This crowd-pleasing potato salad recipe features bite-sized potatoes, sweet pickles, and onion mixed with a tangy dressing with a zippy finish.
Let’s talk about Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad.
This recipe makes the best potato salad I have probably ever eaten. It’s our favorite side dish with smoked beef brisket, baby back ribs, grilled country-style pork ribs, or just about anything that comes off the grill or smoker.
David got the recipe from her many years ago from his mama, Rosa. Since then, he has made large batches of this potato salad recipe to take to company potlucks. He always brings an empty bowl home because people eat it up!
Let us show you how to make this delicious potato salad!
What’s In This Potato Salad
This crowd-pleasing southern potato salad recipe features bite-sized potatoes with chopped homemade sweet pickles and onions mixed with a dressing of mayonnaise, spicy brown mustard, white vinegar, sugar, and lightly sprinkled with celery seeds.
The potato salad is garnished with slices of hardboiled egg, which allows people to incorporate them into the potato salad or pick around them as I do.
What You’ll Need To Make This Recipe
The recipe card at the end of this post provides a detailed list of ingredients.
- Potatoes: Russet, Idaho, or Yukon Gold potatoes work best, peeled and cut into 1-inch bite-sized cubes.
- Onion: chopped sweet onion is best for the salad. The sweet onion is not only sweet but has a softer texture. You could also use red onion or shallots for a sweet milder flavor.
- Pickles: David uses my homemade sweet pickles. He chops them up extra chunky so that they add texture to the salad. Pickle relish will work but will not add the same texture. We highly recommend chopping sweet pickles yourself by hand.
- Mayonnaise: We use Duke’s Mayonnaise because it is our favorite. Use your favorite brand, but do not use Miracle Whip, as it will change the entire flavor profile of this salad.
- Mustard: David uses spicy brown mustard instead of yellow mustard. Spicy brown mustard adds a delicious zip and zing to the salad. Use dijon mustard if you don’t have any spicy brown mustard on hand.
- Vinegar: Use white vinegar when making this potato salad. White vinegar adds twang without overpowering the salad.
- Sugar: white sugar adds more sweetness to offset the sourness and twang.
- Celery Seed: Don’t skip this! I can tell every time David forgets to add them into this salad. Celery seeds are tiny but add so much flavor. The seed is perfect for celery haters like David.
- Eggs: Hard-boiled eggs are optional. Using them as garnish is best for those who aren’t fond of eggs in potato salad like me!
- Paprika: garnish the potato salad with some paprika; it’s the southern thing to do!
The Best Potatoes to Use
This potato salad recipe works best with starchy potatoes such as Russet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, or Yukon Gold potatoes.
David always uses Russet potatoes for making this salad. Starchy potatoes are low in moisture and absorbent, making them excellent for soaking up every last drop of the potato salad dressing.
However, it depends on your taste. Use yellow, white, or red potatoes with thin waxy skins if you like them better.
What To Look For When Shopping For Potatoes
Regardless of what variety of potatoes you use. Look for the following when selecting potatoes for your potato salad:
- Firmness: the potato should be completely firm when you squeeze them gently.
- Visual Appearance: smooth, clean skin, without bruising or discoloration.
- Size Matters: select potatoes of the same shape and size so they have the same texture.
How to Cook Potatoes for Potato Salad
Potato salad isn’t called mashed potato salad, so don’t overcook the potatoes, or that is exactly what you will end up with. If you don’t cook the potatoes enough, they will have a crunchy texture. When cooking potatoes for potato salad, they should be cooked until they are tender and creamy.
For best results, add the potatoes to cold water and bring them to a boil rather than adding the potatoes to boiling water. This helps them cook more evenly.
How to Cut Potatoes for Potato Salad
We do not recommend cooking the potatoes whole, but rather chop them before cooking. The potatoes will not cook evenly throughout when they are left whole. The outside will become softer than the center, causing the texture of the potato salad to be inconsistent.
Cut the potatoes into uniform pieces about 1-inch in size before boiling them in water for a more consistent cook.
Should I Peel The Potatoes For Potato Salad?
For this potato salad, we highly recommend you peel the potatoes. This is a creamy potato salad, and the starchy texture of the potato absorbs the dressing. If you leave on the skins, the dressing won’t absorb into the potatoes very well.
