Deviled Egg Potato Salad Recipe

Deviled Egg Potato Salad garnished with paprika and sliced scallions.

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Creamy deviled egg potato salad made with Yukon Gold potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, mayo, mustard, and relish. An easy make-ahead side dish for cookouts, Easter, holidays, and potlucks.

Prep Time20

Cook Time15

Chill time2

Total Time2 35

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Southern

Servings: servings

Calories: 382kcal

Author: Sharon Rigsby

Ingredients

SALAD INGREDIENTS

3 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes about 8 to 10 medium, cubed into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon salt, for the cooking water
6 large or extra-large eggs, hard-boiled and peeled
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced (for garnish)
1 pinch paprika, for garnish

DRESSING INGREDIENTS

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
1 tablespoon pickle brine, from a jar of pickles or apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon white vinegar
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, or to taste

Instructions

Place the cubed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water by about an inch. Add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water, then bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook until the potatoes are just fork-tender but still hold their shape, about 12 to 15 minutes. You do not want them mushy.
Drain the potatoes well and spread them in a single layer on a paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool and dry out for 15 to 20 minutes. Letting the steam escape here prevents a watery salad.
While the potatoes cool, slice each peeled egg in half lengthwise. Gently pop the yolks out into a medium bowl and set the whites aside on a cutting board. Use a fork to mash the yolks until they are broken into fine, even crumbles. For an extra-smooth dressing, press the yolks through a fine mesh strainer using the back of a spoon instead of mashing them. Either method works well.
To the bowl of mashed yolks, add the mayonnaise, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish, pickle brine, white vinegar, sugar, paprika, salt, and freshly cracked pepper. Stir everything together until the dressing is smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust the salt or pepper as needed.
Chop each of the halved egg whites into four pieces so they’re about the same size as your potato cubes. Add the cooled potatoes, egg whites, and celery to a large mixing bowl. Pour the dressing over the top and gently fold everything together with a large spoon or rubber spatula until the potatoes are evenly coated. Take care not to break the potatoes apart too much, though a few pieces naturally crumbling into the dressing is a good thing and adds to the creaminess.
Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Overnight is even better. When ready to serve, give the salad a gentle stir, then transfer to a serving dish. Scatter the sliced green onions over the top and finish with a generous dusting of paprika.

Notes

Cracking pepper fresh from a grinder right before use makes a real difference in a cold dish like this one. Pre-ground pepper loses most of its volatile oils quickly after grinding, which means the sharp, fragrant bite you want in the dressing goes flat. A few fresh cracks of a pepper mill take two seconds, and the flavor payoff is worth it.
Yukon Gold (aka yellow potatoes) are strongly recommended for this recipe. Their naturally buttery texture and slightly waxy structure mean they hold their shape after boiling without turning mealy or falling apart when you fold in the dressing. Red potatoes are a good backup if Yukon Golds are not available.
Spreading the drained potatoes on a baking sheet to cool, rather than rinsing them with cold water, is the key to a creamy (not watery) deviled egg potato salad. Running potatoes under cold water stops cooking quickly, but it also washes away surface starch and adds moisture, diluting the dressing. Letting them air-dry on the pan for 15 to 20 minutes gives you potatoes that are cool enough to handle but still able to absorb and cling to the dressing properly.
An easy trick for popping egg yolks out of hard-boiled eggs is to use your thumb to separate one edge of the egg from the yolk. Then slip a spoon tip or fork into the opening and pop the yolk out. If not all the yolk comes out together, gently scoop out any remaining yolk with a spoon.
Pressing the egg yolks through a fine-mesh strainer instead of mashing them with a fork yields a noticeably silkier dressing. The strainer breaks the yolk down to an almost powdery texture that whisks seamlessly into the mayo and mustard, leaving no lumps. It only takes about a minute and coats the potatoes more evenly. If you do not have a fine mesh strainer, mashing thoroughly with a fork still produces a delicious result.
Sweet pickle relish is the right choice here because it mirrors the flavor profile of classic deviled egg filling, which tends to be slightly sweet and tangy rather than sharp and dill-forward. If you strongly prefer dill, you can swap in dill relish, but keep in mind it will shift the flavor toward a traditional Southern potato salad rather than the deviled egg profile. A 50/50 mix of sweet and dill relish is a good middle ground.
The sugar in the dressing is a small but important ingredient. It does not make the salad taste sweet. Instead, it rounds out the tang from mustard, vinegar, and pickle brine, giving the overall flavor the kind of balance you expect from a well-made deviled egg. Do not skip it.
Deviled egg potato salad is best made at least a few hours ahead, ideally the night before. As it chills, the dressing soaks into the potatoes, and the flavors meld together in a way that just does not happen when it is freshly made. If the salad looks a little dry after an overnight rest, stir in a tablespoon or two of extra mayo before serving.
Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream can replace up to half the mayo for a lighter dressing. Full replacement changes the texture significantly.
Dijon can be used as a replacement for yellow mustard, but it will taste more refined and less like classic deviled eggs. Spicy brown mustard adds a sharper bite.

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