Miranda Lambert's Easy, Creamy Potato Salad Is My New Favorite Summer Side Dish
If you couldn’t already tell by the rising heat and humidity, the summer season is fast approaching. For those looking to beat the heat, more trips to the beach, lake and pools are in store, plus plenty of picnics and barbecues.
In full disclosure, I’m not the biggest fan of country music or potato salad, but being born in Alabama and now living in the state of Florida, I have a healthy respect for them both. If I’m out on the boat fishing, I want to hear some country. If I’m tailgating beachside, I want to hear some country. And If I’m going to a barbecue, I want a few bites of potato salad.
Now I can’t sing or play the guitar, but what I can do is read and buy groceries. What I mean by that is, my chances for making a hit country song are slim to none, but my chances of making a mean potato salad are slightly higher. But you know who can make a hit country song and serve up a mean potato salad? Miranda Lambert!
And in her very first cookbook, Y'all Eat Yet?, the singer, songwriter and guitarist shared her favorite recipes created by the favorite women in her life—and one of those recipes is a potato salad with a few twists. Here's how it went when I gave it a try.
Get the recipe: Miranda Lambert's Potato Salad
Courtesy of Dante Parker
Ingredients for Miranda Lambert’s Potato Salad
To get started on this country favorite, you’ll need quite a few ingredients, minus the “gunpowder and lead.” You’ll need potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes, kosher salt—plus more for boiling—finely chopped green onions, grated cheese (cheddar or American), hard-boiled eggs (chopped), sweet pickle relish, mayonnaise and mustard.
Courtesy of Dante Parker
How to Make Miranda Lambert’s Potato Salad
There’s not much to this recipe, and that’s part of why I like it—there’s little room for error.
Start by placing the potatoes in a pot of cold, salted water. Allow the water to come to a boil, and then reduce it down to medium. You want to let the potatoes cook until they are tender, which should take about 10 to 15 minutes.
Related: The Recipe Behind Miranda Lambert's Engagements (Both of Them)
Next, drain the potatoes and let them cool completely. In a large bowl, add the potatoes, green onions, cheese, eggs and relish. Now gently stir in the mayonnaise and mustard until it's all combined.
For the finishing touch, sprinkle on a little bit of paprika and you’re ready to serve the potato salad that’s good enough to make you “Famous in a Small Town.”
Courtesy of Dante Parker
What I Thought of Miranda Lambert’s Potato Salad
This potato salad tasted much better than I expected. I was skeptical about the addition of cheese, but it made for a creamy, yet chunky mash-up.
We all know that potato salad is one of those things that's easy to make, but also easy to mess up. The ratios need to be right or else the whole thing will be wrong. In Lambert’s case, though, the whole thing is just right. I loved the addition of the cheese and the green onions made for a surprisingly good crunch. I'd definitely make this one again.
Related: My Chef-Husband Cracked the Code to the Best Creamy, Tangy, Never Ever Mushy Potato Salad
Tips for Making Miranda Lambert’s Potato Salad
Shred your own cheese. Don’t buy shredded cheese like I did, or you’ll end up with “Somethin Bad.” Instead, buy a block of either cheddar or American and grate it yourself.
Up next: Cindy Crawford's Strawberry Pie Is the Simple Sweet I Want to Eat All Summer
