Southern Deviled Egg Potato Salad

Southern Deviled Egg Potato Salad is one of the dreamiest, tastiest side dishes around!  It combines all the flavors of deviled eggs with red onion, pickles and tender potatoes to create a fluffy, tangy salad that’s perfect for cookouts, potlucks, tailgates, even holidays!

Let’s talk about the #1 cookout side dish of all time- potato salad.  There are lots of variations, styles and kinds, but this classic family potato salad recipe makes the most light and fluffy potatoes this side of the Mississippi. 

The layers of flavor start while the potatoes are still warm by mixing in a little butter, salt, pepper and plenty of red onion.  Then we load it up pickle relish, chopped eggs and a simple mayo based dressing that includes a touch of tangy mustard.  No sir, this salad’s not short on flavor or crunch! 

Why Deviled Egg Potato Salad?

Deviled eggs and a basic potato salad contain many of the same ingredients.  So combining the two to create one amazing cookout dish?  Pure genius!  Not only that, but this is a traditional southern recipe. 

So you most likely you’ve had it before, even though it might have been called something different, like Southern Potato Salad or Mustard Potato Salad.  Or in the case of my childhood, just potato salad.  Because it was the real stuff.  Everything else warranted a name.

What You Need To Make Southern Deviled Egg Potato Salad

These simple  ingredients are ones we all keep on hand. And you know what that means.  You don’t need a special occasion; you can whip up delicious potato salad anytime you feel like it!

• medium Idaho potatoes
• butter
• red onion
• sweet pickle relish
• boiled eggs
• mayonnaise
• mustard
• salt and pepper

Of course, you can always add celery or diced pimentos or substitute green onions for the red for extra yumminess, if you like.

How to Make Deviled Egg Potato Salad

Boil the Eggs.  Hard boil the eggs, this means cooking them in boiling water for 10-12 minutes.  Remove them from the water and let them sit in an ice bath until cool.  The ice bath makes it easy to peel the eggs cleanly.  Then just peel & rough chop the eggs and set aside.

Boil the Potatoes.  While the eggs are boiling and cooling in their ice bath, it’s time to get started on the potatoes. Peeled and quartered, the potatoes should enjoy a nice boiling bath with 1-2 teaspoon of salt until they are fork tender.

After the potatoes have drained, but are still warm, add butter, pepper, onion and mix with a fork.  The potatoes will begin to break down as you stir (and continue to do so the more you mix in the next steps), but the potatoes will not be smooth. 

My mom uses a hand mixer for this step. Her potato salad is always light and fluffy, almost like a whipped potato salad.  So depending on your desired texture, use a fork or mixer for this step.

Make the dressing.  This simple dressing is mainly mayo with a touch of mustard.  You could just add them separately to the salad, but combining them beforehand makes it easier to make sure the dressing is mixed evenly into the salad.

Whipped and mixed, your fluffy potato salad will take on a light yellow color because of the mustard in the dressing. And the vinegar in both the mustard and the pickle relish round out the flavors in this cookout salad nicely.

Combine all the good stuff.  Now it’s time to fold in the eggs and the pickles.  And that’s it!  Now, it’s time to let your salad chill in the fridge and become insanely delicious!

So there you have it!  The #1 cookout side dish.  Easy, delicious, wonderfully dreamy with just a bit of crunch.  But the best part?  This Southern Deviled Egg Potato Salad recipe makes enough for sharing.  And after all, the joy of having a meal with others is what really good cooking is all about! 

Looking for More Delicious Cookout Salad Recipes?

Originally Published March 2018.