Southern Potato Salad
This southern-style Potato Salad recipe will have everyone begging for the recipe! Creamy, flavorful and easy to make – this will be the hit of the BBQ!
A Creamy Potato Salad Recipe
This potato salad will have everyone begging for the recipe! Every single time I bring this to a cookout, folks want to know who made it and they all come over to me wanting the recipe. I promise you this will be the last potato salad recipe you will ever need!
This really is the best! We had a potato salad contest at work. Everyone brought their Mom or their Grandma’s family recipes but I took this one. My entry got a unanimous vote as the best potato salad. I know everyone swears by how their Mom or Grandma made it (because you love what you grew up with, right?) but this one is the one that got the blue ribbon – ha! A huge huge hit with everyone and I had to send them to your site for the recipe. Thank you SO much (it won me a $500 gift card!)
– Theresa
Frequently Asked Questions:
As this cools the potatoes will continue to soak up the dressing. It’s just what potatoes do, they like to soak up whatever they are mixed with. So, if you notice your salad is just a little dry when you are ready to serve, add a little more milk or chicken stock and some mayonnaise and it will restore the creaminess of your potato salad.
For a classic potato salad, mayonnaise is required. You could use Miracle Whip but I personally do not like the taste of Miracle Whip so I would never use it but if you love it, then don’t let me stop you. Want a “mayo-less” potato salad? Be sure to check out my recipe for German Potato Salad
It’s better to cut up potatoes before boiling them. They cook much faster when cut first. Also, you can leave the skin on the potatoes if you prefer.
Nope. You can leave them out if you prefer.
Use chicken stock. It is my secret ingredient! Also, use fresh ingredients. Don’t use store-bought hard-boiled eggs unless you are confident of the fresh taste. Sometimes store-bought hard boiled eggs have a funky taste to them and they can really throw off the taste of your whole salad. To make your own, check out my recipe for Homemade Chicken Broth.
Keep leftover salad stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up 3 days. Because of the mayonnaise in the salad, try to keep it cool. Do not let it sit outside of the refrigerator for longer than 30 minutes and definitely do not let it sit uncovered outside in the sun. Keep it in a ice cooler until just before serving.
Ingredients Needed: (See Recipe Card Below For The Full Recipe)
- Yukon gold potatoes – I love the creaminess of Yukon Gold potatoes for potato salad but you could certainly use russet potatoes.
- mayonnaise – for me, it’s got to be real mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip) – I prefer Duke’s or Hellman’s.
- white vinegar – you can use apple cider vinegar if that is all you have but it will add a slightly different taste to this.
- yellow mustard – don’t try to get fancy here with dijon mustard or try to use dried ground mustard, just good ole standard yellow mustard is the best.
- chicken stock – I know this seems weird to use chicken stock but it just adds that little something that people won’t quite be able to put their finger on but will know it makes this potato salad different from everyone else’s but if you don’t have chicken stock, you could use milk. You want a little extra liquid here to keep this dressing super creamy.
- celery and onion – standard potato salad ingredients – I just like to make sure they are diced up finely so no one is getting a huge bit of celery or onion.
- hard boiled eggs – I know some people love it and some people hate it so go with what you prefer here but we personally love it!
How To Make Potato Salad:
Peel and dice potatoes into cubes. Place potatoes into a large pot of water. Boil for about 20 minutes (or until fork tender). Take care not to overcook your potatoes – you don’t want them overly mushy. Mix together mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, chicken stock and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add potatoes, celery, onion and stir gently.
Stir in eggs. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and chill.
Cook’s Note: Potatoes love to soak up all the mayonnaise, so if you noticed your salad is just a little dry when you are ready to serve, add a little more milk or chicken stock and mayonnaise and it will restore the creaminess of your potato salad.
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Originally published: February 2011
Updated photos and republished: March 2026
The Best Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes (about 6 medium)
- 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
- 1 Tablespoon white vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3-4 Tablespoons chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
- ½ cup chopped onion
- 4 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Peel and dice 2 pounds yukon gold potatoes into cubes. Place potatoes into a large pot of water.
- Boil for about 20 minutes (or until fork tender.) Take care not to overcook your potatoes – you don’t want them overly mushy.
- Mix together 1 ½ cups mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon white vinegar, 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard, 3-4 Tablespoons chicken broth, 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
- Add cooked potatoes, 2 stalks celery, finely chopped, 1/2 cup chopped onion and stir gently.
- Stir in 4 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours to blend flavors and chill.