On the other hand, if you are using a waxy potato with thin skins, then, by all means, leave the skin on.
How Long Do Cook the Potatoes For Potato Salad?
Potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces typically take about 8-12 minutes to become “fork tender,” which means they give when pierced with a fork. Ultimately, the cooking time depends on the size of the cut potatoes and the type of potatoes you use.
How to Keep Potato Salad from Getting Watery
There are a few reasons why potato salad can become watery. Follow the guidelines below to ensure your potato salad doesn’t become watery.
- Use starchy potatoes that absorb moisture.
- Drain the potatoes well before pouring them into a bowl. David lets the potatoes drain into a colander while they cool to make the salad.
- Allow the potatoes to cool before mixing them with the dressing. Hot potatoes sweat and drain out water. They also cause the mayonnaise to break down and become oily, which causes the potato salad to become watery.
- Don’t add salt when cooking the potatoes. Salt will cause the potatoes to extract water instead of absorbing it. For best results, season the potato salad with salt and pepper when putting it together.
How to Make Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad
This is a mix-to-taste recipe, and the amount of dressing you make up will depend on the size of the potatoes. You will need to taste the potato salad and adjust the seasoning to your taste. Don’t be afraid to add more pickles, onions, dressing, or celery seeds. Use your best judgment as to how you want it to taste. This side dish is all about personal preference.
Detailed instructions are provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.
The Potatoes:
- Rinse and peel.
- Cut into 1-inch bitesize pieces.
- Put the potatoes inside a large pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes with at least one inch of water.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Keep the water at a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender (tender all the way through when pierced with a fork), about 8 to 12 minutes.
- Drain the potatoes well and allow them to cool before transferring them to a large bowl. Add the onions and pickles to the potatoes and gently toss.
The Dressing:
In a separate small bowl, stir in mustard and mayo until lumps are smooth. Mix vinegar and sugar in another small bowl until sugar dissolves. Next, whisk the sweetened vinegar into the bowl with the mustard mayonnaise mixture. Combine well.
The Salad:
Pour the dressing mixture over the potatoes, onions, and pickles. Stir carefully, trying not to mash up the potatoes too much. Sprinkle in the celery seed and stir in until well combined.
Add hard-boiled egg slices, if desired.
FAQs
For best results, cut the potato before boiling them. They will cook more evenly.
We aren’t sure if they go with the dressing or not. We recommend you mix up the dressing and a bit of chopped dill pickle to a spoonful to see if dill pickles are something you want to use.
We recommend Duke’s because it’s our favorite, but use whatever mayonnaise you prefer and adjust the ingredients to suit your taste.
If your salad is dry, you may need to mix up more of the dressing to add to it. You could start by adding about a teaspoon or so of sweet pickle juice to it if you desire.
No, potato salad does not freeze well. It’s just nasty when thawed!
This potato salad will keep up to 3-5 days in the fridge before the onions start to take over.
In my opinion, this is the best potato salad recipe when the eggs are left out, but David says it has to have the eggs.
Will you opt for the eggs or not? We’d love your feedback. Leave us a comment and a star rating below. We value your opinion and appreciate your time.
See ya on the mountain!
Mama Rosa’s Potato Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 cups potatoes 1-inch bite-sized pieces
- ½ small sweet onion diced
- ¼ cup sweet pickles roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- 2 tablespoons white sugar
- ½ teaspoon celery seed adds flavor. do not omit!
- 3 hard-boiled eggs sliced on top as a garnish (optional)
- paprika for garnish (optional)
Instructions
THE POTATOES:
- Wash and scrub the potatoes. Peel them and cut into large bite-sized cubes pieces.Place the potatoes inside a medium-sized pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes with at least one inch of water.
- Bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce to simmer. Keep the water at a gentle simmer. Cook until the potatoes are fork tender (tender all the way through when pierced with a fork), about 8 to 12 minutes. The cooking time depends on the size of your pieces and the type of potatoes.
- At this time, boil the eggs if you are adding them as garnish.
- Drain the potatoes well and transfer them to a large mixing bowl. Add the onions and pickles to the potatoes and gently toss.
THE DRESSING:
- In a separate small bowl, stir in mustard and mayonnaise until lumps are smooth. Mix vinegar and sugar in another separate small bowl until sugar dissolves. Whisk the sweetened vinegar into the bowl with the mustard mayonnaise mixture. Combine well.
