Southern Potato Salad

I loved the review by the lady who is 70 and been making potato salad for decades. Ditto..almost 70 myself, southern all the way. I detest dill so have always used sweet relish, black olives, pimento, mayo and mustard mixed, boiled eggs (I boil them on topp of the potatoes) sauteed onions and celery (yep, I saute’ them), occasionally garlic powder or salt, season all, paprika, pepper.. And I’ve even added baby shrimp or tuna.. I definitely chill it before eating if there’s time, but it’s always better the next day–great w/saltine crackers. It’s all about your own individual taste. A lot of these recipes are a foundation for us to use if we don’t know how to make it. But any good cook tweaks a recipe for personal taste. I can’t think of one recipe I’ve ever followed to the letter. My dad was a military chef who worked for generals and started teaching me how to cook when I was 9 years old. Love making people happy with recipes they enjoy. 🙂 Allrecipes has some amazing recipes and terrific ideas.

This is the potato salad I have made all of my life except I use sweet salad cubes instead. Paprika on top makes its even better too.

This recipe is southern so yes to dill relish. I also add Tony chachere seasoning and celery salt takes it to a new level.

LOL I have been making to recipe for years. got it from my mother,who got it from her mother. just never gave it a name. we just called it potato salad.

My recipe almost and let me add that most southern cooks do not use sweet relish in mustard style potato salad but instead use dill pickles chopped. So omit sweet relish and use Mt. Olive zesty garlic kosher dill spears; also I finely chop about a fourth of a green bell pepper and omit the garlic and add a medium sized onion, chopped. Does not matter on white or yellow onion and you might even want to try a Vidalia sometime. One other thing, we never serve this style of potato salad warm, always serve it cold. Try this way, you might like it even more. Personally I have never liked mine warm unless I’m making a version of German style potato salad. One other note here, add some paprika mixed in and sprinkle to your taste over the top before you serve it. I read in the reviews one thing that can be absolutely true when it comes to making potato salad, one time you can make it and it is perfect and yet you can do it on another day using same ingredients and it just refuses to taste the same. Don’t know if it is the potato or the egg or what it is but this is a definite you can count on.

This is a very good receipe but I also like to add sliced olives. And I prefer to use Miracle Whip.

I like the texture and flavor. Danny R

AMAZING! I subbed the sweet relish for dill relish, but this is treat both ways!

I am 82 and this is almost identical to my grandmother’s recipe. However, I use Yukon gold potatoes and always add onion and a tablespoon of cider vinegar, because grandmothers are usually right. It would be helpful to know a more exact amount for the potatoes for new cooks. I have never heard of garlic in potato salad.

Loved it. Just added diced onions. I’ll make it again.

Why do you people make something that is so easy into making it into an act of congress? Fist off I am 70 and been cooking since I was 10, I have made potato salad everyway you can think of and with every kind of potato you can think of. I have cut, diced, cubed, sliced, mashed all of my potatoes. I have peeled and not peeled them, halfway peeled them (I don’t know WHY! LOOK’S I GUESS?):) I do add onion everytime because I love onion in everything I cook and yes Ma’am GARLIC too I don’t blow out your palate with the onion or the garlic. When I cook my eggs, I put however many I am going to be needing at the time in a pot starting out with cold tap water. I bring the eggs in water up to a hard boil, and boil them for 3 to 4 minutes. turn the burner off cover them pan with a tight fitting laid and let it sit for 30 to 45 minutes dunk them in ice water and you should be able to peel them easily. I chop my own onion and garlic to taste. Everything is done to YOUR TASTE. Remember to Salt snd Pepper. The potatoes and eggs I neither chop nor mash, OK you younger follks….here is where I am going to gross you out…. I take my hand, yep my Naked Hand…yep! that’s right! I don’t use a glove! to swash them together. Then I put in my other veggies… if I am having any…. I love black and green olives, celery have sneaked in very small, shaved carrots for the kiddos, I can say the now because all of my are all grown now. NOW, back to potato salad, all of this is to taste sweetheart. I use a good dollop of mayo, a good squirt of yellow mustard (or more to your taste) 3 or 4 dashes of hot sauce (I like Louisianan Hot Sauce) I will more than likely get a lot of disapproving commits but what the hay? I’m old I am supposed to be colorful. Yep! You Guessed it Right I am southern born and bred

I live in the south AND the north and I have never had garlic in potato salad either place, but onions are essential. I made hard boiled eggs just last week and I prepare them as written, although I add vinegar and salt to the cooking water – it is supposed to keep the yolks from turning dark. Definitely 10-15 minutes is not long enough to let the eggs sit in the hot water. I let mine last week sit for 20 minutes and still the yolks were not completely done. I always cool the eggs in ice water before peeling, but I will give your method a try next time. Vinegar and sugar on the potatoes while warm and no relish (my husband doesn’t like it) but I have seen relish down south more often than up north. One other thing, Idaho potatoes have a tendency to get mushy fast and you can end up with a “mashed potato salad” which is fine and some prefer it, but I prefer using redskins (mostly peeled) because they hold their shape without being crunchy. Nothing worse than crunchy potatoes in potato saladin my opinion.

This is the potato salad my Mother always made and now I make. It is also the only one I like. You can really use any kind of potato and it will work.

Delicious! Just the recipe I’ve been looking for. The only change I made was to peel and cube my russet potatoes before boiling them.

I’m from the north I made this only once . I thought id try it. I will never add pickle relish or garlic again. I’ll stick to the way I’ve always made it. I never got any complaints

I’ve made Southern potato salad all my life and get many raves. I don’t use garlic. I use dill relish. Mostly don’t use mustard, but can. I add green onions. I salt heavily with Himalayan or sea salt and Russet potatoes. After boiling, skinning, and chopping potatoes, I put the onion, salt, pepper, and relish in refrigerator for overnight while warm. Next day add celery, eggs, and lastly mayonnaise. Chill and eat next day. Only for a sweeter salad use sweet relish and Mayo or Miracle Whip (some people like it).

I thought and so did my 4 boys and Hubby, it was delicious

Please, no garlic. Not everyone likes garlic!!

dill relish definitely

Oh, my–I’m from the south, been making potato salad for we won’t say how long & never in my lifetime have I seen or had potato salad with garlic. No southern cook I know would add garlic to their potato salad–onions, yes, but garlic, nope. The rest of the recipe is pretty much on target but do yourself a favor & replace the garlic with a few diced onions–THEN you’ll have authentic Southern Potato Salad. And sweet or dill relish just depends on your preference–both work great! PS: We typically have our potato salad chilled.

Try shallots instead of garlic and thank me later.