The 1 Ingredient You're Not Adding To Potato Salads, But Should Be, According To Southern Chefs

If you ask many Southern Living editors, our Classic Potato Salad is pretty near perfect. But don’t just take our word for it. Fans deem it “simply the best” and admit that it’s so delicious they eat it warm because “I can’t wait for it to cool.”

Just like our Southern grandmas taught us, this potato salad calls for eggs, sturdy russet potatoes, mayo, mustard, and only the essential mix-ins: celery, relish, a splash of vinegar, and a spoonful of sugar for balance, plus salt and pepper to season. That’s it!

As we tasted six store-bought potato salads and found a new favorite, we were reminded that classics are craveable, and will never go out of style. However, there’s plenty of room for improv and personalization within the potato salad recipe realm.

“My potato salad involves most of the classic ingredients, but with slight twists,” says Sarah McClure, chef-owner of Southside Smokehouse and Grille in Landrum, South Carolina.

With that in mind, we tapped Southern chefs to dish about the one ingredient they think most Southern potato salad recipes are missing—and how to add it to take your current favorite potato salad recipe to the next level.

The One Key Ingredient to Make Better Potato Salad, According To Southern Chefs

After polling our panel of chefs, the most common answer for what they like to add to upgrade any potato salad recipe: Spice.

A good portion of Southern potato salad recipes err on the sweeter side. So to mix things up and layer on an extra element that really perk up the potatoes, the chefs like to add warm to fiery flavor-boosters like:

• Creole mustard: Use this instead of yellow or Dijon mustard, like we do in this Cajun-Style Potato Salad, or follow McClure’s lead and use a one-to-one ratio of Creole mustard and yellow mustard. “Creole mustard is one of my favorite ingredients because the extra zing of horseradish is just enough to subtly change the flavor without making it 'spicy' to the average person,” she says.
• A few dashes of hot sauce: Pick your favorite: Crystal, Cholula, Tabasco, Frank’s, Texas Pete, or otherwise. This will lend heat, a splash of color, and a welcome burst of tanginess from the vinegar.
• Smoked paprika. McClure swears by adding one to two tablespoons of a smoked paprika to potato salad, which she confirms “is my secret ingredient for almost anything! It gives you a lovely red-ish color and a smoky quality that really compliments meats like barbecue pork or smoked wings."
• A zesty spice blend. This can transport your potato salad to different corners of the world. Try Old Bay for a nod to a coastal seafood boil, Tajín for a taste of the southwest, or a family heirloom signature spice blend of Ashleigh Shanti, chef-owner of Good Hot Fish in Asheville, North Carolina and the author of the upcoming cookbook Our South: Burlap & Barrel Kitchen Pepper. Shanti’s go-to combo features sumac, black pepper, ginger, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. “The warm spices add complexity while sumac brings flirty and citrusy notes that help cold potato salad sing,” Shanti says.

7 Other Creative Potato Salad Ingredients to Consider

Besides a spicy element or zesty spice blend, consider bolstering your potato salad with one of these chef- and Test Kitchen-approved additions:

• Deviled Eggs
• Ranch Dressing
• Chopped Granny Smith Apples (Jason Francisco, executive chef at Makeready L&L at Noelle in Nashville, Tennessee adores these “for tanginess and crunch.”)
• Golden Raisins (Toss in a handful for “chewy texture and sweetness,” Francisco adds.)
• Diced Pimiento
• Crumbled Blue Cheese
• Pickle Juice

The Best Potatoes for Potato Salad

If you, too, are feeling inspired to whip up your next batch of potato salad ASAP so you can try one of these one-ingredient upgrades, keep in mind that it’s important to build a solid foundation by starting with the proper star ingredient.

While russets are the traditional pick, Francisco, McClure, and Shanti agree that the best potatoes for potato salad are small red potatoes (aka baby red creamer potatoes or new red tomatoes). They earn the gold medal as the best potato for potato salad due to their creamy yet sturdy texture, lower starch content, and flavorful skin that doesn’t require peeling and adds visual appeal

“Size is key, as smaller potatoes tend to have more concentrated flavor. Be sure to search for the little guys,” Shanti suggests.

If you’d like to mix-and-match, Ben Triola, executive chef at The Chloe in New Orleans, recommends substituting a portion of the red potatoes with sweet potatoes to “lend a little extra sweetness, a gorgeous orange hue, and some extra velvety texture.”

In a hurry? Follow Ree Drummond’s lead, and start with frozen diced hash browns. This simple swap reduces the boiling time and eliminates the need for slicing.