Whip up a delicious batch of Southern potato salad. The fork-tender potatoes are dressed in a spicy creamy sauce and hard-boiled eggs. The side dish comes together in 30 minutes, and is my go-to potato salad recipe for any cookout, picnic, or backyard gathering.
What is Southern Potato Salad?
Southern potato salad is a traditional dish in the Southern United States. Like other Southern meals, no two Southerners make potato salad exactly the same way! The filling side features cooked potatoes as the base, mixed with ingredients like mayonnaise, mustard, hard-boiled eggs, celery, pickles, onions, and various seasonings, depending on the region. The salad is a popular side dish at picnics, barbecues, and family gatherings.
I love to draw inspiration for recipes from my friends and family, and this Southern potato salad recipe is no different. This particular recipe comes from my friend’s mom. One taste of hers, and I knew I had to recreate it. While I think my version does the original justice, I’ll never reach her level of expertise. At every family gathering in Atlanta, she is the one they call on to make potato salad, so it was big shoes to fill.
Ingredients for Potato Salad
- Potatoes: Normally, I use waxy, small potatoes to make potato salad, but in this recipe, I prefer russet or Yukon Gold potatoes. I cut them into larger pieces to maintain their structure as they boil. Once they cool down, you can cut them down into smaller bites before including them in the salad.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are a classic ingredient in potato salad, especially in the South! Make our Instant Pot hard boiled eggs for perfectly cooked hard-boiled eggs every time!
- Vegetables: Add diced celery, pickle, and red onion for textural variation and flavor.
- Potato Salad Dressing: I love the combination of mayonnaise (Duke’s, of course), mustard, and sour cream as the base for the dressing. Flavor it with spices like dill, salt, pepper, smoked paprika, garlic powder, and parsley.
Additions and Substitutions
Change is a good thing, and here are a few ingredients to add when you feel like shaking things up a bit.
- Bacon
- Scallions, Chives
- Radishes, Pickled Red Onion
- Pickle Brine
How to Make Southern Potato Salad
The full recipe with measurements is in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Wash the potatoes before you begin. Then, add them to a stockpot with a teaspoon of salt and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
Reduce the heat and cook at a rolling boil for 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside.
Step 2: Whisk mayo, sour cream, mustard, dill, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and parsley in a mixing bowl until combined. Then, stir in the onion, celery, and pickle.
Step 3: Peel the skins off the potatoes, and cut them into ½- inch cubes. Add the hard-boiled eggs and gently fold them into the mixture. Pour the sauce over the top and stir to combine.
Step 4: Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
Expert Tips
- Cut potatoes the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate. Quarter small potatoes, and consider cutting large potatoes like russets into smaller pieces to speed up the cooking time.
- Golden and russet potatoes easily fall apart during the cooking process. Avoid this by pulling the potatoes out of the water as soon as they’re tender.
- Once the potatoes have cooled, you can cut them into smaller bites before including them in the salad.
If you enjoy this recipe, pair it with one of these dinner sides!
Serving Suggestions
Whether you’re hosting a backyard barbecue, a family gathering, or simply craving classic southern comfort food, pair it with one of these entrees or sides.
- Peruvian Chicken, Fried Chicken
- Baked Beans with Hamburger
- Beef Ribs
- Air Fryer Turkey Burger, Hamburgers, Turkey Smash Burgers
- Corn on the Cob
- Grilled Shrimp
- Hot Dogs, Bratwurst
- Deviled Eggs Without Vinegar
- Watermelon, Canteloupe
What to do with the Leftovers
- How Long Can It Sit Out? You can let the dish sit out for a maximum of 2 hours, but if the weather is warm, trust your instincts and refrigerate it.
- Refrigerate – Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
- Freeze – I don’t recommend freezing the Southern potato salad. Once frozen, the texture will change, and the mayonnaise-based dressing will separate and become watery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make potato salad in advance?
Southern potato salad will keep for up to five days, so you can easily prepare it in advance; I recommend making it the day before. Next-day potato salad tastes even better since the potatoes have had more time to absorb the dressing.
Does Southern potato salad have eggs?
Yes, the creamy side dish typically includes hard-boiled eggs as one of its key ingredients, and so does our recipe; the eggs are the perfect complement to the tender potatoes.
Is southern style potato salad sweet?
It can have a slightly sweet flavor, but it is not necessarily a defining characteristic of the dish; ours is more savory and tangy than sweet.
What kind of mayo makes the best potato salad?
It’s a matter of preference, but I live in North Carolina, so there is only one choice- Duke’s Mayonnaise.
What kind of potatoes are best?
Other potato salad recipes, like our healthy potato salad, use small waxy potatoes. However, I prefer the creaminess of golden or russet potatoes in this salad.
Southern Potato Salad
- Stockpot, 5-quart
- Serving Dish
- 2 pounds Yukon Gold, quartered
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons sour cream
- 3 tablespoons mustard
- 1 tablespoon fresh dill, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, coarse ground
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley, dried
- ½ medium red onion, finely diced
- 2 stalks celery, diced
- 1-2 pickle spears, diced
- 5 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
- Wash the potatoes before you begin. Then, add them to a stockpot with a teaspoon of salt and chicken broth. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat.
- Reduce the heat and cook at a rolling boil for 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set them aside.
- Whisk mayo, sour cream, mustard, dill, salt, pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and parsley in a mixing bowl until combined. Then, stir in the onion, celery, and pickle.
- Peel the skins off the potatoes, and cut them into ½- inch cubes. Add the hard-boiled eggs and gently fold them into the mixture. Pour the sauce over the top and stir to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 1-2 hours before serving.
- Cut potatoes the same size to ensure they cook at the same rate. Quarter small potatoes, and consider cutting large potatoes like russets into smaller pieces to speed up the cooking time.
- Golden and russet potatoes easily fall apart during the cooking process. Avoid this by pulling the potatoes out of the water as soon as they’re tender.
- Once the potatoes have cooled, you can cut them into smaller bites before including them in the salad.
- The nutritional information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for professional advice.
SAM
Monday 18th of July 2022
I was born and raised in Baton Rouge Louisiana and your potato salad has too many ingredients To be Southern.
Tressa Jamil
Monday 18th of July 2022
I appreciate your feedback. I look forward to checking out potato salad recipes from your region and looking into other variations. My recipe is based on potato salad my friend's mother made for us. She is from Georgia, and this is how her family has always prepared potato salad for gatherings.