Video
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
- Potatoes love to soak up all the mayonnaise, so if you noticed your salad is just a little dry when you are ready to serve, just add a little more mayonnaise and chicken stock and it will restore the creaminess of your potato salad.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Hi Brandie. I saw your recipe for Amish potato salad and this one for regular potato salad. Which one do you actually prefer and why? Also, can I use my own chicken stock instead of the bought stock? TY for sharing your recipes with us
Hi Cathy! Honestly I love them both. They both bring a slightly different flavor to the party. This one is my original recipe and one that I obviously have some nostalgia with so it will always be a go-to recipe for me. Any recipe that calls for store-bought chicken stock or chicken broth can always be switched out for homemade. There’s never a reason where that wouldn’t be the case unless you are concerned the chicken concentration would be too strong of a taste for your liking 🙂
Always a huge hit, Have a great Memorial weekend
Thanks so very much Stony!! Really appreciate you taking the time to comment!
Best potato salad ever!!! Don’t tell my Mee Maw – ha! Everyone ate ALL of this and I wish I would’ve made more!!! So many requests for the recipe because everyone’s husbands couldn’t stop raving over how good it was lol!
This really is the best! We had a potato salad contest at work. Everyone brought their Mom or their Grandma’s family recipes but I took this one. My entry got a unanimous vote as the best potato salad. I know everyone swears by how their Mom or Grandma made it (because you love what you grew up with, right?) but this one is the one that got the blue ribbon – ha! A huge huge hit with everyone and I had to send them to your site for the recipe. Thank you SO much (it won me a $500 gift card!)
Oh my goodness, wow!! Thank you SO much Theresa! What a huge compliment! And you are right, people tend to gravitate toward what they are familiar with which is understandable but this one seems to be a favorite across the board with everyone. I take it everywhere and always come back with an empty bowl so it is so nice to see that it is universally enjoyed. And yay for that gift card!!
This really is the Best Potato salad that I have made!! Looking forward to serving this to my friends. Yum
This recipe is easy and very tasty. I make a batch about once a week and it doesn’t last long ,
So good! Absolutely amazing taste!!
I love this recipe!!! Perfect balance!
Hi again Should the potatoes be cooled before assembling the ingredients?
Thanks
rick
No, they do not need to be fully cooled.
Hello What type of onion should you use for salads ? Is there a rule on what type of onions are used?
Thanks
rick
Generally a red or sweet onion (like a Vidalia onion) are best. I prefer the sweet onion for this recipe. Red onions are good for pasta salads. The white onions and regular yellow onions can be a bit too overpowering.
This was the first time I ever made potato salad. It’s wonderful ❤️
This was the best potato salad I have ever had. I know everyone has their favorite way to make it. I used to think I had to have it with relish but I have to say, I thought this was much much better and will be the only way I eat it from now on
I need to preface my comments with this. I’m just so-so on potato salad, but it was what I was asked to bring to a family get-together. I decided if I was going to bring potato salad, Iwould look up a couple of recipes to get some ideas.
Using the unique ingredients in this recipe (hint-hint, the chicken stock), I made what I felt was a great potato salad.
I was told by the host I now have an automatic invitation to all of her get-togethers and I have to bring potato salad. At least half of the people there told me how good it was. There was a little debate on who would get to take the leftovers. I’m still kind of shocked at the reception to my potato salad. Thanks for sharing your “secrets”!
Do you use liquid or powdered chicken broth? Thank for your response
Hi Ginny, if you look at my ingredient photo above as well as the ingredient listing below it, you’ll see I use liquid broth. 🙂
Is it okay if I use green bell pepper instead of celery and keep everything else the same? Thanx for your response
You could but it will, of course, really change the overall flavor. If you love bell pepper then you would probably enjoy it but we greatly prefer the celery.
My husband & I like potato salad I usually don’t put in eggs.
I can’t use chicken broth because my son-in-law is allergic to anything “poultry”. Could beef broth or vegetable broth be substituted?
You could certainly use vegetable broth
This is a really great recipe. Most everyone in my family is on a low salt diet so… I eliminated the salt first, there’s usually enough in the broth anyway. And for a little different tang I used 3 tablespoons of mostly drained capers after cutting the vinegar. Everyone loved it!
Haven’t made potato salad in a while, but with country-style pork ribs and turnip greens, how could I go wrong? This is a delicious recipe Brandie, and the only substitution I made was to use 3 Idaho baking potatoes and only 1 cup of mayonnaise. (Due to the Covid-19 quarantine, I had to use what I have on hand.) This salad is simple, yet elegant in its simplicity. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks so much Karen!