Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
Eric and I revel in long weekends, but then again, who doesn’t? While we mostly fill our weekends doing things around the house, visiting the farmers market and seeing friends, this upcoming long weekend will be spent mostly eating. It’s summer, so cookouts are plenty right now. We’ve got two to attend this weekend. I’m hoping we can make our poblano burgers for one and this potato salad for the other.
Potato salad is a quintessential side dish for cookouts. Sure, it’s easy to purchase from your grocery store deli, but it’s almost as easy to make it yourself. This version is tossed with homemade ranch dressing and topped with crispy bacon pieces. Eric and I first made this when we had a couple friends over for Memorial Day. It took quite a bit of willpower not to snack on this before they arrived, and I kept eating spoonfuls of it while I was photographing it. The garlic, chives and parsley add vibrance and freshness to the ranch dressing. It gives this potato salad loads more flavor than the standard plain mustard or mayonnaise base and doesn’t weigh it down. I’ll actually be using this as my go-to ranch dressing recipe from now on. As if that wasn’t good enough, the potato salad is topped with crispy bacon and green onion, adding additional layers of flavor and texture. If you’re looking for that perfect side dish to take to summer cookouts, this is it.
- YIELD: 6-8 servings
2 pounds red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into ½-inch chunks
1 tablespoon salt
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup plain yogurt or sour cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 small green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
Juice of half a lemon
¼ cup buttermilk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 slices thick cut bacon, cooked crisp
- 1
Cover potatoes with 1-2 inches of cold water and add the tablespoon of salt. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- 2
Meanwhile, whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, chives, parsley, green onion, garlic, lemon juice and buttermilk in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste, then refrigerate until ready to use.
- 3
Drain potatoes and transfer to a serving bowl. Allow to cool slightly, then stir in half of the ranch dressing. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Toss with remaining ranch dressing and top with bacon and additional chives or green onion if desired. Serve cold.
This sounds delicious, I have never tried potato salad with those other ingredients. Bacon in just about anything is great
yumm- this sounds so much better than the store bought kind! Perfect for the 4th!
Your photos are beautiful – what sort of camera do you use? Do you use any other special techniques?
Thanks so much! I use a Nikon D90 and recently purchased a 50mm lens. I try to use natural light whenever possible. You’ll notice my summer pictures are much better than my winter ones haha.
This looks so good! I might have to impress the family with this one over the weekend 🙂
I was just thinking about how I need to find a good homemade potato salad recipe, then voila!…this shows up on my reader. Thanks for reading my mind! (And, when you figure out the willpower to stop snacking on the food you’re photographing, then please shed wisdom my way!) 🙂
This sounds like a perfect complement to 4th of July burgers!
I’m up for anything with bacon + buttermilk!
[…] Recipe from: Cook Like a Champion […]
I always like to come back and comment after I make another bloggers recipe – and boy is this a recipe worth commenting on. SO GOOD! My wife Rachel is so not a potato salad fan, she always wrinkles her nose when I offer some. So I made a small batch of this over MDW just for me. I put it in the fridge to chill and went outside to grill – I come back in and Rachel has her hand in the bowl “This is good!” she said. I had to share, but I was glad to. We’re making it again for dinner tonight, and it’s such a keeper we featured it on today’s Taste Test Thursday segment on our blog. Thanks Courtney for a tasty recipe 🙂
If I’m making this potato salad for a picnic should I leave out the bacon and add it later once we get to the spot? It’s about a 3 hour drive and I’m scared that the bacon will get really soggy.
I would. The bacon won’t really get soggy, but it definitely won’t be as crisp. I think adding it when you get there sounds like a good idea.
This has been my 3rd time making it. Thanks so much. Definitely one of my favorites 🙂