Baked Potato Salad
Nothing better than a delicious potato for a summer BBQ and boy are those summer days numbered in New England!!!
This potato salad has all the baked potato fixings, i.e. cheese, green onions and bacon, but instead of sour cream, it has creamy ranch dressing. That’s right folks, ranch dressing in this potato salad. Whether you make your ranch from scratch or use Hidden Valley (my favorite when I’m lazy), you can’t go wrong with ranch dressing!!!
This has been my go-to potato salad, especially when I have my own red bliss potatoes, look at that haul!!!
I like it because it’s pretty easy to make and always a crowd pleaser!!! I hope you enjoy and cheers 🍻 to summer 2020, we survived!!!
Some Preparation Notes
- Potato Suggestions – I prefer the red bliss because it’s a creamy potato and I like the color the skin adds to the salad, two, the skin is thin. Yukon Gold potatoes would be a good substitute because they have a similar flavor and texture.
- Preparing the Potatoes – Start by scrubbing your potato skins to remove any dirt or grime. Next, fill a medium saucepan with cold water. Now time for cutting, you’re aiming for a consistent cut across the potatoes. I typically go with a bite sized cut of about 1inch because they keep their shape and that size collects all the goodness. As you cut the potatoes, add those bites to the saucepan. After you’ve cut all potatoes, drain the saucepan and add fresh cold water. Stir the potatoes around with your hand to remove more of the starch and any excess grime. Now add fresh water again. If the water looks clear, you’re good to go and now time for boiling. Add some salt to the potatoes (this is the only salt in this recipe). Depending on the size of your potato bites, you’ll want to cook until you can insert a fork with a little give. If you go past that point, you’ll likely have mashed potato salad 😉!
- Preparing the Bacon – You’re aiming for crispy bite sized pieces. Always begin with a cold fry pan when frying bacon and cook the pieces until the fat has been rendered. Once crispy and delicious, remove from the bacon grease and place on a paper towel to remove excess oil.
- Preparing the Ranch from Scratch – I have been using the The Frugal Girls, Buttermilk Ranch Dressing Mix Recipe for years. This is copycat Hidden Valley mix and absolutely delicious. Of course if you’re feeling lazy, Hidden Valley Ranch will do 👍!
- Hot Sauce Option – I like adding a bit of hot sauce because it adds a bit more flavoring and deliciousness, two it cuts the creaminess of the ranch slightly. I added a few shakes and tasted and thought, ouch too much, but after refrigeration, it came together beautifully with the ranch. The hot sauce I went with was Louisiana because I like the peppery vinegar punch it delivers!
- Preparing for a Crowd – You can easily double or triple this recipe!
- Serving Style – I prefer this salad cold, which is nice because you can prepare in advance. If you do prepare cold, I would suggest 3-4 hours in the fridge, at least. You could even make it the day before. If you remove from the fridge and it looks dry, add a bit more ranch before serving.
BBQ Serving Suggestions
Chili Lime Soy Grilled Chicken – My go-to and so delicious at any time of year!
Smoked Pulled Pork – Bacon Potato Salad with Pulled Pork, yes please 😋!
Marinated Grill Flank Steak – This flank steak pairs wonderfully with this potato salad.
Korean BBQ Steak Tips – You have a sweet and spicy option and a total crowd pleaser here!
Baked Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 5 red bliss potatoes, cut into bite size cubes
- sea salt
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup green onions, sliced thinly and reserve a few for garnishing
- 4 slices bacon, cook into ¼ inch slices
- ½ cup ranch dressing, you might need extra after removing from the fridge!
- dash hot sauce, optional and I went with Louisiana Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Cut the potatoes into bite sized cubes (1 inch cubes) making sure to keep the pieces equal in size, so they cook at the same speed. Once cut, place in a medium saucepan with cold water. After all potatoes are cut, drain the water and add fresh cold water. Stir the potatoes around and drain again. Add cold water to cover the potatoes and a bit of sea salt.
- Boil the potatoes until the potatoes are able to have a folk enter with a little give, approximately 15-20 minutes. When done, remove from the heat and run cold water over them. Place in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fry the bacon until crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and all to cool slightly.
- Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl (reserve some green onion and bacon for garnishing). Optional to add some hot sauce at this point.
- Mix all ingredients until well combined.
- Garnish with green onion and crispy bacon.
- Refrigerator for a few hours (at least 3-4hrs) before serving.
- About 1hr before you are ready to serve, remove from the fridge to remove the cold.
- Serve room-ish temp with your favorite BBQ food (see my suggested proteins above), enjoy and cheers 🍻!
One thought on “Baked Potato Salad”