14 Secret Ingredients That Will Upgrade Your Potato Salad

Classic American potato salad contains hard-boiled eggs, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, celery, onion, salt, pepper, and of course, potatoes. But what else can you add to turn it into a real showstopper? As it turns out, quite a lot. From well-known enhancements like chopped bacon to eye-catching ingredients like beets to regional renditions, potato salad is actually quite versatile. Even if you prefer the traditional recipe, there are lots of things you can do to take your potato salad to the next level, and many of them start with the same base ingredients, so you don't have to miss out on the flavors you know and love.

To find the best upgrades for potato salad, I combed through popular recipes, celebrity chef recommendations, Reddit threads, regional variations, and more. What I discovered are the 14 enhancements you find below. Keep reading to learn all about them so you can easily take your next batch of homemade potato salad to new heights or transform a bland store-bought version. After all, basic potato salad is delicious, but you can always make it better.

It's no secret that diced bacon makes an incredibly delicious topping or mix-in for potato salad — home cooks and restaurants everywhere include it in their signature recipes. Even if bacon is not considered standard, there's a good reason people flock to this upgrade. Just like with other foods, bacon adds a crispy, smoky, drool-worthy flavor people can't seem to get enough of. Plus, bacon makes everything better. Isn't that how the saying goes?

When it comes to potato salad, bacon has the power to stand out. It matches the bold pickle and mustard flavors in a basic recipe, whereas something more muted would easily be overshadowed. Not bacon, though. It shines all by itself while simultaneously complementing the other ingredients to perfection.

In addition to diced bacon, the grease from the pan can also be added to potato salad. The potatoes soak it up, leading to a potent infusion of yummy flavor throughout. Bacon grease may not be the healthiest upgrade, but it sure is delicious.

Aside from potatoes, onions, and cucumbers (in pickle form), a classic potato salad doesn't contain any extra vegetables. However, adding one or two more leads to surprisingly flavorful results. Tomatoes, for one, add juiciness, color, a hint of sweetness, and a nice acidic touch that blends well with the other components. If you think about it, tomatoes are often paired with the other elements of potato salad — for example, on hotdogs and sandwiches. So, you can probably imagine how well they mesh.

You can also add a bit of crunch to your potato salad with an array of yummy vegetables like green onion, bell peppers, and radish. Radish is my favorite because it has an ultra-crisp texture and lots of bite. Whichever veggie you choose, dice or slice it into small pieces and mix it in with the other ingredients. Diced green onions also make a pretty garnish, but mixing some in to spread out the flavor is still best if you want your entire dish to benefit.

Sour cream and onion potato salad is one of the many different types of potato salad you need to try at least once. It's rich, creamy, and somewhat reminiscent of a loaded baked potato but with more pizazz. Unlike a classic American potato salad, this rendition omits relish (or pickles) and mayo. Instead, it goes in full force with crunchy red onions, chives, and sour cream. It still has mustard, though, so you get lots of familiar flavors, just with a decadently yummy twist. If you or someone you know doesn't like pickles, this recipe could be a real game changer.

There's no reason why you couldn't simply add extra onions and sour cream to a classic potato salad with mayo, mustard, and relish, too. In a thread about secret ingredients in potato salad, one Reddit user claims half mayo, half sour cream is the way to go; another skips the mayo and goes for full-fat sour cream instead. Either way, what you get is a rich and creamy potato salad with a nice tangy element and lots of crunch.

Russian potato salad, also known as salad Olivier, is similar to the classic American dish. But thanks to a few distinct differences, it provides you with a hearty mouthfeel and an added dose of veggies — two things we can all get behind. While the Russian rendition still contains eggs, pickles, mayo, and potatoes, it also features carrots, peas, fresh herbs, and either ham or chicken. Whether you stick to the original Russian recipe or simply use the extra ingredients as add-ins to the classic American version, what you get is a bold, delicious potato salad with lots of savory, salty flavor.

The addition of meat gives salad Olivier (or a traditional American recipe) a much heartier texture and, of course, some added protein. Score! The fresh herbs also contribute a lighter element that helps counterbalance the heaviness of the mayo. Finally, infusing potato salad with carrots and peas gives the dish nice pops of color and some increased nutrition. Since potato salad isn't necessarily the healthiest dish on the table, extra veggies are always welcome in my house, and something tells me you'll agree. Traditional Russian potato salad lacks mustard, but you can make yours however you want, so if no mustard is a deal breaker for you, go ahead and toss some of that in, too.

Many mayonnaise recipes already include vinegar, but an extra dash of this bright, acidic element has the power to take your potato salad to the next level. Pair it with a touch of sugar, and potato salad hits all the right flavors (salty, sweet, and acidic). Amish potato salad is no stranger to this concept, and sugar and vinegar are typically included in the recipe.