THE SALAD:
- Pour the dressing mixture over the potatoes, onions, and pickles. Stir carefully, trying not to mash up the potatoes too much. Sprinkle in the celery seed and stir in until well-combined.
- Peel and slice hard-boiled eggs. Cut into slices and top the potato salad, if desired. Garnish with paprika to add color.
Notes
Nutrition
Updated recipe from February 2017.
Judith Graber says
You are the second person I know that does not like hard boiled eggs – the other one is me!!! I add them to my potato salad but they are chopped so fine you can’t tell they are there – I think it adds some nice flavor. I like the spicy brown mustard 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Judy!! It’s not just me?!?! It’s the yolk part. It stinks!! I just don’t care for them. The spicy mustard really gives this potato salad a kick. I hope you try it!
Ronit says
If you find hard boiled eggs to be stinky, try adding a bit of vinegar and salt to the water when cooking. Once boiled, cook no longer than 8 minutes, then plunge into ice water.
The salad looks very tasty. 🙂
The Mountain Kitchen says
Thanks for that tip, Ronit. I’m going to have David try that next time.
dana says
Awww yeah that’s a bit of a bummer with the warranty being so darn close!
BUt new stuff is always exciting so there’s that to look forward to!!
xx
The Mountain Kitchen says
Yeah, bitter sweet! ?
frugal hausfrau says
I’m always trying new potato salad recipes (although for some reason, I never seem to blog them – I guess because I’m such a bad measurerer and tinkerer! I tend to just measure in my hand so it’s a big deal for me to get out the spoons for a blog post!) My fave potato salad is still my Mom’s but this one looks spectacular. I haven’t tried brown mustard before and I’m making this soon.
Hard boiled eggs are just a bit trickier in the mountains. They take a little longer for one thing. (I lived for years in the Colorado Rockies) but if they’re cooked just to perfection, you really don’t get that sulfer kind of smell. Me, I like the yolks and don’t care for the whites.
The Mountain Kitchen says
I know what you mean Mollie! This recipe was kind of hard to write, hence the big note about adding ingredients “to taste”. I’m not sure if elevation comes into play at only 1000 feet, but it very well may. We’d get along great eating eggs, I don’t eat the yolks…lol!
Hope you have a great weekend!
Debbie - Mountain Mama says
Oh my gosh this sure looks good, Debbie! Sorry about the fridge but I’m a little jealous that you are going to have a brand new sparkling clean wonderful new fridge! My 20+ year old fridge just keeps plugging along, which of course is a good thing….maybe I’ll show it a little love this weekend and give it a good scrub!
The Mountain Kitchen says
Debbie, I actually asked David if we could get a new stove since the refrigerator is so sparkling clean…lol! You’ve definitely have a gem! Have a great weekend!
Antonia says
I should have read this first. I am sorry you have to buy a new fridge. Hopefully, this one will last. Love the potato salad!
The Mountain Kitchen says
It’s OK. Thanks for reading and for your comments. Hope you will give this recipe a try!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Sorry about your refrigerator…ours is just a little over a year old and we had problems. It had just gone out of warranty too. Enjoy the new one…I think you made the right decision. We were lucky, ours was the fan. If it had been the compressor, the repair man said it would be better to just buy a new one. David’s mother’s potato salad sounds really good but I personally like dill pickles in mine…it is the way my mama made it. 😀
The Mountain Kitchen says
Karen, you made me feel better about purchasing a new one. I’m sorry you have had issues too. They just don’t last anymore. We opted for the 5 year service plan, so we should be good for another 5 years, but I sure hope it is much longer!
Dill pickles in the potato salad sounds heavenly! Did you ever see the recipe I posted a while ago for Dill Pickle Soup? It was potato based. I may have to try dill pickles in mine next time.
Have a great weekend!
Deborah Bills says
I make the best potato salad ever! I’ve checked every potato salad recipe from Julia child to Martha Stewart and every one I checked calls for boiling the potatoes. Potato’s hold water when you boil them . I never boil my potatoes my potato salad is the ceramist ever and the best . People always tell me how good it is. Deborah
The Mountain Kitchen says
Hi Deborah! Well, we hope you’ll try the dressing on your baked potatoes. I’m sure it’s delicious boiled or baked. Enjoy!!