Give Your Potato Salad A Fall Crunch With A Sweet Addition

Potato salad isn't just for summer barbecues. This easy side dish can complement any meal during any season, and there are plenty of ingredients you can add to give your potato salad more flavor. In its simplest form, it's just cooked potatoes tossed with mayonnaise, but to turn this from a summer staple to an autumn must-have, try adding diced apples as well.

Apples bring two things to the table: crunch and sweetness. And with so many apple varieties — some extra sweet and others a little more bitter — the flavor is up to you. The apples add contrast to a creamy, rich mayonnaise base, and their sweetness also balances a tangy vinegar one, so whether you're making American potato salad or the German style, this fruit has a place. Dice the apples to be the same size or smaller than the potatoes. You want them to be able to fit on the fork alongside the potatoes, so don't create long, thin slices like you would when you're snacking on them.

Building a perfect fall potato salad might start with apples, but there are other additions to help bring the flavors together even more. One way is to swap standard potatoes with sweet potatoes for an upgrade. That hint of sweetness will be just enough to help out those sugary apples, and sweet potatoes are at their peak during the fall months. You can also build on the fruit flavors with something like golden raisins or dried cranberries. The nutty flavor of walnuts and pecans pair well with apples, too, and either one would bring a nice added texture to the salad.

For an even crunchier version, don't boil the potatoes. Dice the spuds, then toss them in a little oil and air fry 'em, which will turn the entire salad into a crunchy side dish; the potatoes will still be soft in the center and crisp on the outside. Alternatively, you can smash the potatoes on a baking sheet and let them crisp up entirely to give your already crunchy apple potato salad even more of a textural boost.