Southern Potato Salad – Flawlessly creamy with just the perfect amount of tang and a dash of heat, this potato salad recipe is my absolute favorite for potlucks and family get-togethers. A few pantry staples come together to deliver the most classic (and most delicious) Southern potato dishes out there. Let’s just say my bowl always comes home empty. 😉
When it comes to potato salad, I’ve tried my fair share. It is never missing at any get-together or family reunion. Plus, since it goes so well with grilled meat and sandwiches, it’s a regular side on my own lunch and dinner table too. You might say I’m a potato salad connoisseur of sorts. 😆
And the beauty of potato salad is its simplicity. A few pantry staples create amazing comfort food, and if you get the ratios right, you’ll have a side that is literally perfection.
What Potatoes Make the Best Southern Potato Salad?
Opinions vary on this question, but I’d recommend using either Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. They cook up pleasantly soft yet stay firm enough to not make mushy potato salad. When using thin-skinned potatoes like red potatoes (if that’s what you have on hand), you can leave the skin on for added texture and a rustic look.
Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes – I find four large russets do the trick for this recipe, but you may want to add a few more if you’re using a different variety of potatoes.
- Eggs – I don’t believe in potato salad without hard-boiled eggs. Kidding, obviously, but they really do add some luxurious taste and texture. 😋
- Crunchy Veggies – Diced green onion, chopped celery, sweet relish, and some minced garlic are a gorgeous contrast in texture to the potatoes and eggs. Plus, they add so much flavor!
- Dressing – Dijon mustard, homemade mayo, Creole seasoning, and some good old S&P are all you need for the perfect potato salad dressing. It’s that simple! 😅
How to Make Southern Potato Salad
Cook the Potatoes
- Prep – Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks, then add them to a medium saucepan. Cover the potatoes with water by at least an inch. (Photos 1-2)
- Cook – Salt the water and cook them until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and let them cool. (Photos 3-4)
Assemble
- Chop – Once cool, add the potatoes to a large bowl together with chopped eggs, green onion, and celery.
- Flavor – Mix the sweet relish, garlic, mustard, mayonnaise, Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
- Dressing – Add the mayonnaise mixture together with the potato mixture. Gently but thoroughly mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Chill – Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Recipe Variations
- Customize the dressing and seasonings. Southern potato salad is highly customizable. Everyone’s Grandma seems to have her own family recipe. So make this recipe yours. Don’t like sweet relish? Use dill pickles. Not a fan of Dijon mustard? Go ahead and use yellow mustard. Don’t like the added heat? Use smoked paprika instead of Creole seasoning. Want to add something else? A dash of apple cider vinegar? Some Italian seasoning? Go for it! I highly recommend experimenting until you find your favorite version of this recipe.
- Fancy up your potato salad with some pretty and tasty garnishes. Bacon crumbles, chopped banana peppers, shredded cheese, fresh chopped rosemary or dill, any or all of these make fantastic potato salad toppings.
- Trade out the root. Sweet potatoes, parsnips, yams (ñame, not sweet potatoes), taro, or any other starchy root vegetable would make a great salad.
Tips and Tricks
- I like to peel and cut my potatoes before boiling, but you can totally toss them in whole and then peel and chop after they are cooked and cooled. A lot of people feel like this method saves time.
- Truth be told, potato salad always tastes better on the second day. So make it ahead if you can! Speaking of which…
Make-Ahead Instructions
Make potato salad one to two days ahead if you’d like! It tastes even better when the potatoes have time to soak up all the dressing flavors. Simply make it and then store it covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
Store leftover Southern potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge. It’ll keep for 3-5 days.
Serving and Storage Instructions
Serve Southern potato salad chilled in a large bowl as a side to your favorite family meal. Scoop hearty portions on everyone’s plates and garnish with your favorite herbs or bacon bits. 🥓
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. They’ll keep for 3-5 days.
FAQs
For this potato dish, I peeled and cut the potatoes into chunks before covering them with water in a saucepan. I boil mine for about 10 minutes, but that time can vary depending on the kind of potato you use and whether you cut them into chunks. Basically, you want to boil them until they’re fork-tender but not falling apart. 👌
Potatoes can hold a lot of water, so they need a chance to release it. So don’t skip the draining and cooling step because that’s how we eliminate the excess water that could make your potato salad runny.
Sure. You can peel potatoes up to 24 hours ahead of time. But they’ll need to stay refrigerated and submerged in water. Otherwise, they’ll turn brown and look unappetizing. If you want to cut down on peeling time, boil the potatoes with the skin on, and when they cool, the skins will be super easy to peel off by hand.
What Goes With Southern Potato Salad
I especially love potato salad alongside fried chicken or grilled wings! But honestly, it goes great with anything grilled or fried. Pair it with other classic sides too, like green beans and bacon or cajun fried corn on the cob. Oh! And don’t forget the sweet iced tea. 😉
More Epic Potato Salad Recipes to Try
- Red Potato Salad
- Sweet Potato Salad
- Ranch Potato Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Patti LaBelle’s Potato Salad
Conclusion
Give this creamy, tangy Southern classic a try and see if it doesn’t become a new family favorite! Already tried it? Let me know how it turned out in the comment section below. 🙌
Watch How to Make It
This blog post was originally published in May 2020 and has been updated with additional tips, new photos, and a video.
Southern Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 4 hard-boiled eggs
- ¼ cup green onions, diced
- ½ cup celery, chopped
- ¼ cup sweet relish
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 teaspoon Creole seasoning
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Peel and cut the potatoes into chunks, then put them into a medium saucepan. Water should cover the potatoes by at least an inch. Salt potatoes and cook until tender and soft (about 10 minutes). Drain water and let it cool.
