Southern Potato Salad Recipe (My Mom’s Famous Recipe)
Last Updated on January 20, 2024 by Allison Lancaster
One of my favorite recipes from my mom is her Southern-style Potato Salad. It’s a simple potato salad recipe made with just 5 key ingredients and is perfect as a side dish to grilled meats, holiday meals, or to take to your next potluck! This Southern Potato salad will be a go to for your next picnic or holiday gathering!
Table of Contents
This classic Southern potato salad recipe combines tangy and creamy mayonnaise with mild yellow mustard, zingy and sweet relish, white vinegar, and boiled eggs. You can easily adjust the seasonings and include other delicious add-ins, such as crispy bacon pieces, chopped onions (red onion or green onions), and fresh herbs to suit your personal preference.
Leftovers keep well and can be used as a topping, filling, or to bulk up casserole recipes!
Southern Potato Salad Ingredients & Substitutions:
Potatoes: Medium-sized potatoes are best, peeled and diced into uniform cubes for even cooking. The best potatoes for this recipe include Yukon Gold potatoes, red potatoes, or fingerlings are best as they are waxy and won’t fall apart as Russet potatoes can. You can also cook these in your Instant Pot if you’d like!
Eggs: Boil these with the potatoes. Only peel and dice the hard-boiled eggs once they have cooled. Place the eggs in a bowl of cold water to speed up the cooling time.
Pickle relish: Store-bought or homemade. Dill relish can be used and will add more tangy flavor compared to the sweet pickle relish.
Mayonnaise: Full fat is best for flavor and consistency. While Miracle Whip could be used, it will make the salad sweeter and less tangy. Sour cream could also be used to make this creamy potato salad.
Yellow mustard: This mustard is mild in flavor. For a kick of spicy heat, use something like Hot English mustard or Dijon mustard.
White Vinegar: Lemon juice is a great substitute for vinegar in potato salad. Apple cider vinegar is another option.
Sugar: This balances the acidity in this dish.
Salt & black pepper: To taste. Adjust as necessary. Kosher salt, garlic powder, onion powder, or celery seed can be added to this classic potato salad for extra flavor.
How To Make Southern Potato Salad
- Boil the potatoes in a large pot until fork tender- don’t overcook the potatoes or you will have to make mashed potatoes instead!
- Drain the cubed potatoes and place them in a large bowl to cool.
- Peel and chop the eggs. Add the eggs and all other ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix well.
- Let the potato mixture sit for about an hour.
- Mix again and taste to see if you need to adjust the amounts of ingredients added.
- Cool and enjoy!
Serve
Leave this potato salad as is or sprinkle some freshly chopped herbs, such as chives, fresh dill, or parsley over the salad before serving.
Southern potato salad is the perfect side dish to enjoy with chicken skewers, grilled shrimp, and other grilled meats or main meals.
How To Store Southern Potato Salad
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. It’s normal for the mayonnaise to be absorbed by the potatoes in storage, so you may like to add extra and give the leftover salad a mix before serving again.
Recipe FAQ’s:
What can I do with leftover potato salad?
Leftover potato salad can be used as a topping for tacos, to add to your breakfast with scrambled eggs, or as a topping on sandwiches. It could even be added to casseroles to bulk up the dish.
How should I store cooked potatoes for potato salad?
Cooked potatoes must be allowed to cool completely before storing in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Can I boil potatoes ahead of time for potato salad?
Absolutely! This is a great way to whip up your potato salad in minutes without having to cook the potatoes and wait for them to cool.
Can you make potato salad with canned potatoes?
Yes, you can. Make sure to drain and rinse the canned potatoes before adding the rest of the ingredients.
Can you freeze potato salad?
Yes, you can. Potato salad can be stored in an airtight container or freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Keep in mind that the texture of the potato salad may change from the freezing and thawing and the creamy dressing may separate.
Is potato salad supposed to be served hot or cold?
Traditionally, potato salad is served at room temperature or chilled, and that’s largely to do with the other ingredients such as mayonnaise that can split.
Potato salad can be enjoyed at room temperature when freshly made or chilled when serving leftovers or when you’ve made it ahead of time.
Can I leave the potato skins on?
Yes, you can. The skin will add fiber and texture to the salad.
Other Potato-Inspired Recipes
- Sausage Potato Soup in Crockpot
- Delightful Savory Bacon Pie
- Mashed Potato Fritters
- Easy Taco Bake
- Loaded Smashed Potatoes
I hope you enjoy this sweet and tangy Southern Potato Salad! If you try it, please come back and leave me a comment letting me know how you liked it. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask! I love hearing from you!
Southern Potato Salad Recipe:
Southern Potato Salad
One of my favorite recipes from my mom is her Southern-style Potato Salad. It’s a simple potato salad recipe made with just 5 key ingredients and is perfect as a side dish to grilled meats, holiday meals, or to take to your next potluck! This Southern Potato salad will be a go to for your next picnic or holiday gathering!
Ingredients
- 6 Medium potatoes peeled & diced into cubes
- 2 eggs boiled with the potatoes, cool & peel, dice
- 1/2-3/4 C. Pickle relish
- 1/2 C. Mayonnaise
- 2 Tbs. Yellow Mustard
- 1/4 C. White Vinegar
- 2 Tbs. Sugar
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil potatoes until tender- don't over cook or you will have to make mashed potatoes!
- Drain & put in large bowl to cool.
- Peel & chop the eggs, add eggs & all other ingredients mix well.
- Let sit about an hour.
- Mix again & taste to see if you need to adjust amounts of ingredients added.
- Cool and enjoy!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 336mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 3gSugar: 11gProtein: 4g
