This creamy Loaded Baked Potato Salad is the most flavorful side dish and the perfect addition to your next barbecue. Crispy bacon, sharp cheddar, and fresh herbs all come together to make a potato salad that you will love!

The Perfect Salad – Loaded Baked Potato Salad!

Traditional potato salad is good but, in my personal opinion, sometimes you just have to switch things up. This loaded baked potato salad is filled with all the best things like sharp cheddar, crispy bacon, and fresh herbs.

This recipe is easy to make, full of flavor, and sure to be a hit at your next potluck or barbecue!

Watch How to Make This Recipe

Reader Favorite Potato Recipes

Best Potatoes for Homemade Potato Salad

When it comes to potatoes for potato salad you want to pick a variety that is more waxy than starchy. While starchy potatoes like russets are great for mashed potatoes or French fries, they are a bit too starchy for a potato salad.

Russet potatoes will begin to break down and lose their shape after boiling and they also have a thick outer skin which does not make them the best candidate for potato salad.

Instead, grab a few pounds of a “waxy” potato like reds, fingerlings, or Yukon golds.

These potatoes have less starch, a thin outer skin (which makes peeling an option not a requirement), and they hold their shape and won’t break down after boiling.

Baked Potato Salad Ingredients

Baby Red Potatoes: these are my favorite potatoes to use in potato salad! The baby potatoes are also a bit smaller than regular red potatoes which means you have to do a bit less chopping to get them into a reasonable size.

Bacon: for that classic loaded baked potato flavor. Also, because who doesn’t love bacon?!

Green Onion: the flavor of green onion and baked potatoes goes so well together. If you don’t have green onion you can easily swap it for chives.

Sharp Cheddar: go with sharp cheddar cheese here for the best flavor.

Whole Milk Greek Yogurt: half of the dressing for this potato salad is made from whole milk Greek Yogurt. I’ve included some substitutes below if you need a dairy free option.

Mayo: the other half of the dressing is made from mayonnaise.

Apple Cider Vinegar: to give the dressing a bit of tang this recipe uses apple cider vinegar.

Garlic: fresh is always best when it comes to garlic, my friends!

Dill: some fresh herbs always give a potato salad the best flavor.

Ingredient Substitutions

Greek Yogurt – want to keep this recipe dairy free? you can replace the whole milk Greek Yogurt with mayonnaise if you prefer. If you don’t mind dairy, you can also swap the yogurt for sour cream.
Mayo – don’t love the flavor of mayo? you can replace it with Greek Yogurt if you prefer. You could also use your favorite vegan mayo if you like.
Bacon – swap the bacon for turkey bacon, your favorite vegan bacon substitute, or just leave the bacon out entirely.
Cheddar – if you need to keep the recipe dairy free you can easily leave the cheese out or swap it with vegan sub.

How Long Do You Need to Boil Potatoes for Potato Salad?

The trick to good potato salad is not to overcook your potatoes. Depending on the size of the potatoes, twelve to fifteen minutes should be enough time to get them fork tender and perfect for potato salad.

However, if you cut your potatoes into smaller pieces, it could take as little as eight minutes for them to be fully cooked and ready to use.

Remember, you are not making mashed potatoes. You want the potatoes to be able to hold their shape so they don’t disintegrate into pieces when you’re mixing up the potato salad. If you can easily stick a fork into the piece of potato without resistance, they are probably done.

Helpful Kitchen Tools

How to Make Loaded Potato Salad

Step One: Add the potatoes to a large bot and cover with water. Bring the water to a boil and then add a generous sprinkle of salt. Let the potatoes boil in the salted water for 12-15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain the potatoes and let cool.

Step Two: Slice the bacon into lardons and then add it to a skillet heated over medium heat. Cook until crispy, stirring occasionally to make sure that it does not burn. Set a bit of bacon aside for garnish.

Step Three: Next, make the dressing. Add the mayonnaise, Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, salt, pepper, garlic, and fresh dill to a high-powered blender or food processor. Blend until the dressing is smooth and creamy.

Step Four: Next, make the potato salad. Add the cooled potatoes, most of the cooked bacon, green onion, and cheddar cheese to a large mixing bowl. Pour on the dressing and stir until well combined. Give the potato salad a taste and add more salt if needed. Garnish with the remaining crispy bacon and chives. Serve immediately or cover and refrigerate the potato salad before serving.

Can I Make the Potato Salad in Advance?

Yes! You can make this salad ahead of time, store in the fridge, and then serve when you are ready.

Can I Freeze Potato Salad?

No, I don’t recommend freezing this potato salad. The texture of the potatoes will change quite a bit after being frozen.

Recipe Variations

Want a little crunch? Add a little chopped celery for extra crunch.
Try adding eggs! If you like hard boiled eggs in your potato salad you can add one or two chopped eggs to the potato salad.
Want things a bit spicier? Try adding a little red pepper flake to the potato salad.

Tips and Tricks for the Best Potato Salad

Because red potatoes have thinner skin, there is no need to peel your potatoes before boiling. The red skin also adds a pop of color to the salad. Feel free to peel the potato skin if you prefer.
Try to cut your potatoes roughly the same size before boiling. This will help them to cook more evenly.
When boiling the potatoes, do not forget to salt the water. Potatoes can be pretty bland on their own and salting the water helps to ensure each individual piece of potato has some flavor.
If you are making this potato salad a day in advance but still want the bacon to be crisp when serving, I recommend making the salad without the bacon and storing it in the fridge. Once you are ready to serve, you can sprinkle the cooked bacon on top or stir it into the potato salad a few minutes before serving.

How to Store

Store the potato salad in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.

More Delicious Side Dishes You’ll Love

I hope you give this Loaded Baked Potato Salad a try! It’s a delicious side dish for your next potluck or barbecue.

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