The Amish also make everything from scratch, so an authentic recipe is likely to be creamier and richer than potato salad made with store-bought mayo and mustard, but you don't have to hold yourself to the same standards. You can simply add a splash of vinegar and a sprinkle of sugar to take your bland grocery store potato salad to new heights. Or, you can include them in your homemade recipe to ensure you wind up with a zesty, flavorful delight.

Celebrity chef Rachel Ray's potato salad also gets a helping hand from vinegar and sugar. Of course, she omits mayo, but the presence of white wine vinegar and sugar is what gives her recipe its star appeal. A bit of horseradish doesn't hurt, either. Considering Rachel Ray is known for her flavorful, yet easy-to-make meals, taking a hint from her can only be a good idea. If you want to go all-in on Ray's potato salad tricks, you can also boil your potatoes in chicken or pork stock to infuse them with rich flavor from the very start.

Texas-style potato salad is another fun, regional rendition of the classic American recipe that is sure to turn heads. In fact, it's so well-loved that you don't have to go to Texas to find it on a menu. It features all the typical ingredients (except it substitutes red onion for chives), but also includes jalapeños and pepitas (aka pumpkin seeds). The addition of these ingredients gives potato salad a blast of heat and lots of extra crunch. Classic potato salad usually has a bit of crunch, but pepitas upgrade texture even more. When you add jalapeños, it further improves potato salad by incorporating a spicy element. Plus, the heat accentuates the other flavors beautifully.

The spiciness of Texas-style potato salad means it won't be right for everyone, but if you can stand some heat, it's ready to take your homemade and store-bought potato salads to the next level. I'm extremely partial to spicy foods, and I've tried and loved potato salad with jalapeños before, but never pepitas. I certainly will be adding them from now on, though.

At first, you may be thinking potato salad with horseradish and anchovies sounds a bit strange, but with a few playful substitutions in the classic recipe, the flavors come together to create a delicious potato salad by any standards.

Obviously, this style of potato salad contains potatoes, but after that, the recipe veers off in an entirely new direction. Instead of mayo, mustard, pickles, and eggs, it features a unique dressing with lots of tangy flavor. The dressing is made with olive oil, bacon fat, scallions, anchovies, lemon, salt, pepper, and horseradish — all ingredients that taste phenomenal with potatoes. Then, some diced bacon, parsley, and yellow bell pepper are added for extra flavor and textural variation.

As we already know, bell peppers, bacon, and bacon fat are super tasty potato salad ingredients. However, adding bold horseradish and anchovies to the recipe enhances the potatoes in drool-worthy ways. The anchovies add a unique saltiness to the potatoes, and the horseradish gives the dish a spicy kick, kind of like wasabi, and a pungent aroma that draws diners in. This rendition is a far cry from classic American potato salad, but it's yummy all the same.

I love infusing dishes with Greek flavors, and potato salad is no exception. While it may be a bit out of the ordinary, the taste of dill, lemon, and feta cheese adds a bright, fresh element to potato salad that anyone can love. Feta and dill potato salad may be a unique recipe that strays from the classic, but I've found that Greek flavors taste great in American potato salad as well. Admittedly, I haven't tried adding feta to an American-style recipe, but dill and lemon are a no-brainer. After all, lemon is a common mayo ingredient and dill is found in the marinade for almost any kind of pickle.

Several commenters on the aforementioned Reddit thread also swear by the use of fresh dill in their potato salad. In fact, one person says they use "so much f***ing dill it makes you uneasy." Obviously, you don't have to go that far, but if you are a big fan of the herb, there's no reason to hold back. Chop it up, mix it in, and sprinkle some extra on top for good measure. You won't regret it.

In addition to dill, the acidity of lemon juice gives potato salads a bright, acidic element. Just a squeeze or two of this tasty citrus juice will not only taste yummy, but it lifts the heavy mayo and mustard in a pleasing way.

If you want to make your potato salad the first thing people look at on a table or buffet spread, adding beets is just the thing. They turn a fairly monotone potato salad into a bright pink dish that refuses to be overlooked. In addition to adding vibrant color to draw people in, beets give potato salad a potent earthy taste with a touch of balanced sweetness that people love. How do I know? Well, there are regional renditions in places like Newfoundland, Russia, the Dominican Republic, and Ethiopia that include beets in their potato salad (and that is just scratching the surface).

Beets have the potential to make your potato salad eye-catching from across the room, but they aren't for everyone, myself included. Honestly, I think they taste like dirt, so I won't be trying this upgrade any time soon. However, I know some people who find the addition of beets beyond tantalizing, so don't let my dislike of the root vegetable sway your opinion. Just make sure the people you are preparing potato salad for like beets as much as you do, and you're in the clear.

