Best Southern Potato Salad at home

Tired of bland tasting potato salad? Then this 5-star rated Old Fashioned Potato Salad deserves a spot at your table. It’s a plain, traditional dish made with plain, traditional ingredients and an extra “secret little something”, that has BIG flavor.

While there are hundreds of versions out there, this one is the kind you’ll typically find in the South.

Southern Style Potato Salad

You’d be hard pressed to find a BBQ or any sort of family gathering down here in the South that doesn’t include potato salad. It is truly a staple side.

You can find it on every barbecue restaurant’s menu, cases of it in the local grocery store, and on the table of every get-together. It isn’t a summer time dish around here. It’s a year round staple.

Potato salad is so commonplace here, it feels “off” when it isn’t there. You can quite literally buy it in gallon buckets from most barbecue restaurants. The potato salad + brisket combo can’t be beat.

Why Southern Style Potato Salad Recipe stays in the rotation

While there are hundreds of versions out there, this one is the kind you’ll typically find here in the South. The key to a great potato salad that’ll have everyone asking for the recipe is cooking the potatoes to the right consistency (without overcooking them!) and getting the dressing right. If the taste and texture are off, it can make or break how much people enjoy it.

We learned to make potato salad by watching our grandma make it. She’s not the measuring type (and she rarely has any sort of timer set for baking), so she tested the potatoes by feel and made the dressing by eyeing the ingredients and tasting them as she went. When it tasted right, it was done.

We're passing that same classic version our grandmother made on to you. It’s complete with eggs, mustard, mayonnaise, celery, relish, and onion.

There is a reason it’s one of the most popular recipes on here. People have told us it’s in regular rotation at their house for nearly every holiday, even Thanksgiving!

Southern Style Potato Salad Ingredients

We don’t toss the potatoes in vinegar because we’re going for a classic creamy version that doesn’t have any vinegar “bite” to it. You want more of a brine taste that you’ll get from the pickles.

• Yukon gold potatoes – Yukon Gold potatoes come out soft and smooth. We like to use Yukon rather than russet. Russet is better for a loaded style with sour, bacon, and cheese cream to give you that “baked potato” taste and texture. Yukon golds will give you a slightly sweeter taste that’s a classic part of a southern potato salad.
• Eggs – you’re going to want to grab large eggs and we’ll be hard boiling them.
• Mayonnaise – grab your favorite brand (the full fat version). You can even use Miracle Whip in this if you want.
• Salt and pepper – Kosher salt or sea salt and freshly cracked pepper are our favorites.
• Mustard – You can use any kind of mustard, including spicy or whole grain. We have even made it with dill mustard and that was satisfying as well.
• Sweet relish – we usually use a sweet relish, but a dill relish works too. You can also chop up your favorite pickles. Grab the sweet relish that’s in the large chunks if you can.
• Onion – we typically buy a yellow onion or white onion for this recipe, but you can use red onion, green onion, or shallot instead. Be sure to chop it finely so that no one is biting a big huge chunk of raw onion.
• Celery – If celery isn’t your thing, you can use green bell pepper instead.
• Sugar – Sugar is necessary for this recipe, so don’t skip it or replace it with a sugar substitute.

What type of mayonnaise should we use for potato salad?

Where we grew up, it was split 50/50 on whether you were a mayo or Miracle Whip person. Both work great. We were raised in a Miracle Whip house and do like that version, but we like the mayo version with Duke’s mayo a house favorite.

Since mayonnaise is the biggest component of the dressing for southern potato salad, we always recommend going with the full fat version for the creamiest and most flavor packed option.

As far as brands go, if you have a favorite brand you can definitely use that. Our favorite brand for potato salad is Duke’s mayo. It’s creamy, satisfying, and the well-balanced consistency.

How to make Southern Potato Salad

The great thing about making this potato salad is that it’s plain. There’s no complicated steps or ingredients.

You’re going to start by making the potatoes and eggs.

1. Dice, Peel, and rinse your potatoes. You’ll want to dice them into 1-2″ sized pieces. Place the cut potatoes into a large pot and cover them with water.
2. Put the pot on the stove and bring it to a rolling boil. Cook them until they’re cooked through. You want them to still be a bit firm (think al dente) so that they hold up in the salad.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, bring a separate pot of water to a boil. Turn it down to a simmer (to avoid cracking the eggs). Slowly and gently add the eggs to the water and then turn it back up to a boil.
4. Boil them for 10 minutes. Immediately remove them from the heat and add them to an ice bath to cool.
5. Drain the potatoes and set them aside to cool completely. You can also add them to an ice bath with the eggs if you’d like.
6. Once the eggs are cool, peel and dice them.

1. Next, you’ll start on the dressing. In a large mixing bowl, combine the mayo, salt, pepper, mustard, relish, and sugar. Whisk it together until it’s nice and smooth.
2. Add the onion and celery to the dressing and mix. Make sure it’s all mixed together and coated.

1. Add in the cooled potatoes and eggs. Fold them into the dressing until everything is completely coated. Be gentle, you’re not looking to smash them. You still want nice bite sized chunks of potatoes.
2. Pop the potato salad in the refrigerator until you’re ready to serve. It’s best if you can refrigerate it overnight, but until you’re ready to serve works too.

How long do you cook potatoes for potato salad?

If you’re using the stovetop method as shown in this recipe, you’ll need time for the water to boil and for the potatoes to cook. All in all, it takes around 15 minutes.

If you opt for the Instant Pot Potato Salad (details below the recipe card), it’ll need to come to pressure, which usually takes about 5-10 minutes, then pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Both methods will result in a total time of about 15-20 minutes.

Top Tip

Try to prepare the potato salad the day before serving. If you have a chance to refrigerate it overnight, it’ll have a great taste and texture from soaking in the dressing.

Best Southern Potato Salad Tips

Try not to overcook the potatoes. You don’t want them to be super soft. They need to hold up and still have a little bite (think al dente).

Be sure the potatoes and eggs are fully cooled before adding them to the salad.

How to Serve Southern Style Potato Salad

If we're being honest, here in Texas potato salad is a side dish for pretty much anything. It’s a staple for barbecue like Smoked ribs, Grilled chicken, and Burgers.

It’s also great as a side dish for hearty main dishes like Hamburger steaks, Panko chicken, and Pulled pork.

It truly goes hand-in-hand with other classic southern side dishes like Macaroni salad, Baked beans, and coleslaw.

Storing Potato Salad

Potato salad will taste best the day after it’s made when it’s had a chance to soak in the dressing.

Because it’s mayo based, it needs to be refrigerated. Store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.

Give it a quick stir before serving once you’ve taken it out of the fridge.

Can you freeze potato salad?

We wouldn’t recommend it. The great thing about potato salad is that it actually tastes better if you make it the day before serving and refrigerate it overnight.

With that said, we would plan to make it the day before and don’t try freezing it. Freezing would completely change the taste and texture.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to cook potatoes with eggs in the Instant Pot for Instant Pot Potato Salad

• Add the metal trivet to the bottom of the pot. Pour in 1/2 cup of water.
• Stack the uncut potatoes in the pot on top of the trivet. Stack the eggs on top of the potatoes and close the lid.
• Set the Instant Pot to SEALING and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes.

• QUICK RELEASE the pressure and open the lid. Immediately transfer the potatoes and eggs to an ice bath and allow them to cool.
• Once the eggs and potatoes have cooled, peel them both and cut them into bite-sized pieces.
• Set them aside.