Southern Style Potato Salad with Balsamic Twist

So you may have seen this balsamic potato salad in the spread for this picnic party I threw last summer. Today, it is back with it’s own dedicated post. This is NOT Karen’s potato salad and won’t get you dis-invited from the cookout! (If you don’t know who Karen is, see here or here.) A splash of balsamic vinaigrette dressing never hurt anybody but if you feel strongly about it, leave it out. I promise, it will still be delicious. 🙂

Whenever I think of potato salad, I think of my Aunt DeeDee’s potato salad. Her real name is Kimberly but doesn’t everyone have family nicknames? Hers came from me not being able to pronounce Kim or Kimberly as a toddler, though, I’m not sure how I landed on DeeDee from that. Anyway, I grew up on her potato salad and looked forward to it at every family gathering. Fast forward 20-something years and I can say her name just fine (but still call her DeeDee), am hosting family gatherings myself, and have got my own rendition of potato salad, which I’ll break down below. 🙂

Potato salad starts with potatoes, of course. I prefer the red-skinned kind but you can use whatever you like interchangeably in this recipe. From there, people tend to be divided. Mayo or no mayo? Mustard–which kind? It’s all up to you but as for me and my house, we include (regular) mustard AND mayo. Plus a little sugar (because southern, right?) standard spices, boiled eggs, chopped celery, red onion, and, in this case, a bit of balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing (any kind will do). Oh, and pickles–lots of pickles. There’s no such thing as too many pickles in my opinion so you might wish to dial back the amount if you aren’t as into them. Some folks like relish instead and that’s fine, too. I definitely go easier on the mayo than what I grew up on but that’s my general tendency because I feel like mayo is overused. Don’t even get me started on that!

What are the dishes you must have at the cookout? For me, potato salad and pound cake are at the top of the list. Better yet, what dishes are you picky about? i.e. “You can’t eat everybody’s *insert dish here*” I have a roundup of summer recipes coming to the blog soon and want to include your favorites, if I can. As always, thanks for reading!

P.S. more scrumptious potato recipes:

• rosemary parmesan roasted red potatoes
• lemon garlic mini potatoes
• easy garlic mashed potatoes
• sweet potato fries
• the best oven-baked fries
• baked breakfast potatoes

5 from 4 votes

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Easy Balsamic Potato Salad

Prep Time

20 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

 

Classic southern potato salad with a twist of balsamic vinaigrette flavor perfect for summer cookouts and BBQs

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bbq recipes, easy cookout recipe, how to make potato salad

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Jazzmine from Dash of Jazz

Ingredients

• 4 pounds red potatoes
• garlic powder to taste
• sea salt to taste
• black pepper to taste
• 6 hard-boiled eggs chopped
• 1/3 red onion diced
• 1 stalk celery chopped
• 3/4 cup pickle slices chopped
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 3/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing
• 1 teaspoon sugar optional

Instructions

1. Cut potatoes into bite-sized pieces. (I cut mine into quarters then cut each quarter into thirds.) Place in a pot of water and bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are fork tender (about 10 minutes).

2. Drain potatoes, season with sea salt, black pepper, and garlic powder, then allow to cool. (To expedite cooling, I spread potatoes out on a baking sheet and stick in the freezer while completing next steps.)

3. Simultaneously, boil eggs in a separate pot. Drain, cool, peel, and chop eggs to desired consistency. (To expedite cooling of eggs, add ice water to the pan and set aside.)

4. Chop celery, pickles, and dice onions. Set aside.

5. Mix mustard, mayo, sugar, and balsamic vinaigrette dressing in a small bowl until uniform. Set aside.

6. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and toss until incorporated and well coated with mustard combination.

7. Chill until reader to serve. Best eaten cold.