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Creamy, Tangy, and Full of Soul: Southern Potato Salad That Hits Every Note
Yo, my fellow flavor seekers—this ain't your auntie's potato salad, but it’ll still get you that nod of approval across the cookout table. This soul food potato salad rolls up with creamy comfort and pickled crunch.
We take tender-boiled Yukon Gold potatoes, stir in mayo love with a tangy whisper of mustard, and then drop in seasonings that sing like a Badu groove—earthy, spicy, and layered with ancestral memory. It’s smooth, it’s chunky, it’s creamy with a little snap—thanks to the celery and peppers—and it holds the line of soul food tradition.
Black folks don't do bland, over-mayo’d potato salad. It's gotta depth of flavor, not just filler. Give it 35–40 minutes from boil to bowl, and what you get is a soul food potato salad that is pretty darn good. Just like Erykah said, “Can you feel me?” Yes, ma’am—we sure can, right in every forkful.
That golden potato base gets married with yellow mustard, diced boiled eggs, sweet or dill relish, and a lil’ seasoning heavy on the smoked seasoning. This ain’t just a side dish—it’s that potato salad that black people love and borderline demand for the cookout. Actually there is no compromise lol. It's this or have your invitation revoked!
Beats and Eats (music to pair with black people potato salad)
Just like Badu’s “My People,” this potato salad is warm and grounding—almost melodic in its near perfect balance of richness and brightness. The layered harmonies of soul, jazz, and funk reflect the way sweet relish, tangy mustard, spices, and savory eggs play together, turning a humble dish into a soulful anthem at any gathering.
Marwin's Flavor-philes and Liner Notes
Cooking tips to elevate flavor and texture based on tried and true recipe testing
Flavor
Rice Vinegar: I find that white or apple cider vinegars can be harsh in potato salad. I like rice vinegar here since it brings a gentle lift without that harshness. It enhances without overpowering things.
Sour Cream: I felt like this dish needed a middleman between the creamy richness and tangy sharpness. Unlike mayo alone, which can lean too fatty or flat, sour cream brightens the base while still keeping that luscious, thick body we want in a proper Southern-style potato salad. I find that it balances the mustard's bite, and brings a cool creaminess.
Chicken Broth: the unsung hero—It makes the potatoes taste seasoned through and through
Serving Suggestions
Black folk like their potato salad for the barbecue cookouts so think about pairing them with smoked meats like easy 3-2-1 perfect ribs chased with a glass of ice cold Southern sweet tea. Though it may sound kinda odd, in some parts of the country, it is served on top of a batch if gumbo like this chicken and sausage gumbo.
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Ingredients
For Boiling the Potatoes
- 2 lbs Yukon Potatoes peeled and diced
- 2 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
For The Salad
- 4 Eggs hard-boiled
- 1 cup Mayo
- 3 tablespoon Yellow Mustard
- 2 tablespoon Sour Cream
- 1 Celery rib diced
- 1 medium onion diced
- ¼ cup Sweet Relish
- 2 tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon Paprika plus extra for garnishing
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- 2 teaspoon Sugar
- 1 tablespoon Fresh dill
Instructions
Boil The Potatoes
- In a medium saucepan add potatoes, broth, bay leaf, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add water to make sure the potatoes are covered. Bring everything to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for roughly 10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Drain the potatoes. Remove the bay leaf and set potatoes aside.
Make The Salad
- Place eggs in the saucepan and add water then boil eggs. Drain and allow to cool before peeling.
- Mix potatoes with the mayonnaise, mustard, sour cream, and seasonings (sugar, salt, garlic powder, paprika). Add dill, celery, vinegar, relish, onions, and eggs mixing well. Taste for flavor, then adjust with more seasoning and/or mayo and mustard. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
- Garnish with fresh dill and paprika.
Video
Notes
- Use Yukon potatoes
- Try to dice your ingredients as evenly as possible. Smaller chunks are also better than larger ones. You want each bite to get a mix of the different ingredients vs. only the larger diced potato.
- Bring the water and potatoes to a boil at the same time vs. heating the water first. The potatoes will cook evenly this way.
- Season at each step, especially early. During boiling the potatoes can/will absorb the flavors in the liquid. Boil potatoes in seasoned broth to maximize flavor
- This is a recipe for potato salad not mashed potatoes, so don't cook the potatoes to a super soft texture. They should be creamy in the center with a fair amount of disintegration on the outside.
- The sour cream and mayo add a certain level of richness, so you'll want some acidity from the rice vinegar to break up the dairy richness.
- Don't add the mayo too early. Wait till the potatoes are close to room temperature otherwise, the potato salad will end up very oily. Waiting to mix the ingredients with the potatoes also provides the needed time for the water to evaporate. Trust me, you don't want a watery potato salad. That's another no-no. The more evaporation the better the dressing mix clings to the potatoes.
Marwin Brown
Sunday 10th of November 2024
Thank you sir! You're on your way lol
nectarslip
Tuesday 4th of July 2023
I need to know, do you peel your potatoes or leave the skin on?
Marwin Brown
Wednesday 12th of July 2023
i prefer skin off mine. But for potato salad using red or new potatoes i've seen skin on.
LachePasLaPatate
Tuesday 1st of November 2022
Huh. I'm pleasantly surprised that other parts of the South have the exact same reflexive aversion to bland potato salad- and weird additions like raisins- as here in the bayou state. I'm a guy from South Louisiana who's the only younger one in my family who paid attention to how to cook, and my very Cajun grandma taught me how to make a very similar potato salad to this for holiday cookouts, except Creole brown mustard instead of regular yellow mustard, no sour cream, regular vinegar, and bay leaf + thyme and oregano in the stock while boiling potatoes. I tried out adding the rice vinegar and sour cream next time it was my turn to make it, and it was a hit!
Marwin Brown
Friday 4th of November 2022
I love the creole brown mustard add! Thanks for sharing and I'm glad the dish worked for you. Best
Greta
Thursday 13th of October 2022
Beautiful Recipe!
Tracy Snipes
Saturday 16th of April 2022
Cooking the potatoes in chicken broth w/a bay leaf is genius, thank you for that. I added a little celery salt, plus celery salt in the dressing mixture since my husband doesn't like celery.
Marwin Brown
Sunday 17th of April 2022
Good Deal! Thanks