Homemade Southern Potato Salad

🧂 Ingredients

• 3 lbs waxy potatoes (red or yukon gold)
• 1 tbsp salt (or to taste) for potato cooking water
• 12 large eggs, steamed or boiled, peeled, & chopped

  (you can use a few less eggs if you prefer)
• 3 cups celery, small diced
• 2 cups mayonnaise

  (for a lighter salad, replace up to half with plain or greek yogurt, or reduce the total amount slightly)
• 1 cup green onions, chiffonade (finely sliced)

  (one small bundle)
• 3 tbsp mustard

  (or to taste)
• 2 tbsp pickle relish or finely chopped pickles
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley or chives, minced

  (optional)
• 1 tsp Old Bay

  (optional but recommended)
• ½ tsp black pepper (or to taste)
• ½ tsp paprika (sweet, hot, or smoked)

  (plus a sprinkle to garnish)

Instructions

• 1 Scrub the potatoes and trim any sprouting eyes, or green or soft spots. If you
  prefer, you can peel them, though I like to leave the peels on red or gold
  thin-skinned waxy potatoes, which are the best ones to use for potato salad. If
  you are using russet potatoes, you’ll definitely want to peel them, submerging
  them in cold water so they don’t brown before you cook them.
• 2 Small potatoes can be boiled whole and cut smaller later, but large potatoes
  should be halved or quartered. You want all the potato pieces to be roughly the
  same size so that they cook evenly, but I prefer to cut them smaller after
  cooking, so that they do not get mushy.
• 3 Boil potatoes in well-salted water & steam eggs over the pot of boiling potatoes
  (or hard boil the eggs if you prefer). If you are steaming the eggs, place the
  egg steamer over the pot of potato water as you bring it up to a boil, or add a
  few minutes to the cook time.
• 4 Steam the eggs for 9-10 minutes over the boiling potato pot (if you started
  steaming them over cold water, otherwise add one or two minutes to this time).
• 5 Using a potholder, carefully remove the egg steamer rack (being mindful of the
  steam, and lifting the steamer lid away from your face).
• 6 Shock the eggs with cold water. Peel them under gently running water, which
  makes it easier to remove the shell.
• 7 Wash and dice the celery, herbs, and green onions with the cooked eggs.
• 8 Combine these in a large bowl with the mayo, mustard, and seasonings.
• 9 Drain the potatoes, letting them dry in the colander for a minute or two to make
  sure they're fully drained and slightly cooled before mixing them into the
  salad.
• 10 Fold the potatoes into the large bowl with the veggies and dressing until
  they’re well combined.
• 11 Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
• 12 This salad is best well-chilled, which also gives it time for the flavors to
  meld. Make it at least two to three hours ahead of time to make sure it has
  plenty of time to chill (a half-batch will cool faster, or you can transfer it
  into smaller serving containers if you're in a hurry).

Nutrition Info