Texas potato salad features a tangy yellow mustard dressing coating tender potatoes with lots of pickled jalapenos for a kick of heat.

Texas sure knows what it’s doing in the potato salad department, let me tell ya!
From the yellow mustard dressing to all that pickled jalapeno action, I think it’s safe to say we’ve got a new cookout favorite.
Yep, those burgers are about to be upstaged in the best way because it’s literally impossible to not be obsessed with this little firecracker of a salad.

In doing my research of Texas potato salad I found that the main ingredients that make a potato salad Texas-style are lots of yellow mustard, dill pickles, and a generous amount of pickled jalapenos.
Pretty simple adjustments from your standard potato salad but trust me when I say that this potato salad is in an entire category of its own!
This Potato Salad features…
- A creamy yellow mustard dressing
- Tender potatoes, crunchy celery, and red onion
- Tangy dill pickles and pickled jalapenos

Making the Potato Salad
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Yellow potatoes
- Kosher salt
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Pickled jalapeno peppers
- Dill pickles
- Red onion
- Celery
- Chives
- Mayonnaise
- Granulated sugar
- Yellow mustard
- Apple cider vinegar
How to Adjust Heat Level
As is, this salad is a bit more on the mild side but you can easily bump that up a notch by using spicier pickled jalapenos or supplementing with cayenne pepper or hot sauce. Taste as you go to get it to the heat level you prefer!

Tips for Perfect Potato Salad
- Cut potatoes in uniform cubes – aim for uniform 1/2-inch cubes so the potatoes cook evenly.
- Boil potatoes with salt – this adds a lot of flavor to the potatoes while they cook.
- Rinse potatoes in cold water – this will cool the potatoes quickly and stop the cooking process.
- Use yellow mustard – this is traditional in Texas-style potato salad.
- Add sugar to dressing – this gives the potato salad that signature sweet flavor!
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this salad.
- Use another type of potato – we like yellow potatoes best in this salad but russets or red potatoes also work well!
- Add different herbs – try fresh parsley or dill in place of the chives.
Storing Potato Salad
This potato salad stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days. We find that the flavors actually improve after sitting in the fridge a couple of hours to allow all the ingredients to meld together.
An optional finishing touch for serving: top salad with additional pickled jalapenos and a sprinkle of chives.

It’s the pickled jalapenos and all that tangy yellow mustard that just absolutely MAKE this salad, folks! A dynamite amount of flavor that’s just simply the best alongside a burger or some good barbecue.
Your perfect potato salad search ends here, this is about to be your new favorite.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.

More summer salads you’re definitely going to want to make next!
Texas Potato Salad
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Ingredients
- 3 lbs yellow potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 in cubes
- 2 tablespoons kosher salt
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, finely diced
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup finely-diced dill pickles
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 1 cup celery, finely diced
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Additional pickled jalapenos and chives for garnish
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a medium pot and cover with water. Dissolve salt on top. Bring potatoes to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low and allow to simmer 6-8 minutes until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.
- Drain potatoes and rinse in cold water until cooled. Drain well and place in a large bowl. Top potatoes with eggs, pickled jalapenos, dill pickles, red onion, celery, and chives.
- In a small bowl, whisk mayonnaise, sugar, mustard, and vinegar until smooth.
- Pour dressing over potatoes and toss until evenly coated in dressing. Season salad with salt and pepper to taste and refrigerate until ready to serve. Garnish with additional pickled jalapenos and chives. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 6/4/25.
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating says
This sounds so good! I love that you added some heat!
Sarah says
Thanks Kelly! And yes, to the Yukon Golds—definitely the best kind of potato for salads. 😉
Kelly @ The Pretty Bee: Cooking + Creating says
And I agree, the Yukon Golds are a must for potato salad, they are so tasty!
Allison says
I’ve never been to texas, but I think I need to so I can eat potato salad like this all day long! I loveeee adding a salty, crunchy, vinegary pickle to my potato salads -so good! Love how you spiced it up with the jalapeno!
Sarah says
I can’t live without adding extra pickles to my potato salad either! It’s just necessary. 😉
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Love the bright color of this salad! And the jalapenos are the perfect touch!
Sarah says
Thanks, Gayle. 🙂
Danielle says
Yum! I absolutely love potato salad, I could eat a bowl of this right now!
Isadora @ she likes food says
Potato salad is my summertime weakness, I could eat it everyday and not get sick of it! It really does taste so much better when it has been sitting for a while. I also love a nice spicy kick, especially when potatoes are involved! I need to plan a BBQ so I can make this and have people to share it with so I don’t feel tempted to eat it all myself!
Sarah says
YES to letting the potato salad sit for a little bit. It’s amazing how GOOD the flavors are even an hour later. Haha! And yep, I would definitely recommend making this salad when a lot of people are around so you don’t end up eating it all yourself! I should take that advice sometime. Haha! Thanks Isadora!
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely says
The flavors in this sound amazing! Shawn would go crazy for all the jalapenos in there, that boy loves his spice. This would go perfect with your spice rubbed grilled chicken. Yummy dinner!
Sarah says
Oh, it goes awesomely with the chicken, Natalie! That was one spicy, tastebud-exploding meal. 😀
lorraine williamson says
not a fan of heat so will cut back on jalapeno’s but will definitely give it a try looks yummy have a great weekend pinned and following from show stopper
Sarah says
You can totally dial it back on the jalapenos if spicy isn’t your thing, Lorraine! I hope you’ll let me know how the potato salad turns out. You have a great weekend too!
Alvin says
I have yet to see any jalapeno peppers in the pictures you show and the jar of Pepperoncini peppers says it all. You also say to finely chop the peppers, does not seem that way in your pictures, the peppers are rings not finely chopped.
Casey Green says
Sick burn