Nana's Old Fashioned Potato Salad
Baby, there are two kinds of people in Louisiana: those who put potato salad IN their gumbo, and those who ain’t been taught right yet.
This is Nana’s Old Fashioned Potato Salad. No bacon. No fancy vinegar. Just potatoes, eggs, mayo, mustard, onion, celery, pickle relish, salt and pepper. Church cookbook simple.
It’s creamy but still chunky. It’s cold, so it cools down your hot gumbo. And if you show up to a cookout without it?
PawPaw’s gonna ask where it is.
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Nana's Old Fashioned Potato Salad Recipe
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
COOK TIME: 15 minutes
CHILL TIME: 2 hours
TOTAL TIME: 2 hours 35 minutes
YIELD: Serves 10-12 as side dish
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INGREDIENTS:
3 lbs Yukon Gold or russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
6 large eggs, hard boiled and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise - Nana uses Duke’s
2 Tbsp yellow mustard
1/2 cup celery, finely diced
1/3 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 cup yellow onion, finely minced
1 Tbsp pickle juice
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp celery salt
Paprika + fresh dill for garnish
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INSTRUCTIONS - NANA’S WAY:
Step 1: Boil the Potatoes
Put cubed potatoes in large pot. Cover with cold water and 1 Tbsp salt. Bring to boil. Cook 10-12 min till fork tender but not falling apart. Drain in colander.
Step 2: Cool Completely - Don’t Skip This
Let potatoes cool in colander 30 min. This lets steam escape so your salad ain’t watery. Nana’s #1 rule.
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Step 3: Make the Dressing
In big bowl, mix mayo, mustard, pickle relish, pickle juice, onion, celery, salt, pepper, and celery salt. Taste it. Should be tangy.
Step 4: Fold It Together
Add cooled potatoes and chopped eggs to dressing. Fold gently with big spoon. Don’t mash it. You want chunks. Taste for salt.
Step 5: Chill
Cover and chill 2 hours minimum. Overnight is better. Flavors get happy together. Garnish with paprika and dill before serving.
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Nana's Kitchen Tips: Old Fashioned Potato Salad
1. Cool in a colander.
After boiling, drain and cool completely in a colander. The release of moisture is important so your salad isn’t watery. Hot potatoes + mayo = soup. We ain’t making soup.
2. Simple ingredients only.
Potatoes, boiled eggs, onion, pickle relish, mayo, mustard, salt & pepper. That’s all you need for real Southern flavor. No apples. No raisins. No bacon. This ain’t Waldorf salad.
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3. It belongs IN the gumbo.
Spoon it right into your hot gumbo. The cool and creamy meets the hot and spicy. That’s how we do it down here! Put a scoop right on top.
Bite of each on the spoon... Heaven.
How to Serve & Store
How to Serve:
Cold. Always cold. Serve with gumbo, fried chicken, barbecue, or po’boys. For gumbo, give everyone a big scoop on the side or let them plop it right in the bowl.
At cookouts, keep it on ice or in a cooler. Warm potato salad is how people get sick. PawPaw learned that the hard way.
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How to Store:
Store covered in fridge up to 4 days. Do NOT leave out more than 2 hours.
Do NOT freeze - potatoes get mealy and mayo separates.
Make it a day before. It’s always better the next day once the flavors marry.
From Nana’s Kitchen:
This potato salad raised 3 generations. It went to every church potluck, every funeral, every Saints game.
It’s not fancy. It’s just right.
And if somebody asks you to bring potato salad to gumbo and you show up with that store-bought stuff?
Baby, don’t call me when they talk about you.
Tell Nana: Team IN the gumbo or on the side? How many eggs do you use? Comment below.
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