The best potato salad at the grocery store is creamy, hearty, and the perfect side dish for your summer BBQs. That being said, potato salad can be so many different things. There are enough varieties of store bought potato salad to last a lifetime: mustard, deviled egg, classic, red skin—the list goes on.
We’ll be the first to tell you: There is a ton of premade potato salad out there, you guys. In our first taste test, we really didn’t realize what we were getting into. Now, after our second taste test—which we conducted specifically to include the best Publix potato salad, because legend has it that Publix potato salad is incredible—we’re officially experts on the subject of this spuddy side dish. So without further ado, let’s peel back the lid on the best store bought potato salad you can buy at the supermarket.
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- Signature Cafe Classic Potato Salad
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When it came to the best “classic” potato salad we tried during our best potato salad taste test, this was a close second. It’s sweet without tasting like dessert potato salad (and trust me, others did). The potatoes are well cooked and the veggies have a little bit of crunch. If you don’t like to rock the boat with your store bought potato salad and want something perfectly normal, this is definitely a tasty option. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Reser’s Red Skin Potato Salad
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I don’t really get why people make such a big deal about red potato salad. Red skin potatoes are fine, but in a lot of red potato salad, the skin separates from the potato chunks and then you just have skin floating around in your p-sal. No, thank you. I have to give it to Reser’s, though. They make a red skin potato salad I want to buy. It’s light, herby, and fresh. This is a mayo-based potato salad that even mayo haters could enjoy, and it came close to being the best potato salad for red skin potato lovers. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Instacart
- Publix Homestyle Red Potato Salad
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I’ll reiterate what has already been said about red skinned potato salad: It’s a lot of flair, but is the taste really there? Most of the time, not really—but in the case of the Homestyle Red Potato Salad from Publix, well, we couldn’t be more wrong. With celery, hard boiled eggs, and extra grainy red skinned potatoes, this is some of the best potato salad I’ve tried for the texture alone. The flavor leans sweet, but it’s also very salty, which creates a bold balance that I myself—a salt queen who’s quite sensitive to sugar—really appreciated. —Ariana Losch
Credit: Merc / Publix
- Park Street Deli Original Potato Salad
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The best thing about this “classic” store bought potato salad from Aldi is the potatoes. They are perfectly cooked. It was shockingly hard to find potato salad with potatoes that are properly cooked. We consumed way too many crunchy potatoes on potato salad taste test day. Thank you, Aldi, for knowing how to cook potatoes. In addition to the wonderful tubers, this made our list of the best potato salad because it is well-seasoned and wonderfully mayo-y. Plus, it’s from Aldi, so the value is great. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Aldi
- Walmart Deviled Egg Potato Salad
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Walmart’s Deviled Egg Potato Salad is great (in fact, before we added Publix potato salad to the mix, it was the best potato salad on this list). I might even opt to buy this premade potato salad instead of making my own for a picnic or BBQ (and I make a mean potato salad). It’s creamy, it perfectly balances sweetness and tartness, and there isn’t too much egg. We really, really love it. The other Walmart potato salads we tried weren’t that good, but they seriously upped their game with this one. —Jordan Myrick
Credit: Merc / Walmart
- Publix New York Style Potato Salad
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Story time: During my last visit to Florida, I brought home Publix’s New York Style Potato Salad and made the mistake of leaving it unsupervised on the kitchen counter for two minutes. When I came back, my family had almost completely devoured it. I had to shoo them away like pesky seagulls. After trying it myself, I couldn’t blame them. The potatoes in this store bought potato salad are heavenly. They have the taste and consistency of soft, sautéed breakfast potatoes that have been marinating for hours in spices. The creamy mayo dressing has a mild vinegar tang and very delicate sweetness—nothing like the cloying corn-syrup flavor that can ruin other premade potato salads at the grocery store. Even if you don’t like potato salad, you will fall in love with this. In fact, I’ve said it before (right here, in my “5 Things to Buy From the Publix Deli” article), and I’ll say it again: “Publix currently operates in seven states, and unfortunately for everyone residing outside of them, their New York-Style Potato Salad is hands down the best potato salad I’ve ever tried.” I’m so sorry, but it’s true. —Ariana Losch
Best Classic Runner-Up
Best Alternative
Best Red-Skin Potato Salad
Best Classic
Runner Up
Best of the Best
Other Products We Tried: Walmart Original, Reser’s Deviled Egg, Reser’s Original, Signature Select Deviled Egg, Signature Select Loaded, Kroger Southern Style, Kroger Mustard, Kroger Egg Mustard, Walmart Mustard, Walmart Amish, Walmart Loaded, Walmart Red Skin, Publix Southern Style Potato Salad
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