Southwestern Potato Salad Recipe – A Party Side Dish Recipe Full Of Flavor!

This holiday weekend forget your standard homemade potato salad recipe and transform it into this delicious Southwestern Potato Salad that your friends and family will love. Perfectly cooked, tender potatoes tossed in a seasoned creamy sauce that is full of bold flavors.

It is one of my favorite side dish recipes to bring to a picnic, backyard cookout, barbecue and even for a potluck in the middle of winter. The combination of flavors taste amazing and nearly everyone who tries this potato salad asks me for the recipe.

In fact, I have gotten to the point now that I go ahead and print off (or write out) the recipe and bring extras to place on the food table. And now, finally I am publishing the recipe so that everyone can make it for their next gathering.

Once the word gets out at how delicious it is, the serving bowl will be empty in no time. Which is a good and bad thing.

That means that you don’t have a huge amount of leftovers to store. But, it also means that you don’t have any leftovers to enjoy for the next couple of days.

However, once you make this recipe and share it with your family and friends, your recipe will be the hit of the day!

What Is In Southwestern Potato Salad?

If you search the internet, you will find a variety of recipes and ingredients that are included in potato salad. Although most standard potato salad recipes include potatoes, onions, celery and hard boiled eggs tossed together in a creamy mayo and mustard dressing, this recipe includes more bold flavors.

Yes, we start with cooked and diced potatoes. But then classic Southwestern ingredients are used to ramp up the flavor profile.

Sweet bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro, green onion, red onion and sweet corn kernels are added to the mix. Then the dressing that coats the potatoes and veggies includes spices that are often found in Southwestern cuisine.

Luckily, they are common spices that you most likely already have in your kitchen. Cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika round out the list of spices that you will need (in addition to salt and pepper).

You most likely have cumin and chili powder in your spice cabinet. They are common ingredients used in Mexican cuisine and when you make Homemade Chili.

However, you may not have smoked paprika readily available. Although I use it often in my recipes (I buy a 1lb. package of Smoked Paprika at least twice a year), you can use Hungarian paprika instead.

Although you will have less of a smoky flavor in your potato salad, it will still be delicious.

What Type of Potatoes To Use For Potato Salad

The best type of potatoes to use for this Southwestern Potato Salad recipe are waxy potatoes. Waxy potatoes have a creamy texture yet hold their shape well when boiled, making them ideal for potato salads.

Some popular varieties of waxy potatoes that work well in potato salad include:

1. Red Potatoes: These are a classic choice for potato salad due to their smooth, thin skin and creamy texture. They hold their shape nicely after boiling and have a slightly sweet flavor.
2. Yukon Gold Potatoes: These potatoes have a buttery flavor and a golden skin. They are also waxy and hold their shape, making them a great option for potato salad.
3. Fingerling Potatoes: Fingerlings come in various colors and have a firm, waxy texture. They add visual interest to your potato salad and maintain their shape well.
4. New Potatoes: New potatoes are young potatoes harvested before they reach maturity. They have thin skins and a delicate, creamy texture that’s perfect for potato salads.

Avoid using starchy potatoes like Russet potatoes for potato salad, as they tend to break down and become soft when boiled.

Southwestern Bold Flavors

So what makes this potato salad recipe different than all the rest are the bold flavors typically found in Southwestern cuisine. You would be hard pressed to find a dish without a variety of peppers, onions, corn and cilantro.

Of course you can add other flavors in as well. However, the classic combination of flavors included in this recipe makes it a crowd favorite.

1. Peppers

You can never go wrong with a sweet and spicy profile when making a dish to serve a crowd. Here we use both a sweet bell pepper and a jalapeno pepper to ramp up the flavor.

However, if you know that you will be making this dish for a crowd that doesn’t like a slight bit of spice to their food, then be sure to remove the ribs and seeds of the jalapeno before adding it to the mix.

2. Onions

A combination of both milder green onions and robust red onions add a ton of flavor to the potato salad. Not to mention the two colors add a nice visual appeal as well.

3. Corn

Sweet corn kernels are used to add a little contrasting crunch and sweetness to the dish. Although the kernels must be cooked prior to being added for the best flavor and texture.

When in season, feel free to use 2 ears of sweet corn. It is great way to use leftover Grilled Corn on the Cob. However, most often I will use frozen or canned sweet corn and cook it in the microwave before adding it to the recipe.

4. Cilantro

A key ingredient in Southwestern Potato Salad is cilantro. You will find this herb in many Southwestern cuisine recipes, include Homemade Salsa and Chicken Chile Verde.

However, there are some individuals that have a strong dislike of cilantro. In fact, when some people consume the herb they say that it tastes like soap. If that is the case for you, simply omit the cilantro or add in chopped diced parsley instead.

5. The Dressing

Potato salad typically will have a dressing that combines mayonnaise and mustard together with a few spices and/or sugar. Although for this recipe we ditch the mustard, add in some sour cream and ramp up the flavor with the use of spices.

Cumin, chili powder and paprika are used to spice up the dish and take it to the next level of deliciousness.

Southwestern Potato Salad Recipe

*Specific measurements and complete recipe instructions are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to continue to read the tips and tricks to making this recipe below.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced
• 1 cup cilantro, chopped
• 4 green onions, whites and greens sliced
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1 1/2 cups sweet corn kernels, cooked
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 1/3 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise

Optional Garnish

• Sriracha sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

Place potatoes in a large pot of salted cold water. Bring the water to a boil and let them boil for 7-10 minutes or just until fork tender. *You want the potatoes tender, yet firm enough to hold up to being tossed with the other ingredients.

As soon as the potatoes can be pierced with a fork, drain and let cool slightly.

Place the frozen sweet corn in a microwaveable safe dish and add 2 tablespoons of water. Microwave for 3 minutes. Drain and let cool. *Or use your preferred method for cooking sweet corn kernels.

Prepare the vegetables by dicing the red pepper and jalapeno into small pieces. Then chop the cilantro, slice the green onions and dice the red onion. Place the chopped vegetables in a large serving bowl.

Place the cooked and cooled sweet corn in the bowl with the vegetables. Then add the sour cream, mayonnaise, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika. Lightly toss to coat.

Once the potatoes have been drained and cooled for 5 minutes, add the potatoes to the bowl. Gently stir until all the potatoes are coated in the dressing and the vegetables are well mixed.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover the Southwestern Potato Salad and let it chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Serve with a drizzle of Sriracha sauce if desired.

Enjoy! Mary

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