Bring some Southern flair to your next picnic or BBQ with this zesty Cajun potato salad!
This crowd-pleasing side dish perfectly accompanies smoky grilled meats, jambalaya, or any Cajun-inspired fare. But it’s also hearty enough to be a whole meal on its own.
Seriously, if you’re looking for a dish to wow at your next gathering, this Cajun potato salad needs to be on the menu.
Why You’ll Love This Cajun Potato Salad
Bold, Spicy Flavors: The combination of Creole mustard, Cajun seasoning, and hot sauce gives this potato salad a spicy kick, so it stands out against traditional recipes.
Texture Delight: With tender potatoes, crisp veggies, a creamy dressing, and bacon, this salad offers an irresistible medley of textures in every bite.
Colorful Presentation: With vibrant ingredients like green bell pepper, celery, and fresh parsley, it’s visually appealing and adds a pop of color to your table.
Ingredients
- Red Potatoes: The foundation of this spicy potato salad, red potatoes hold their shape well when cooked and provide a creamy texture.
- Mayonnaise: Creamy and tangy, mayonnaise forms the base of the dressing and binds all the ingredients together.
- Creole Mustard: This coarse, pungent, and spicy mustard adds a vibrant New Orleans flavor to the dressing.
- Pickle Juice: Provides a tart, tangy contrast to balance the creaminess.
- Cajun Seasoning + Hot Sauce: A bold blend of paprika, garlic, onion, oregano, thyme, cayenne, and other spices, Cajun seasoning is the key to the best flavor. The hot sauce is optional but gives it extra warmth.
- Veggies: You’ll need a mix of finely diced celery, pickles, peppers, and scallions, as well as chopped parsley.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs: Chopped eggs add richness and help to bind the ingredients together.
- Bacon: For a smokey, meaty bite.
- Salt and Pepper: Essential seasonings to enhance and balance all the flavors in the potato salad.
How to Make Cajun Potato Salad
This isn’t your average mayo-drenched potato salad. Oh no! I’m kicking things up a notch with a creamy dressing loaded with spice and plenty of crunch.
But even with the added deliciousness, it’s a breeze to make!
1. COOK the potatoes in a big pot until just fork-tender. Drain and set aside.
2. WHISK the dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Taste and adjust as needed.
3. MIX in the crunchy extras until well combined.
4. ADD the potatoes and mix gently until coated.
5. COVER and cool for at least an hour before serving.
Tips For the Best Cajun Potato Salad
This dish is an explosion of flavors that’ll transport you straight to the heart of Louisiana. Just read these tips, then get ready to fall in love!
- Potato choice. Red potatoes work well, but you can also use Yukon gold, fingerling, or new potatoes. Just be sure they’re waxy.
- Boiling potatoes. Start the potatoes in cold water, then bring to a boil for even cooking. Drain when they’re just fork tender, as they’ll keep cooking for a few minutes out of the pan.
- Dressing timing. Toss the potatoes with the dressing while they’re still warm so they absorb more flavor.
- Skip the pickles. If you’re not a fan, use apple cider vinegar instead and leave the diced pickles out.
- Mix-in ideas. Add diced red onion, sliced olives, fresh dill, or even thinly sliced Andouille sausage for fun variations.
- Perfect pairings. Serve alongside grilled meats, fried chicken, po’boys, gumbo, and more.
How to Store
This salad tastes even better after chilling for a few hours or overnight, so it’s great for making in advance.
Here’s how to keep it fresh:
To Store: Cover or transfer to an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Do not leave it at room temperature for more than 2 hours. And don’t freeze it – it’ll turn to watery mush after thawing.
More Summer Sides to Try
Crispy Smashed Potato Salad
Mexican Street Corn Salad
Hawaiian Macaroni Salad
Avocado Salad
Tomato Cucumber Salad
Cajun Potato Salad
10
servings15
15
minutes228
kcalBring some Southern flair to your next picnic or BBQ with this zesty Cajun potato salad! It’s excellent with grilled meats, fried chicken, and more.
Ingredients
3 pounds red potatoes, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
large pinch of salt
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons pickle juice
2 tablespoons Creole mustard (or spicy brown mustard)
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1-2 teaspoons hot sauce, optional
1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (or to taste)
2-3 ribs celery, diced
2 dill pickles, diced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
2-3 scallions, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4-8 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Place the cubed potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Add a large pinch of salt and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the potatoes are fork-tender, about 10-12 minutes. Drain well and set aside to cool for at least 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, pickle juice, Creole mustard, Cajun seasoning, and sugar until smooth. Add the hot sauce, if using, then taste and season with salt and pepper.
- Add the diced celery, pickles, pepper, scallions, parsley, hard-boiled eggs, and crumbled bacon. Mix until well combined.
- Add the warm potatoes to the bowl and gently stir to coat the potatoes evenly. Let cool for 10 minutes.
- Cover and refrigerate the potato salad for at least 1 hour. Serve chilled alongside gumbo, BBQ, or any Cajun meal, and enjoy!
Notes
- Potato choice. Red potatoes work well, but you can also use Yukon gold, fingerling, or new potatoes. Just be sure they’re waxy.
- Boiling potatoes. Start the potatoes in cold water, then bring to a boil for even cooking. Drain when they’re just fork tender, as they’ll keep cooking for a few minutes out of the pan.
Fantastic salad. I smoked the hard boiled eggs with cherry wood prior to incorporating them into the salad for a super flavor burst.
Hi Doc!
Wow that sounds like it would be amazing! I’ll have to give it a try one of these days 🙂
Hi, Kim. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipe with us! I made this yesterday and my husband loved it! I only had 3 russet potatoes, so I used them, I also used red bell vs. green bell bc my husband doesn’t like green pepper at all. I didn’t have cajun mustard, bur rather, used Boar’s Head Chipotle Gourmaise spread. It’s like a spicy mustard blend and it’s good on everything. I never boil my potatoes for pot salad but mic them for 5 minutes. That cuts down time and extra dishes. This was a hit at my house. Thank you, again. I will share your recipe and make this all summer!! Cheers!