This loaded potato salad recipe is the classic side dish no potluck or picnic should be without.
Try this loaded baked potato salad made with crispy roasted potatoes, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, and green onions tossed with a creamy, mayonnaise-sour cream dressing.
Summer BBQs aren’t the same without a hearty, homemade twice-baked potato salad.
Holly’s Hearty Potato Salad Highlights
- Flavor: Roasted potatoes, salty bacon, and cheese are perfectly blended in a creamy dressing.
- Swaps: Go keto and swap potatoes for cauliflower, or go meatless and swap bacon for chopped hard-boiled eggs.
- Time-Saving Tip: Buy pre-cooked bacon and pre-shredded cheese to save time.
- Yield: This recipe serves 10 but can easily be doubled for a crowd.
The Fully-Loaded Lineup
- Potatoes: The best potatoes to use in this salad are baby reds. Thin-skinned reds stay firmer longer in salads and don’t need to be peeled.
- Bacon: Choose any variety of bacon you like and be sure to save some of the bacon grease to make the dressing in Step 4.
- Cheese: Cheddar adds sharp flavor and a pop of color to loaded baked potato salad. Feel free to use shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack, a Mexican blend, or blue cheese crumbles.
- Dressing: Mayonnaise, sour cream, and bacon fat are all that’s needed for this easy dressing with a little smoky flavor. Dress up the dish with some freshly chopped dill, thyme, parsley, or a little splash of lemon juice. Add some dill or sweet pickle relish for a tangy dressing.
- Fun Spins on a Classic: Use this recipe as the foundation for a basic loaded potato salad. The add-ins are endless! Try adding black olives, celery, peas, sliced radishes, hard-boiled eggs, diced salami or ham, or sliced summer sausage. Add a splash of pickle juice or Dijon mustard for a tangy twist.
How to Make Loaded Potato Salad
- Bake potatoes (full recipe below). Cool completely.
- Whisk sour cream, mayonnaise, and bacon fat in a bowl.
- Stir in potatoes, bacon, cheese, and green onions, breaking up potatoes slightly.
- Adjust seasonings before serving.
Tater Tips & Loaded Tricks
- Cool potatoes completely before mixing to keep the dressing smooth and creamy.
- Mix gently so the potatoes stay chunky but still soak up the dressing.
- Reserve a little bacon and cheese for sprinkling on top just before serving for a fresh look.
- Chill for a few hours before serving to let the flavors blend beautifully.
Second-Day Spuds
Keep leftover loaded potato salad in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Stir and season before serving again. Freezing potato salad isn’t recommended since potatoes (like dairy and pasta) become grainy once thawed.
More Super Summer Salads
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Loaded Potato Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 pounds small unpeeled red potatoes cubed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 1 pound sliced bacon cooked and crumbled, grease reserved
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 green onions sliced
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- On a rimmed baking sheet, toss diced potatoes with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake potatoes for 30-35 minutes or until tender. Cool completely.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the sour cream, mayonnaise, and 1 tablespoon of reserved bacon fat.
- Stir in cooled potatoes, cooked bacon, cheese, and green onions. Toss to coat with the dressing, breaking up the potatoes slightly as you mix. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
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Love this recipe! I’ve made it a few times for different events and it’s now always requested, lol! I add garlic, yellow onions , fresh thyme and rosemary to the potatoes and bake them all together first. I also leave adding the bacon to the end so I can pull some out for any vegetarian/non pork eating friends. I’m pretty much not allowed to go to any potlucks, bbq’s or food centered parties without it now, haha! Thanks for sharing this one!
Lucky them! So happy to hear how much everyone loves this baked potato salad recipe Natalie!
Like!! Thank you for this awesome recipe.
Excellent ! Will make again!
So happy to hear that Lori!
This is a great potato salad! It is delicious!!!!! My hubby grilled a beef tenderloin & it was the perfect summer side dish. One important thing to note, this is way more dressing than needed. I used 1/2 the amount of sour cream & mayo & it was the perfect amount for my family .
That sounds like a delicious supper Lisa! Thanks for sharing.
I add ranch seasoning pack to the sour cream ! Yum
That sounds yummy Jennifer, thanks for sharing!
I make this also, but try adding sweet potatoes also. GREAT results from the family!They love it!
My mom used to make a slightly different version of this. She called it Smashed Potatoes. We had a few more ingredients. Chives and regular cream cheese. She will now be making it again in the near future.
How is this served cold. I want to make it for a potluck?
i think instead of regular onions this would taste better with chives/table onions! that’s what most baked potatoes are topped with. I will be making this soon.
I’ve had this before! YUM! I’ve always purchased it from the grocery store deli, so I am VERY thankful to have the recipe!!! Using 3 pounds of potatoes would be way too much for the two of us, so I am hoping to figure out the amounts for a much smaller portion. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE! 😀
could anyone send me the full ingredients for the baked potato salad? I am not very adventurous when it comes to ad-libbing. Thank you so much.
You’ll find the instructions on how to make Loaded Baked Potato Salad on the recipe card in this Loaded Baked Potato Salad recipe post. To find the recipe card, you can scroll down, or click on the Jump to Recipe button near the top of the page. Enjoy Casey!
I am new to cooking. How many days after making this will it last? It looks really good.
This sounds absolutely fantastic 🙂 I am going to try this tomorrow night but in mashed potato form 😀 Thank you for the idea