This post may contain affiliate partner links. View our privacy statement HERE.

A Black folks’ Southern potato salad recipe is flavorful! Bold, creamy, soulful, and packed with flavor in every forkful. It’s not just a side dish, but a whole vibe. The kind of dish that makes people smile before they even take a bite, because they already know what time it is!

This is that bowl sitting proudly on the cookout table, covered with plastic wrap and surrounded by whispers like, “Who made the potato salad?” because only the right hands can bless it properly.

What is a Black folks’ potato salad recipe?

What really makes Black folks’ potato salad so superior? Every bite is a perfect balance of textures and tastes, creamy, comforting, cool, and crisp, and the fact that we season it like we mean it! But more than that, it’s the cultural care behind every bowl. Our potato salad is protected, perfected, and served with pride, because this dish isn’t just a side. Its layers of flavor are a symbol of soul.

This is my mom’s tried-and-true potato salad recipe. It’s rich, bold, and unapologetically flavorful, all wrapped up in a creamy dressing and seasoned like only Mama Mary knows how! This is THE recipe that’s been blessing family cookouts for generations. A true crowd favorite that kids beg for and grown folks sneak seconds of when nobody’s looking!

What is a Black folks' potato salad recipe?

Black potato salad vs. White potato salad

In the Black community, potato salad is serious business. We don’t play about it, and we don’t trust just anyone’s. Especially not if the hands behind it aren’t brown. (No shade. Just facts.) One wrong move (too much mustard, not enough flavor, or including unwanted ingredients like olives or raisins, i.e., white potato salad… Lord forbid!) and you’ll be banned from the potato salad committee for life.

Unlike bland or under-seasoned versions, this soul food staple is made with intention and seasoned with experience, passed down from generation to generation like a family heirloom. In Black culture, making the potato salad isn’t just cooking. It’s a rite of passage. You don’t just get to bring the potato salad. You have to earn that honor.

So if it’s your turn to bring the potato salad, start here with my family’s time-honored recipe for how to make Black people potato salad the right way with flavor, heart, and respect!

What goes in Black folks’ Southern potato salad?

My Southern Black folks’ potato salad isn’t just food. It’s a whole experience. It’s famously creamy with mayonnaise and just the right tang from yellow mustard, accompanied by tender russet potatoes, creamy hard-boiled eggs, vinegar, sweet pickles, crisp celery, sweet onion, and essential soul food seasonings, including black pepper, salt, and paprika. All brought together by seasoned hands that know just when to stop stirring.

Russet potatoes (preferred) or Yukon Gold work best for potato salad. They’re perfectly tender and not mushy, not firm, just right. They’re like little flavor sponges, soaked in all the creamy, tangy goodness. The texture is smooth with just the right amount of chunk, so it feels hearty but never heavy. I also throw in a handful of small, vibrant unpeeled potatoes, think deep purple and red, to take the presentation up a notch.
Hard-boiled eggs are chopped and folded in like gold for a rich, velvety, stick-to-your-soul vibe! (To make a traditional Black folks’ potato salad recipe, eggs aren’t optional. They’re a cultural must. No eggs? Then, it’s not the classic revered recipe.)
Celery, sweet pickle relish, and onions add a little crunch with texture and just a hint of sweetness to balance out the tang.
Mayonnaise (or Miracle Whip) and mustard create the dressing for the salad, which is sharp, creamy, and slightly sweet, dancing across your tongue to create that signature zingy flavor that Southern soul food is known for!
Seasonings layer this dish with flavor! Sugar, salt, black pepper, and rice vinegar are perfectly balanced to ensure no dry bites and no bland ones.
Paprika. It’s giving a finishing touch with a sprinkle of color and that familiar Sunday-table look. That’s that Black auntie magic right there! It doesn’t burn, it builds.

How to make Black cookout potato salad

You’re onto something fun, flavorful, and full of soul with this recipe! This isn’t your average potato salad. It’s the kind that shows up at cookouts, holiday tables, and family reunions and disappears before the ribs even cool, because it’s got personality, attitude, and that unmistakable cultural wink. You see, making Black folks’ potato salad is more than just following a recipe. It’s about honoring tradition, taste, seasoning, and soul.

Peel and boil the potatoes in a large pot until they are tender, then coarsely chop them. Russet potatoes have thick, tough skins that aren’t ideal in a creamy, smooth potato salad, so it’s best to peel them.
(Alternatively, use the Instant Pot to cook the potatoes and boil the eggs quickly.)
Chop the vegetables and add them to the bowl of chopped potatoes.
Dress the potato salad with mustard, mayonnaise, vinegar, and seasonings.
Boil the eggs, remove the shells, chop, and gently fold them into the salad.
Garnish with paprika, cover, and refrigerate for at least an hour. Overnight is even better, then serve and savor the flavor!

Pro tip: Some Black people don’t just make potato salad—they elevate it! We’re talking next-level soul food status garnished with deviled eggs like a crown on royalty.

🎙Listen to the recipe on The Soul Food Pod Episode 7: Black Cookout Food

What to serve with Black Southern potato salad

Can you serve potato salad warm?

Sure, potato salad can be served warm or cold, much like the classic German potato salad, which is typically served warm. But in Black culture? Potato salad is traditionally served cold and enjoyed at cookouts, barbecues, and family reunions throughout the summer.

How long can potato salad sit out?

Because it’s a moist recipe made with mayonnaise and eggs, potato salad should be refrigerated overnight to maintain its freshness. However, it can be left out for several hours at room temperature without going bad.

What to serve with Black Southern potato salad

Black people’s potato salad is that cool, creamy contrast to hot ribs and fried chicken. The dish that holds its own on a paper plate next to all the heavy hitters. It’s served alongside your favorite soul food sides, baked macaroni and cheese, collard greens, and baked beans. And of course, Southern sweet tea.