My Texas style potato salad is creamy, crunchy and a little spicy. It features tender potatoes, crunchy celery, tangy quick pickled onions and jalapeños, with hard boiled eggs in a creamy and punchy mayonnaise-mustard dressing. Share this reader favorite, for a mouthwatering side dish with all things, grilled, BBQ and summer!
Creamy and Spicy: Texas Potato Salad
If you love spicy and bold flavors, you’re in for a treat! This southern style potato salad recipe has won readers of Vanilla And Bean over, and, it’s a recipe I return to again and again. It’s a versatile side dish that goes with everything!
This Recipe Is
- spicy to taste
- make ahead – its flavor improves with a bit of refrigerator time
- expect a fuss free egg peel with my Perfectly Steamed Hard Boiled Eggs recipe
If you’re looking for a hearty side that’s versatile and everyone can agree on, this is a tasty potato salad to try!
Potato Salad Inspiration
Years ago I caught an episode of America’s Test Kitchen and spied this recipe. Being from Texas, I knew Texas Potato Salad was a recipe I had to investigate. After all, jalapeños are my food love language!
As I watched the show, I took copious notes and decided it was a recipe I needed to make posthaste! With a few tweaks, this and my Olive and Egg Potato Salad have both become favorites around here when BBQ and picnic season is upon us.
“Holy Texas! This is AMAZING!! I love, love, love the heat, the crunch and that dressing! Thank you for what will surely be a regular summer dish in our house!”
Colleen
About the Key Ingredients
- Potatoes: enjoy this recipe with Yukon gold potatoes or give German butterball potatoes are a go. Both have thinish skin, so there’s no need to peel the potatoes. Simply scrub, dice and simmer.
- Onions and Jalapeños: what I love most about Texas Potato Salad is the red wine vinegar quick pickling method used to draw out tangy yet spicy flavors in the onions and jalapeños. It renders them a bit more mellow, yet gives this creamy potato salad pops of crunch and flavor and it’s signature Texas flair.
- Hard Boiled Eggs – use my steamed hard boiled eggs method for an easy egg peel! You’ll chop the hard cooked eggs, then incorporate them into the final salad.
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How to Make Texas Potato Salad
step by step
There are several steps to the recipe, yet each of the cooking and prep steps overlap, so while one component is cooking/working, another can be mixed or sliced.
A tip I learned from ATK: after the potatoes are drained, sprinkle a bit of pickling brine over the hot potatoes for maximum absorption. I’ve increased the amount of brine I use over the years to add just a bit more flavor to this already flavorful salad.
Traci’s Tips
- Make Ahead: It gets better with a little time in the fridge. Allowing the flavors to marry a bit improves this potato salad’s flavor.
- No Mushy Potatoes: Keep an eye on the potatoes when cooking. You want them just tender, not mushy, so that they hold their shape in the salad. Simmer the potatoes rather than boiling.
- You’ll have a bit of pickling juice leftover. Drizzle a bit more for extra tang in this potato salad or use it in a salad dressing for a little pop of spicy flavor!
Texas Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds (930 grams) German Butterball or Yukon Gold Potatoes, sliced into 1" cubes, skin on
- 3/4 tablespoons + 1 3/4 teaspoons Fine Sea Salt, divided
For the Quick Pickle:
- 1/3 cup (70 grams) Red Wine Vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Cane Sugar
- 1 cup (130 grams) Red Onion, sliced thin into 1/2 moons, about 1/2 an onion
- 2 Fresh Jalapeños, , medium, 1-sliced into rings, 1 minced (seeds included) with 1/2 the minced reserved for garnish
For the Dressing:
- 5 tablespoons (78 grams) Yellow Mustard
- 5 tablespoons (68 grams) Mayonnaise, I like Vegenaise
- 1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
- 1/16 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper, ground
Finish the Salad:
- 2 -3 Hard Boiled Eggs, 2 for the salad, 1 for garnish (optional), peeled and chopped *see notes or full recipe linked here for my fuss free egg peel method
- 1/2 cup (65 grams) Celery, thinly sliced, about 1 rib
- 2 tablespoons Finely Chopped Chives for garnish
- Smoky Paprika, (optional)
Instructions
For the Potatoes:
- In a large stock-pot, add potatoes and cover with cold water filling to 2 inches (5 cm) above potatoes. Add 3/4 tablespoons sea salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for between 8-15 minutes. Butterball potatoes take about 8-9 minutes and Youkon Gold take between 12-15 minutes to cook. Simmer until just fork tender, but not mushy. Drain. *Keep an eye on the potatoes. If they're cut smaller, they'll cook faster.
- Transfer potatoes into a large mixing bowl and add 3 tablespoons of pickling brine (see quick pickle below). Place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.
To Quick Pickle:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together vinegar, sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add onions, sliced jalapeños and half the minced jalapeños to the brine (reserve the other half for garnish). Marinate for at least 20 minutes stirring occasionally (the pickling juice will not cover the onion and jalapeños). Drain, reserving pickling brine**.
- Add pickled jalapeños and onions to the mixing bowl with the potatoes. Set aside.
For the Dressing:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, mayonnaise, ground pepper, 3/4 teaspoon sea salt, and 1/16th teaspoon cayenne. Set aside.
To Finish:
- Add the chopped hard boiled eggs and celery to the mixing bowl with the potatoes. Pour the dressing over potatoes reserving a few tablespoons to taste. Use a silicon spatula to gently mix potato salad together, making sure to scrape bottom of the mixing bowl to incorporate all the ingredients.
- Taste for seasoning adjustment, adding reserved dressing if desired and sprinkling in a bit more pickling brine to taste. Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with the remaining minced jalapeños, chives and a light sprinkle of smoky paprika if using. Note: taste the salad and minced jalapeños before adding to the salad since jalapeños vary widely in the heat.
- Flavor development will improve as the salad chills in the fridge, and the spicy will increase in intensity. Keep this in mind when adjusting flavors or adding that last bit of jalapeños as a garnish (I add them all). Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving. Just before serving, sprinkle just a bit of paprika over the top. This is optional but gives the salad a nice finish.
To Store:
- Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
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I am getting ready to make this for a crowd…..again! By popular request, I will have to quadruple the recipe. In the past, I have sub’d baby red potatoes and it was still excellent. I usually add additional eggs, and onion and jalapenos that I marinate overnight (dont do it longer than that, they lose their crisp texture). Extra egg, fined diced jalapeno as garnish takes it over the top and shouldnt be omitted. Thanks again Traci….I give you all the credit too!
Hii Dave! Love hearing this! Thank you for your note, tips and sending a smile. Quadrupling sounds efficient and I’m SO glad everyone’s enjoying the potato salad!