Best Potato Salad Recipe Tips
- How long to boil potatoes for potato salad? Check the potatoes after 16 minutes to see how firm they are. If they’re too tough, continue to boil for another two minutes. They should be firm, not soft. If you overly boil the potatoes they will be mushy and not suitable for potato and egg salad.
- How to cut potatoes for potato salad: Cut the potatoes in half inch chunks. They need to be as similar in size as possible so they cook evenly.
- Boil the potatoes in Instant Pot Bone Broth or Vegetable Stock, instead of water, to amp up the flavor of the potatoes.
- Puerto Ricans serve potato salad, macaroni salad and Sancocho Domincano year round, especially during the holidays!
- This simple potato salad gets better with age. Try and make it at least four hours in advance for the best flavor.
- Homemade potato salad does suck up the mayo dressing as it cools. You may need to add a bit of extra mayo if you find you need a bit more creaminess.
- Make sure to let the cooked potatoes cool before adding the mayonnaise. If you add cold mayonnaise to hot potatoes it can separate. Yuck.
- Use mayonnaise that you enjoy the flavor of and one that lists oil as the first ingredient. Some list water as the first ingredient and it won’t mix well. Duke’s mayonnaise is what we use for our mayo based salads.
How Long Can You Keep Potato Salad
Leftover potato salad keeps for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. As it’s a potato salad with mayo, you’ll need to toss it if it stays outside for more than a few hours.
Can You Freeze Ensalada de Papas
Negative. You can’t freeze potato salad. Neither mayonnaise or potatoes freeze well. This Puerto Rican recipe is best when consumed within 4 days.
What To Serve Ensalada de Papas With
Prime Rib (Prime Rib Recipe, Smoked Prime Rib, Sous Vide Prime Rib)
Chicken Wing Recipes (Jerk Chicken Wings or Air Fryer Chicken Wings)
What Drinks Pair With Potato Salad
Wine – Pinot Grigio, Riesling, Albariño, Champagne
Beer – Belgian ale, Hefeweizen or even a Michelada would be killer!
Ingredients
- 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, Shelled and Diced (*Note 3)
- 1½ Lbs. Potatoes, Cubed (*Note 1)
- ¾ Cup Diced Onion (Red or White)
- 1 Celery Stick, Thinly Sliced
- ½ Cup Diced Sweet Pickles (*Note 4)
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise (*Note 2)
- 1 Tbsp Yellow Mustard
- ⅛ tsp Paprika
- 1-3 tsp Pickle Juice (*Note 5)
- Salt and Black Pepper, To Taste
Instructions
- Make hard boiled eggs, in your preferred method, and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cubed potatoes and cook to they're firm, not soft (approx. 16-18 minutes, depending on how large the cubes are). Do not over cook.
- While the potatoes are cooking, dice the onion, celery and pickles. Set aside.
- Drain the potatoes in a colander, transfer to a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill for an hour in the refrigerator.
- Once chilled, add the rest of the ingredients (except the eggs) and mix well to combine. Add 1 tsp. of pickle juice. Taste and adjust seasonings.
- Gently fold in the hard-boiled egg before covering and refrigerating for a minimum of one hour. Taste and add up to 2 more teaspoons of pickle juice for a stronger pickle flavor.
