I Tried 9 Store-Bought Potato Salads & the Best One Tasted Homemade

There are a few foods that feel synonymous with summer, and potato salad is one of them. There's something so comforting about this simple, potato and mayonnaise dish—whether you make it at home or buy it at the store. It's the perfect side dish (because potatoes are perfect all the time) for a barbecue, a beach picnic, a day at the lake, and pretty much any other meal during the summer.

If you didn't already know, there is more than one way to make a potato salad, and I don't just mean your grandma's way and everyone else's way. There's the classic way with the mayonnaise base, there's also Amish-style, which has eggs. Then there's German potato salad, which doesn't have mayo at all! As much as I love a German potato salad, I didn't include any here, because I couldn't find one in any of my local grocery stores to include. However, I did shop nine store-bought potato salads from local grocers in the New York and New Jersey area, so you have a better idea of what you should stock up on for the summer season.

Ahead, see what's waiting for you in the deli section at the grocery store for those days when you don't feel like making your own potato salad. You can still be the hero at the barbecue when you show up with the top-ranked one on the list this summer!

Wegmans Baked Potato Salad

Wegmans Baked Potato Salad was my introduction to this type of alternative potato salad, and I have to say I was intrigued. I grabbed the three-pound container for $17.29 (because it was the only option at the time, but it usually comes in smaller containers as well), ready to dig in. I wish it was as good as I wanted it to be.

The look: It's so chunky, which I'm into. I don't want my potato salad to be super mushy—potato chunks add texture and make you actually chew your food. This had potato chunks, cheese, bacon, and more to chew on, which I liked.

The taste: The bacon and the garlic overpower everything. The bacon is really smoky and the garlic is, well, garlicky. Those two flavors are competing with each other, and it's truly all you get, which is unfortunate, because I think this could be really fun. Plus, the bacon pieces are too big and their texture is rubbery.

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Wegmans Potato Salad

Wegmans has a couple varieties of potato salads, including the most basic style, which I got in a three-pound container for $14.99. It also comes in other sizes. This is the classic, though, I have to say, upon further inspection, it didn't feel like the classic to me.

The look: Right off the bat, this potato salad seemed really pale. I know it didn't have added eggs or mustard like many of the others, but it had the coloring of scalloped potatoes or mashed potatoes. It just looked very white and thin.

The taste: Fortunately, the potato salad tastes better than it looks, but not by a whole lot. It still is a little bit blah. Some of the key spices come through, but overall, you just get potato with hints of the dressing and not enough punch.

Market Pantry Classic Potato Salad

If your Target has a grocery section, then you might be able to snag the store-brand potato salad. I got it for $3.69 and was actually surprised to find that it was something that Target carried. Then again, as we all know, Target sells a little bit of everything these days!6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

The look: The classic potato salad is incredibly creamy but still has some chunkiness to it. There aren't a lot of visible vegetables, but the bright red peppers provide some color contrast.

The taste: Speaking of those red peppers, they add some brightness to the flavor, as do the sweet pickles. This truly is a classic potato salad. However, there is some sort of aftertaste that I can't pinpoint that really throws everything off.

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Reser's Loaded Potato Salad

Loaded potato salads are a fun alternative for family gatherings when you don't quite want a true potato salad but you don't necessarily want potato skins or cheese fries. This is a marriage of them all. I picked up the three-pound Reser's Loaded Potato Salad for $9.49 at my local Acme, but the brand is sold across many grocery stores.

The look: Lots of huge potato chunks in here—with skins!—as well as pieces of cheese and bacon. This was one of the few where you could see real definition between the different ingredients in the potato salad.

The taste: Again with this type of potato salad, though, the bacon is a tough sell. The pieces are smaller in this one, so they're a little easier to manage, and the flavor isn't as overwhelming. (It's actually pretty well balanced.) It's a clever idea if you're looking for that alternative to the classic.

Bowl & Basket Potato Salad

Shoprite's store brand Bowl & Basket offers a one-pound container of potato salad for $4.53, and it was the most vegetable-forward one of the bunch. It's still the classic flavor but pumps up the volume on the "salad" part, so it feels a bit more healthy. (Spoiler alert: It's not, but that's okay.)

The look: Like I said, there are visible veggie pieces in here, like carrots, red peppers, and celery. There aren't a lot of them, but that adds color and brightness. Plus, the potatoes are chunky and defined, so no mush!

The taste: The flavor on this one is really mild, but in a good way. You don't get any overpowering competing spices or ingredients—everything melds together and the mayo brings it all together. This is another classic recipe that works well. The only thing not quite classic about it are the veggies, but I do like them!

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Freshness Guaranteed Amish Potato Salad

I picked up a couple of Walmart's flavor options—because they had a few to choose from!—including this Amish-style potato salad under the retailer's Freshness Guaranteed label. I grabbed a one-pound container for $2.92, but it also comes in a larger size.

The look: Of course, it's bright yellow, because of the eggs in it (that's what makes it Amish-style). It's also very creamy with very small potato pieces (borderline too small, I'd say).

The taste: The egg flavor really comes through here, as does the pickle relish. Walmart really nails the Amish-style flavor profile between the eggs and pickles, and it is a creamy potato salad, but the texture is, overall, a little on the mushy side.

Signature Select Amish-Style Potato Salad

Signature Select—which I picked up at Acme for $4.99 for a one-pound container—is another Amish-style option. It's a store brand that's also available at the family of stores in the Albertsons network, so you might find it at Vons, Shaw's, Pavilions, or Safeway, as well.

The look: I almost thought this was egg salad because it was so yellow (but that's because there's a lot of egg in it). The potato pieces are very large, and there are even some celery chunks, too.

The taste: There's a hint of sweetness here in the dressing that brings out the eggs, and the crunch of the celery is a nice hit of brightness. The potatoes, while big, are cooked properly, so they're not off-putting. I like how comforting this potato salad feels.

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Tabitha Brown Potato Salad

Believe it or not, Target doesn't sell just one potato salad, it sells two. I also managed to find this Tabitha Brown brand potato salad at my Target. Priced at $4.99, it comes in a small 12.3-ounce container, which would be great for packing for lunch.

The look: This is the only potato salad on the list that I would consider truly colorful. It had very visible red skins still on the potatoes and green onions popping out through the mustard. It's light on dressing because it's vegan, so the texture is different from all the rest.

The taste: What a light, bright, and refreshing potato salad this is. While it doesn't necessarily feel like a classic potato salad, it also doesn't feel like it strays too far from the norm. The Dijon mustard gives it some kick, and the lack of mayonnaise makes it so that it's not quite so heavy. I really loved that this was a little bit different.

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Freshness Guaranteed Original Potato Salad

The original potato salad from Walmart is the true classic, and it tastes just like Grandma made it. Truly, Walmart could call this "Grandma's Potato Salad" and that would be accurate. It comes in a few sizes, but this two-pound container cost me $3.82.

The look: The potatoes are chopped off nice and small in this potato salad, which means it's very creamy. The pieces aren't so small, though, that it's become mushy. There's still some crunch from the celery and pickles.

The taste: Talk about pickle flavor! And the celery. If I closed my eyes, I would think I'm in my grandma's backyard in the middle of summer. This is the classic with all the right flavors and textures. It has just enough sweetness from the relish and the potatoes are perfectly soft.