Step 1: Boil, drain and chill
Potato cubes are boiling in water in a large saucepan.
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Add the potatoes to a large saucepan and cover them with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat. Cook, uncovered, until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain, transfer to a large bowl and refrigerate until cold.
Editor’s Tip: This basic boiled potatoes recipe is a great guide for cooking potatoes to perfection.
Step 2: Toss to combine
A bowl of potato cubes with onions and pickles.
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Add the eggs, onions and pickles to the chilled potatoes.Southern Potato Salad Tohvs22 4324 Bl 05 16 3
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Toss well, then stir in the mustard, celery seed and mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper and mix until everything is evenly coated in the dressing.
Editor’s Tip: Use a gentle hand when mixing potato salad. Slowly folding everything together will help ensure the hard-boiled eggs and potatoes retain their shape.
Step 3: Chill and serve
A bowl of Southern Potato Salad topped with green onion
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Cover and refrigerate until cold. Serve.
Southern Potato Salad Variations
Spice it up: This southern potato salad recipe keeps it simple with just a bit of salt and pepper. However, you can add other herbs and spices to the recipe to enhance its flavor further. Dill, paprika, parsley, chives and garlic are all great options to try.
Try relish instead of pickles: Although we recommend using sweet pickles for authenticity, you may also use dill pickles or your favorite pickle relish if that is your preference. This dill pickle potato salad is a great reference for a recipe with dill pickles.
Toss the potatoes with pickle juice: If you love recipes with pickles, you can toss the drained, boiled potatoes in a splash of pickle juice before chilling them in the refrigerator.
Make a lighter salad: You can make this potato salad a little bit lighter by swapping half of the mayonnaise for fat-free or low-fat Greek yogurt. If you don’t enjoy mayo, this no-mayo potato salad may be the one for you.
Add olives: If you enjoy a potato salad with more acidity rather than sweetness, you can add up to 1/2 cup of sliced green olives. We love how their briny flavor pairs with the mustard, while contrasting the sweet taste of the pickles. This potato salad with kalamata vinaigrette is also great for olive lovers.
Use extra mustard: For extra zip, you can increase the amount of mustard to suit your tastes.
How to Store Southern Potato Salad
Like all homemade potato salads, this one should be kept in an airtight food storage container in the fridge. It’ll last for three to four days when stored this way.
Can you make southern potato salad ahead of time?
Yes! In fact, potato salad is one side dish recipe that gets better with time. As the salad sits, the flavors marry together, and the potatoes absorb all of the lovely complex flavors in the dressing. If you make it ahead, just be sure to serve within two or three days to ensure its freshness.
Southern Potato Salad Tips
Two bowls of Southern Potato Salad topped with green onion served in a tray
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What types of potatoes should you use for southern potato salad?
You can use any waxy potato you like. Yukon Golds, fingerlings and red potatoes are all great choices for potato salad recipes. While some enjoy leaving their potatoes unpeeled for potato salad, if you treat this potato salad as a Yukon Gold potato recipe, we recommend peeling those because their skin remains tougher than other varieties once cooked. Fingerling and red potatoes, however, may be left unpeeled since their skins become tender when boiled. Learn more about the different types of potatoes.
What can you serve with southern potato salad?
Potato salad pairs with just about any menu item you’d expect to see at a summer cookout or lunch table. Keep things simple and serve this southern potato salad recipe with one of these cold sandwich recipes, or pair it with a platter of finger-licking good barbecue ribs, a juicy burger recipe or one of these garden-fresh summer salads.