If a more veggie-centered potato salad sounds good, potato salad with sprouted mung beans is for you. It's light, creamy, flavorful, and, of course, delicious. As the name suggests, this playful rendition of the classic recipe features lots of crunchy mung bean sprouts plus diced red onion and cilantro, all of which give potato salad a bright, fresh taste. It also substitutes mustard seed for regular mustard and yogurt for mayo. To ensure you still get an even texture, not one that's lumpy and hard to mix, the ingredients are rounded out with a bit of olive oil and red wine vinegar. As a result, it has a lighter texture (and probably less fat, too). The yogurt also helps potato salad stay super creamy without the need for a heavy mayo.

Thanks to the mustard seeds, red onion, potatoes, and creamy texture provided by the yogurt in this recipe, it is still capable of satisfying a craving for classic American potato salad. However, it also gives you a crunchy mouthfeel that the standard recipe lacks. In addition, the yogurt contributes a nice tangy flavor anyone can love.

If you want to make potato salad in half the time, there's an unexpected swap that makes this achievable: Switch out the potatoes for gnocchi. It sounds like a big step away from the traditional recipe, and it is, but in an exciting direction.

Gnocchi is made like other pasta, but the dough is infused with potato, so you still get the starchy goodness and potato flavor essential to potato salad. However, gnocchi cooks up in just a couple of minutes, and if you pick up a store-bought option, it cuts down the time needed to make the dish by a significant amount. You don't have to wash, dice, and cook potatoes. Instead, simply drop gnocchi in boiling water and move along. If you want to go the extra mile, you can always try your hand at homemade gnocchi. It's not that complicated, but you can forget about saving any time if you go that route.

There's nothing secret about this upgrade. I mean, it'll be noticeable at first glance. Still, its utter convenience and ability to please make it an overwhelmingly fantastic way to ensure your potato salad becomes a topic of conversation. It's so unique and unexpected; how could people not talk about it?

Olives and (or) capers won't do much for the texture of your potato salad, but they take it a long way when it comes to turning up flavor. Both are uniquely flavored and have the ability to stand out amongst the other potent ingredients found in a classic potato salad.

Capers taste somewhat similar to pickles, and while I haven't experimented with them in potato salad before, I almost feel like I already know how it would turn out. You probably do, too, and it's nothing short of delicious. A Reddit commenter says finely diced capers are their secret ingredient of choice, and I'm inclined to believe they have it right.

Other comments on the same Reddit thread recommend including green or black olives in potato salad. As a lover of olives, I fully back this upgrade too. Of course, olives come in all different flavors and varieties, but you don't have to get fancy. Just pick up a variety with lots of flavor and mix some in. Canned options that come pre-sliced are perfect for this.

Diced pickles are a standard potato salad ingredient; some people use a premade relish, but pickles are essential nonetheless. If you love the tangy bite of pickles and amplifying it in your potato salad sounds appealing, the juice that comes in the jar has the potential to become your new secret weapon. Adding pickle juice to potato salad helps spread the flavor you love throughout the entire dish, giving you more of a good thing with virtually no effort. You don't even have to buy an extra ingredient; the juice is already in your jar of pickles or relish.

Adding a few large spoonfuls of pickle juice to your potato salad along with the other ingredients couldn't be simpler. One Reddit user recommends pouring it over the freshly boiled and drained potatoes, while they are still warm, and additional commentators couldn't agree more. Allowing the potatoes to soak up the tasty vinegar-based juice before they are coated with mayo, mustard, and other ingredients just makes sense. It ensures a powerful infusion of flavor from the ground up and ensures you get lots of pickle goodness in every bite.

I grew up near the Chesapeake Bay, where Old Bay seasoning is a staple. If you've ever visited the area or known someone from there, you probably already know we like to put Old Bay on everything from seafood to french fries to potato chips to vegetables and more, and guess what? Potato salad and Old Bay make a winning combination, too. I can't count how many times I went to a crab boil (aka crab picking party) and enjoyed potato salad with a generous amount of Old Bay. In fact, it's probably considered an essential potato salad ingredient in the region. There's something about the way the flavors combine that makes it undeniably delicious. Plus, it adds a nice dusting of red color.

If you're not familiar with Old Bay seasoning, it's a bit hard to describe, but the official ingredients include celery seed, salt, paprika, and spices, including red and black pepper. It isn't necessarily spicy, but it packs a bold punch of flavor that won't be overlooked, regardless of what you decide to sprinkle it on. With potato salad, you can mix Old Bay in or simply shake a good amount on top for a burst of color. I do both because, well, I can't get enough. Give it a try and something tells me you quickly agree.