Southern potato salad is an easy cold side dish for your next barbecue or picnic. This classic potato salad is filled with potatoes, eggs, celery, red onion, and relish that's coated in a creamy dressing.
Potato salad is a must for any barbecue, picnic, or family gathering. It's especially popular in the summer and served cold, so it's easy to make ahead and transport.
This recipe is made with simple ingredients like yukon gold potatoes, hard boiled eggs, celery, onions, and pickle relish. If you're intimidated by the thought of making your own potato salad from scratch, don't worry. It's easier than you think!
Serve Southern potato salad at your next picnic, barbecue, or Fourth of July party. It goes well with burgers, hot dogs, and pulled pork.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Potatoes - I recommend using a potato that's in between waxy and starchy, like yukon gold potatoes. A more waxy potato, like small red potatoes (like in my dill potato salad recipe) also make a good choice because they hold their shape well after boiling. Russet potatoes are not ideal for potato salad. They mash very easily once cooked and don't hold up well when mixed into a salad.
- Onion and celery - Add crunch and flavor to your potato salad.
- Pickle relish - Can be sweet or dill (depending on the flavor you're looking for). Relish can also be substituted with chopped pickles.
- Eggs - You'll need three large, hard boiled eggs for this recipe. If you don't like hard boiled eggs in your potato salad, they can be omitted entirely without affecting the recipe. You may also prefer my recipe for dill potato salad instead.
- Mayonnaise - The base of the dressing. I use and recommend Duke's mayonnaise.
- Seasoning - Salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic powder add a mild, savory flavor to the dressing.
- Dijon mustard - Adds a hint of tang and flavor to the dressing. Dijon mustard can be substituted with yellow mustard if needed.
- Lemon juice - I highly recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice for a bright, fresh flavor. Bottled lemon juice concentrates can have a harsh, stale flavor. Lemon juice could also be substituted with apple cider vinegar if needed.
Tips and tricks
How to prevent overcooked potatoes - Start your potatoes in a pot of cold water and bring to a boil. If you start with boiling water, the outsides of your potatoes will overcook by the time the middles have cooked through. Starting your potatoes in cold water ensures that the entire potato cooks evenly.
Testing potatoes for doneness - Test potatoes with a fork. If they feel firm in the middle, they need more time. If there's little to no resistance, or your potatoes are falling apart when pierced, they're done.
Allow potatoes to cool - Make sure that your potatoes are completely cooled to room temperature before adding your dressing. Mayonnaise-based dressing will melt and separate, becoming oily, when poured over hot potatoes.
Chill before serving - I highly recommend chilling your potato salad for at least one hour before serving to allow the flavors to meld and potatoes to cool.
Storage
Prepared potato salad will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
Potato salad needs to be stored in the refrigerator until ready to serve. If you're transporting potato salad to another location, store it in a tightly sealed container in a cooler with ice (or ice packs) to help keep it cold for longer.
Potato salad can sit out at room temperature for a maximum of two hours. After that, it needs to be refrigerated or discarded. If your potato salad is sitting out in a temperature of 90 degrees or more, that time is reduced to one hour.
Frequently asked questions
If you can't find yukon gold potatoes, red potatoes are my choice for potato salad. They hold their shape well and are easy to find. I use them in my dill potato salad recipe. I don't recommend russet potatoes because they mash easily after cooking and don't hold their shape when mixed into a salad.
No, you don't need to peel your potatoes. However, you're welcome to do so if you don't like the texture of the potato skins in your salad.
While recipes between families can vary widely, southern-style potato salad usually starts with a creamy dressing made of mayonnaise and mustard. Most southern potato salads also include relish, celery, onion, and hard-boiled eggs.
No, feel free to omit the hard boiled eggs if you don't like them in your potato salad.
If you prefer a sweet dressing on your potato salad, try adding a tablespoon of maple syrup or granulated sugar to the dressing and whisk to combine.
Recommended
📖 Recipe
Southern Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds yukon gold potatoes
- 3 large hard boiled eggs, diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- ½ red onion, diced
- ¼ cup pickle relish
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into 1 inch cubes and add to a large pot of salted water (water should reach about 1 inch above the potatoes). Bring to a boil and cook potatoes until they can easily be pierced through with a fork, about 15 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander and allow to cool to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, add potatoes, eggs, celery, red onion, and relish. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add mayonnaise, lemon juice, mustard, salt, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika. Whisk to combine, then pour over salad ingredients. Gently toss until evenly coated.
- Refrigerate for 1 hour to allow flavors to meld and potatoes to chill. Serve cold.
Equipment Recommendations
Notes
- Do not add dressing to hot potatoes - the mayonnaise can melt and separate. Allow your potatoes to cool to room temperature first.
- Prepared potato salad will keep for up to 5 days in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
- If serving potato salad at an event, it can sit out safely for a maximum of 2 hours before needing additional refrigeration. If the temperature is 90 degrees Fahrenheit or more, that time is reduced to 1 hour.
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