Name: Southern Potato Salad
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 285 min
Ingredients: 3 lb russet potatoes (peeled and diced); 6 c water (warm); 2 tbsp kosher salt; 2 tbsp white sugar; 1/4 c green pepper (diced); 1/4 c yellow onion (finely diced); 1/4 c celery (finely diced); 2 boiled eggs (chopped); 2 tbsp sweet relish; 2 tbsp pimentos; 1 1/2 c mayo; 1/4 c sour cream; 2 tsp yellow mustard; 1 1/2 tsp sugar; 1 tsp dried parsley; 1/2 tsp garlic powder; 1/4 tsp black pepper; salt to taste; paprika to garnish

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Southern Potato Salad is creamy, starchy, and a little crunchy. It is the perfect summer cookout side dish.

the perfect cookout plate with potato salad

This Southern Potato Salad has all of the classic ingredients—boiled eggs, finely diced celery and onion, mayo, mustard, and sweet relish. But the secrets to the best-tasting potato salad is properly prepared, perfectly seasoned potatoes.

How to prepare the potatoes for cold salads

Potato salad depend on properly cooked and seasoned potatoes. I have found that it’s best to peel and dice the potatoes before boiling them. This allows the salt and sugar added to the water to absorb well. Sugar and salt in the boiling process seasons the potatoes making them tastier within the salad.

Ingredients

Russet potatoes
Hard-boiled eggs– Use my tutorial for Perfect Boiled Eggs.
Onion
Celer
Green peppers
Pimento
Sweet relish
Mayo– Start with 1 cup of mayo and add more until your desired consistency is achieved. You can add as much or as little as you like.
Sour cream– I use sour cream because it adds some tanginess and more creaminess to the salad. You can omit it by adding the same amount of mayo.
Mustard
Salt
Sugar
Spices

These ingredients are the basics. The beauty of potato salad is that you can add any type of veggies or seasoning. If the potatoes are cooked well, whatever dressing you put on them will make a great potato salad. Although not very traditional, my great-grandma put green peppers in hers and that’s the way I make mine. Add what you like!

How to make southern potato salad

Add the peeled and rice potatoes to a large pot with the salt, sugar, and water. Boil for 25-30 minutes over medium flame. The potatoes should be easily mashed with a fork and with very little force between the fingers. Test them by choosing a larger piece of potato. Drain the potatoes well and put them into a mixing bowl to cool slightly.

Next, add your eggs, green pepper, celery, onion, relish, and pimentos to the potatoes. In a smaller bowl, mix in the mayo, sour cream, mustard, sugar, garlic powder, sugar, and black pepper. Whisk it well and pour it over the potatoes.

potato salad in a bowl sprinkled with paprika vertical

Toss the ingredients to coat the potatoes. Add salt to taste and more mayo if needed. Sprinkle with paprika to garnish. Best when refrigerated overnight but can be served as is. Refrigerate for 4-6 hours for a cold salad.

Perfect recipes to go with potato salad

Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken
Baltimore Coddies
Mexican Pulled Pork
Milk Brined Pork Chops

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