- Once cool, add to a large bowl together with chopped eggs, green onion, and celery.
- In a medium bowl, mix the sweet relish, garlic, mustard, mayonnaise, Creole seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- Add the dressing to the potato mixture, and mix gently but thoroughly—season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Tips & Notes:
- I like to peel and cut my potatoes before boiling, but you can totally toss them in whole and then peel and chop after they are cooked and cooled. A lot of people feel like this method saves time.
- Truth be told, potato salad always tastes better on the second day. So make it ahead if you can!
- Please remember that the nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary significantly based on the products used in the recipe.
Christine says
Fantastic recipe! I love my Mom’s, but this tops it! Thank you!
Imma says
Thank you:) There’s more to come, so stay tuned 🙂
Tamara M. says
My mom wanted potato salad from Publix. I told her I found a recipe; so I made a small batch and it was a hit!
ImmaculateBites says
That’s Great! Thanks for the feedback.
Kim says
Hands down best potato salad recipe I have ever made! My friend makes a potato salad that everyone loves, she says it’s an old Irish recipe from her mom. I decided to make yours because I never was able to get the exact recipe, and yours seemed close to what she might put in her potatoes salad. Well, let me tell you, my husband loves it and says it’s better and he only ate her potato salad! He has been eating for 3 days! I have tried a few of your recipes and none have ever disappointed my family., they were all delish! Thank you and keep the great recipes coming!
ImmaculateBites says
Wow, your husband has been eating this for 3 days?! High-five to you on nailing this recipe :)! I am so glad it was a hit with your family, Kim. Thanks for letting me know :)!
Zoe says
What other seasoning can I use to repalce the creole, and mustard (I dont have that) and the sweet relish
Its covid season and I am stuck
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Zoe.
I completely understand your predicament. Creole seasoning is a spice mix made up of onion powder, garlic powder, dried herbs, and others. See the full recipe herehttps://www.africanbites.com/creole-seasoning/
If you have these ingredients, you can make your very own homemade creole seasoning. If not, you can just add a pinch of whichever ingredients you have on hand to this recipe, adjust to taste and you will be fine.
You can leave out the mustard and just substitute with more mayonnaise.
If you do not have sweet relish, you could dice up pickles if you have any, sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of sugar and let it sit for about 15 minutes before you add to your potato salad. You could still leave it out completely. Your potato salad will still taste good :).
Amy Goodrich says
WOW! This is “right out the gate” delicious and then as it ages…SO dayum GOOD! My husband is a man of few words and even fewer compliments. His first bite he said “WOW” and promptly spooned more on his plate. It is very popular with my adult son and his friends. No store bought can even come close. It is the perfect combination. Your Creole seasoning puts the subtle UMPH in it that you don’t find with most recipes.
If you haven’t put together Imma’s Creole seasoning as part of your spice cabinet, you ARE missing out. I still can’t believe that such a simple combination of spices can add so much depth. Imma, you’re a goddess!
This is the second time I have made it and the first time I made it exactly as written and it was outstanding. The second time I added a 1/4 cup of white vinegar and 1 tbsp of kosher salt to the potato water to boil them in. I cut the potatoes slightly larger than a dice and it seemed to add a nice independent flavor to the potato which was complimented by the other flavors. I’m incredulous that I can make a potato salad that doesn’t taste bland and boring!
I’m not wild about potatoes (like most people are), so when I love a potato dish, it’s generally a keeper!
I have loved your recipes for years and I have yet to have one that didn’t go into a regular rotation. THIS recipe is delicious. THIS recipe is in my “make for a gathering”dish rotation! Kudos all around!
ImmaculateBites says
Aww… Amy!!! This review right here just warmed my heart :)!! I am so glad this recipe was a hit with you. You are right, creole seasoning is my secret ingredient!
Thank you for the tips with the size of the potatoes, the vinegar and the kosher salt. I would try that today. Thank you so much for taking the time to write this review. xoxo
Linda Ross says
This sounds fantastic, I make potato salad occasionally and it’s always a hit or miss for me. I will try to make it this weekend.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Linda! I can’t wait for you to try it. I am sure you will love it :).
Wendy says
Wow! Que rico. Hago siempre la ensalada de patatas alemana, pero ésta se vé tan rica con todos esos condimentos que tendré que hacerla. Gracias por compartir Imma. CuÃdate mucho
The 'Staunch says
This blog is great! i still cannot believe that a Nigerian owns such a wonderful food blog on the internet. Congratulations ma’am
ImmaculateBites says
Hi. I am Cameroonian :). Thanks for stopping by!
Nora Azzi says
I have always wanted to make potato salad but never knew how to make it “just right.” This recipe should be really good, especially with the addition of garlic. I had never heard of that, but I bet it’s delicious! Gonna try this recipe the next time we have hamburgers and hot dogs!
imma africanbites says
Adding garlic sure adds a nice layer of flavor in this. Looking forward for you to try this. Enjoy!
Pam says
I have my own potato salad recipe that I’ve made for many years, but this looks so yummy I must try it. I’ll have to wait until this whole pandemic is over and we have company, because my family doesn’t eat potato salad and I’ll eat the whole thing! I can’t wait to try it.
ImmaculateBites says
Hi Pam! I can’t wait for you to try this out too. I am sure you will love it. Do let me know how it works out for you :)!