Delicious Homemade Potato Salad Recipe (Southern Style)
Published June 11, 2021. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This easy-to-make Southern-Style potato salad recipe is loaded up with celery, onions, mustard, and mayonnaise for the perfect BBQ side dish.
Is there anything better at a backyard get-together than all of the tasty side dishes? If you’re all about the sides like we are, you definitely have to check out my Cornbread or Macaroni and Cheese recipe.
Potato Salad
Potato salad is a delicious side dish consisting of cooked potatoes, vegetables, and a dressing. No matter where you are in the world, every country has its own version of potato salad and even then, there are several variations of that specific rendition. Potato salad in America is most associated with the South which is mayonnaise and mustard-based.
Southern-Style potato salad has some discrepancies as well. To add sugar or not, to use relish or not, what potato should be used. My professional recommendation is to make and eat it the way you and your family enjoy it the most. With that being said, if you want the real deal, then this is it.
How to Make Potato Salad from Scratch
Follow these step-by-step instructions for how to make a potato salad from scratch:
Peel and slice the russet potatoes.
Boil the potatoes in a large pot of boiling salted water.
Next, remove the potatoes from the hot water and immediately chill them in an ice-water bath. Strain and set aside.
Mash about 1/3 to ½ of the potatoes using a hand masher in a large bowl.
Add the remaining potatoes to the bowl along with all of the other ingredients and fold them together using a rubber spatula until completely combined.
Garnish by sprinkling on some paprika and thinly sliced fresh chives.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: You can make this up to 1 day ahead of time. In addition, it would be best not to dress the potato salad until ready to serve.
How to Store: Cover and keep cool in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. This recipe will not freeze well.
chef notes + tips
- The potatoes should be peeled and cut before boiling them.
- Feel free to add or subtract the amount of mustard or mayonnaise to your liking.
- Yukon gold, red bliss, or russet potatoes will work great for this recipe.
- You can absolutely make this without celery.
- If you do not have a red onion, a yellow, sweet, or white onion will do.
- Use my hard-boiled egg recipe for perfect results.
- My bread and butter pickle recipe makes for an excellent relish.
- The boiling water should be as salty as the ocean.
More Potato Recipes
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Video
Delicious Homemade Potato Salad Recipe (Southern Style)
Ingredients
- 3 pounds peeled and thinly sliced russet potatoes
- ½ peeled small diced red onion
- 2 medium diced celery stalks
- ½ cup finely minced bread and butter pickles
- 6 small diced hard-boiled eggs
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Add the potatoes to a large pot of boiling salted water and cook for 6 minutes or just until tender.
- Immediately remove them from the boiling water and transfer to a large bowl of ice water to chill them quickly.
- Once cool, strain them and set aside.
- Take about 1/3 to ½ of the potatoes and add them to a large bowl and using a hand masher, roughly mash them.
- Add the remaining potatoes along with the rest of the ingredients and using a rubber spatula fold everything together until it is very well combined.
- Garnish with optional extra paprika and thinly sliced green onions and serve.
Omg I fixed this . I thought no way can I do potato salad . It was amazing . Well it did not look as nice as yours . But everyone loved it and took the recipe . Thank you so much
my pleasure!
I loved this recipe and received a lot of compliments.
appreciate you trying it
Great
many thanks!
5 stars! yum….
thank you so kindly!!
Delicious… I am hooked… Thank you Billy!
My pleasure.
Second time making this (because we loved it so much the first). The recipe goes against all my years of potato salad making. Peel and chop and boil potatoes? I’ve always made it the way my mom, and grandma made. Boil the potatoes whole with skin on. This is so much easier, and you don’t have any mushy potatoes (outside mushy, inside still hard). I’m a huge fan of B&B pickles, but I was out, so I ended up with about 4 B&B and some sweet pickle relish. It didn’t hurt it a bit. My honey LOVES potato salad, and I had no sooner finished making it this afternoon, he comes behind me with a bowl – “I just want to taste it!” So our sunny afternoon dinner will be pretested, lol. Perfect potato salad!
Awesome!!
OUTSTANDING! I’m so glad i found this site!!! I love that the recipes are so easy to follow and use ingredients you already have! Now that i found this site I can cancel my HelloFresh account! Thanks a mill Chef!
This potato salad is so delicious! I love the idea of mashing some of them. Seasoning was perfect for my families taste. Thank you!
I’ve been making a different potato salad with dill pickles for years, but decided to try something new when my daughter said that she preferred a different salad over mine (insert broken heart here). BILLY, your potato salad is so yummy! I love the combination of savory red onions and a hint of sweet from the bread and butter pickle relish (I’ve never been a fan of until now), and mashing up part of the potatoes give it a great texture. Wow, you converted me! Thank you for sharing!
That looks so delicious, Chef! I love the addition of grainy mustard. Need to try this!