An easy Southern Potato Salad recipe made with real mayo and no sugar added! It's so creamy, tangy, sweet and not watery. It can be ready in less than 30 minutes. The perfect side dish for a summer cookout, backyard BBQ or for a potluck.
Today, I am going to show you how to make this creamy Southern Potato Salad with simple ingredients. It's the perfect comfort side dish that goes well with any main menu, such as fried chicken to sandwiches or alongside BBQ meat.
Southern Potato Salad Ingredients and Cooking Steps:
This Potato salad is made with boiled potatoes (small yellow and red potatoes), eggs, celery, onions, and a mayo-based dressing. The dressing contains mayonnaise, apple cider vinegar, sweet pickle relish, Dijon mustard, paprika, salt, and pepper.
Potato skins contain essential dietary fiber and nutrients. And for that reason, I will keep the skin intact. Just make sure to remove any dirt and residue from potatoes before preparing, cooking and serving them.
- Cook the potatoes until tender for about 12-15 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes and let them cool down.
- Make the mayo dressing
- Mixing time! Place the potatoes, chopped onion, chopped celery in a large mixing bowl, then add the dressing. Stir until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and store in the fridge immediately. Let it sits in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
How to Wash a Potato:
- Fill a large bowl with 2 tablespoons of white vinegar.
- Place the potatoes into the bowl and let them sit for a few minutes.
- Wash the potatoes under warm water and use a brush to remove any residual dirt on the skin.
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How Do I Store this Potato Salad before and after Serving:
The Southern Potato Salad can be refrigerated up to 1 day. Bring to room temperature before serving. I do recommend putting it in the fridge for at least 1 hour before serving.
Potato salad contains mayonnaise, which is a natural growth medium for bacteria. Based on the USDA recommendation, any leftover potato salad that was held in excess of 41°F for over two hours, should be discarded.
Here are Some Important Tips to Make this Potato Salad:
- To prevent uneven cooking, you should start placing potatoes in a pot of cold water, season with salt and bring the water to a boil.
- Potatoes are the main ingredient so it's very important that they're cooked just right. Do not overcook or undercook the potatoes!
- Drain the potatoes immediately after you cook them. Put some paper towels on the bottom of the plate or bowl to absorb the liquid, and place the potatoes on top to let them cool down before dressing them. Since we're using mayo, stay away from dressing warm potatoes.
- To sweeten the salad, we are going to add sweet relish. In order to avoid extra liquid in the dish, try to squeeze out the juice from sweet relish.
- Cover the salad bowl with a plastic wrap and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours before serving. This will allow the potatoes to absorb some of the dressing, makes it creamier.
Need a lighter version of potato salad? Check out this POTATO SALAD WITH ANCHOVY VINAIGRETTE!
If you have some extra potatoes, you can also make potato soup, INSTANT POT POTATO SOUP WITH BACON recipe.
📖 Recipe
Southern Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 pound potatoes (washed, scrubbed, keep the skin intact)
- 3 eggs (boiled, peeled, and chopped)
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- ½ cup chopped celery stalk
- ¾ cup real mayonaise
- ½ tablespoon dijon mustard
- ½ tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or use white vinegar)
- 1 ½ tablespoons sweet relish (drained)
- ¼ teaspoon paprika powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt (add more according to your liking)
- optional: black pepper to taste
Method
- Cover the potatoes with water and 1 teaspoon of salt in a big pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat then lower the heat to simmer and continue cooking for 12-15 minutes or until tender. Drain the potatoes, let them cool down and chopped.
- In a medium bowl, stir in Mayo, mustard, apple cider vinegar, paprika, ¼ teaspoon of salt and (optional) black pepper.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the chopped potatoes, chopped celery, chopped onion and stir in the mayo-based dressing. Add sweet relish, keep stirring until well combined.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Jenn @ EngineerMommy says
This sounds sooo delicious!! I would love to try the recipe for this potato salad. Perfect for all those summer BBQs.
Rachel says
I don't know why I have never thought of washing a potato that way. I use that method for berries.
Ruth I says
I am honestly not a fan of potato salad, but I think it's because I haven't found a recipe that I love. This looks so good, I need to try this. Yum!
Shannon Gurnee says
I love Potato Salad and this recipe looks delicious! I would love to try making this sometime for my family.
Kasey says
We're always asked to bring a Potato salad to get togethers. I will need to book mark this recipe to find it again
Marysa says
My daughter loves potato salad, and I think she would like this one. I will have to make this for our next BBQ.
Swathi says
That potato salad looks really delicious I agree with you it is really creamy. I need to give it try.
Lynndee says
Aah, I love a good potato salad. And that's what I want for side dish today. Please send some my way. Nom!
Beth says
I've never washed potatoes in vinegar before, but it does seem like a great way to get them clean! This potato salad looks really good! I'm going to bring it to my husband's family reunion this weekend.