Southern Potato Salad is super creamy with a blend of mayonnaise and mustard, hard-boiled eggs, sweet onion, sweet pickle relish, and celery. It is a potluck must and the only recipe for potato salad you need.
What Is Southern-Style Potato Salad?
There’s nothing like a bowl of good old-fashioned southern Potato Salad. A go to potato salad recipe is something everyone needs to have on hand. Everyone has their own way of making Southern-Style Potato Salad, but they are usually very creamy, heavy on the mayo, with a little mustard. They also typically contain hard-boiled egg, pickle relish (typically sweet), and paprika sprinkled on top.
Another great southern-style potato salad to try is this Southern Mustard Potato Salad.
What Are The Best Potatoes To Use?
I most like to use Russett Potatoes. They get kind of crumbly and I love the creamy texture of a potatp salad made with russetts. Yukon Gold or red potatoes can be used instead but the texture will be different.
I start my Potato Salad with regular russet potatoes. I cut any large ones in half so that they cook faster and I don’t bother peeling them until they’re done cooking. Then it’s really easy to scrape the skin off with a knife.
For the dressing, I start with lots of mayonnaise, preferably Duke’s mayonnaise. Plus a good amount of yellow mustard. It really perks up the flavor. I also add a splash of apple cider vinegar which helps accentuate the flavors.
Lots of hard-boiled eggs, some celery for crunch, sweet onions, sweet pickle relish, a little onion powder, and a few teaspoons of sugar. I like to finish it off by sprinkling some paprika on top.
Wrap it in some plastic wrap and let it chill at least a few hours. Then you’re ready to grill some burgers or bbq chicken to go with this yummy recipe.
Recipe Tip
Be sure to drain the potatoes really well before adding them to the other ingredients.
How Far In Advance Can It Be Made?
Potato salad is a recipe that is best made in advance. The flavor gets better with time. I recommend making it at least 4 hours and up to 48 hours in advance.
Storage
Will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days.
What To Serve Potato Salad With?
- Oven-Barbecued Beef Brisket
- Simply The Best Hamburgers
- Bacon-Wrapped Hot Dogs with Pimento Cheese
- Grilled London Broil
- Southern Fried Pork Chops
- Air Fryer Buffalo Drumsticks
Watch the short video below to see how to make Southern Potato Salad.
Southern Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 pounds medium russet potatoes
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
- 1 stalk celery, chopped
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 4 hard boiled eggs, 3 chopped and 1 sliced
- paprika
Instructions
- Cut each potato in half. Place in a large pot and cover with 1 inch of water. Add 2 teaspoons salt and bring to a simmer. Simmer until fork tender all the way through, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Let cool and then peel and discard the skins.
- Place potatoes in a large bowl. Run a knife through them until they are cut into bite-sized pieces.
- In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, sugar, and onion powder. Pour over potatoes and mix in well.
- Add relish, celery, onion, and the chopped eggs. Mix in.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Top with sliced egg and sprinkle with paprika. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
Want to Save This Recipe?
More Potato Salad Recipes
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
Cut potatoes small pieces, I never measure but put my dukes mayonnaise, small amount mustard, add pickle juice and sweet cubes, I cut 3 boiled eggs and stir.. I can not eat chunky potato salad.. salt pepper to taste. Everyone says award winning, I always have to make for gatherings. The key is the sweet pickle cubes and lots of juice from the pickles.
Yummmm and top with slices of boiled eggs … just how I like it :).
Recipe is just as good with chicken instead of potatoes.
This has become my go to Potato Salad recipe!
This is the best potato salad I have ever tasted. My husband was really impressed and asked that I make it often. I have tried various recipes in the past but this is superior.
3 words: So. Stinking. Delicious.
Thanks for having this available i had to make potato salad for 50+ people so i used two 5lb bags of potatoes! Overall but following the ingredients needed and tasting prior to mixing it was a huge hit!
Great recipe, I never knew the measurements when I was taught how to make potatoe salad so I’ll hold on to this version. I would add dill weed, omit the pepper or use white. My mom also never used vinegar or onion powder but I found the taste to be just as I remembered from childhood. I use a spatula to mix and I also use red potatoes and I don’t get the mashed potatoes effect.
This came out delicious. The only change is I didn’t include celery because I didn’t have any, I garnished with smoked paprika and bacon. The flavor reminds me of my friend’s potatoe salad, she’s originally from Virginia. Thanks so much!!!!
I typically hate potato salad with a passion….more a texture thing than taste. I made this recipe for my son who requested potato salad be on the meal plan for this week. In place of pickle relish I used zucchini relish instead…yum yum. Thankyou for an inspiring recipe, my son loved it
I’m going to make this for the 4th of July celebration & plan on using my home canned zucchini relish. Thanks for the heads up it should be just as fantastic!
I am not good in the kitchen but made this for a potluck this weekend. Best I ever had!!! Lots of compliments and sent them to your link. When the potatoes were done cooking I put a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar on the potatoes and mixed it in. I added the dressing when the potatoes were still warm so it would soak through the potatoes. I peeled and cut my potatoes in cubes before I cooked them instead. Great recipe thanks!!!
Thank you so much Christ in for this easy and delicious potato salad. It reminds me a lot of my mother’s potatoes minus the celery. I have been trying yes to get it like hers. She tries to show but she cooks without measuring. She’s a really great cook, but I’m not so much. But your recipe has help me to get it as good as her. Keep the good and simple recipes coming!!!!Your a great cook!!
I made this potato salad ,and we all loved it . I added a little bit of bacon , you no everything taste good with bacon. Thanks for the recipe
I peel and cut my potatoes, cook them and then cool before mixing in the wet ingredients. This way they stay whole and do not get mushy. It’ way easier cutting them into the size you want before cooking.
Thanks for that great tip Walter!
I don’t peel my potatoes but I don’t use russets either. I use red potatoes. Russets get too mushy and are too starchy. The rest of the recipe is what I use.
Yukon gold potatoes are excellent for this bc they hold their shape but have a great buttery flavor. Also, the skins are thin enough that as long you scrub them, you don’t necessarily need to peel them but I do prefer them peeled myself. Happy cooking
I love freshly made potato salad, still warm from the potatoes. Tastes so much better before it gets refrigerated.
I’ve used this recipe several times for family get togethers and everyone loves it! Thank you for sharing!
I peel and cube my potatoes first, keeps them firmer when you get ready to mix everything instead of having something like mashed potatoes with all the stuff in it.
With a few minor touches, this recipe was really good. Everyone loved it.
My family loved this recipe. Thanks for sharing.
This basically the recipe I learned from my Mom and her Mom many years ago. Back in the early 60’s. However we never put sugar, vinegar, onion powder or sweet pickles in our salad. We would finely chop a whole small to medium onion and at least one large dill pickle for ours. We also used a half dozen hard boiled eggs. Four to dice to go in the salad and two for decoration on top. Sometimes the celery was added and sometimes not. While the salad can be eaten right away it’s so much better when it’s left covered in the fridge at least 4 hours. We usually made it the day before.
Yes me either my mom and grandma never put onion powder or vinegar they would put sweet relish and mustard etc
Read about the Author of this recipe. She enjoys trying new things and experimenting. That’s an awesome trait to have as recipes are forever changing. We can’t be stuck back in Plantation Platter days.
Plantation Platter days are very often better than the gruel that is offered up these days pretending to be food.
Nice ending
Pretty much same Southern recipe I always knew, except no vinegar, onion salt, or sugar.
We do sometimes add a little chopped bell
pepper and pimento, for color. It’s good any
time, even breakfast!