Loaded Baked Potato Salad is just like classic potato salad – but with all of the fun, savory flavors of a loaded baked potato! It’s packed with tender red potatoes, crispy bacon, fresh green onions, shredded cheddar cheese, mayo, sour cream and dill weed. It’s always the first thing to disappear at parties and potlucks!
Make all of your backyard barbecues delicious with easy potato salad recipes like Southern Potato Salad and Parmesan Dill Potato Salad.
It’s safe to say that during the summer, my family is pretty much obsessed with potato salads of all kinds! They’re easy to make, essential for any successful backyard barbecue, and can be made in so many different variations. We do have our favorites… And I’m sure you can guess that this loaded baked potato salad is definitely one of them!
Loaded baked potato salad is precisely what it sounds like. All of the goodness of traditional potato salad is made even more delicious with all the best loaded baked potato ingredients! Cheddar cheese, green onions, and plenty of bacon are just a few of the staples that make this potato salad so unforgettably good.
The combination of varying flavors and textures here is really what keeps everyone coming back for more. Tender bites of red potatoes and the smooth, creamy mayo mixture are contrasted with crispy bacon bits and crisp green onions. If you’re a loaded baked potato fan (and who isn’t?), you’ll love this easy potato salad recipe!
Ingredient Notes
Potatoes – I prefer to use red potatoes because they are soft and tender, but also have enough starch to hold their shape after they’re cut and cooked. The skin on red potatoes is also a lot thinner than russet potatoes, so it’s barely noticeable if you leave the potato skin on.
Bacon – The best way to get crispy bacon without the mess is to bake it in the oven. Make it ahead of time or at the same time as potatoes to cut down on your overall time in the kitchen.
Shredded Cheese – Freshly shredded sharp cheddar will add some more flavor in this delicious potato salad!
Green Onions – I prefer using fresh green onions, but chives will also work well in a pinch.
Sour Cream – This provides the best finishing touch to bring together the loaded baked potato flavors. After all, you can’t have a baked potato without sour cream!
Mayo – Sour cream alone is a little light on flavor, so I like to combine it with mayonnaise to make it creamier and fuller.
Dill Weed – A couple of tablespoons of fresh dill weed is the perfect touch for this potato salad.
See recipe card for complete information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Cook the bacon – Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with foil. Place a lightly sprayed wire rack on the baking sheet. Lay the bacon on the wire rack in a single layer and cook for 15-25 minutes, depending on how thick the bacon is. Let it cool until you’re able to crumble or cut it into bits.
Cook the potatoes – Rinse the potatoes and place them in a pot. Fully submerge the potatoes with cold water and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then lower to medium heat. Cook until potatoes are tender (you can use a fork to check if they’re ready by piercing the middle of a potato). Drain the water and let the potatoes cool to room temperature.
Assemble the potato salad – Chop the potatoes into half inch cubes and place them in a large bowl. Toss them together with the bacon bits, diced green onions, shredded cheddar, dill weed, mayo, sour cream, salt and pepper.
PRO TIP: Dice the potatoes into small pieces. You want everything cut into evenly sized small cubes so that it all mixes well and each bite has an equal amount of ingredients.
Recipe FAQs
It’s up to you! You can choose to leave the skin on, and that will make it easier to chop potatoes and mix them into the salad. Potato skin is also where a lot of the nutrients are stored. When using red potatoes like we are here, you may quite enjoy the tender, delicate texture of the potato skin.
Yes! You can make the whole potato salad ahead of time or just cook the bacon and potatoes.
Cook potatoes, drain the water, and let them cool to room temperature. Cover the pot with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to prepare the salad. For bacon, cook it completely and crumble to chop it when it’s cooled enough. Transfer bacon bits into an airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use.
You can also prepare potato salad completely the day before you need to serve it. Just make sure to store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to serve.
Store this baked potato salad in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. If using plastic wrap, make sure to use a new sheet after each time you open it. To minimize exposure to bacteria and extend life of potato salad, use a clean spoon each time you take out some potato salad.
More Summer Side Dish Recipes to Try
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LOADED Baked Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1 lb raw bacon
- 2 lbs red potatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1 tbs minced fresh Dill Weed
- Salt
- black pepper
Instructions
Bacon:
- Preheat the oven to 400° and line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, covering it entirely and up the sides. Place a wire rack in the baking sheet and lightly spray it with cooking spray.
- Lay bacon strips on top of the wire rack side by side and cook for 15-25 minutes. (Time will depend on the thickness of the bacon. The thicker the bacon slices, the longer it will take.) Keep an eye on it to make sure it’s crispy but not over-done.
- Cool cooked bacon until it’s easy to handle and crumble or cut into small pieces.
Potatoes:
- Rinse potatoes and place them in a pot. Fill the pot with cold water, enough to cover all the potatoes, and season with salt. Bring the pot to boil and lower the heat to medium.
- Cook until potatoes are tender. (You can stick a fork into the middle of a potato to test it.) Drain off water and let potatoes cool to room temperature.
Prepare Potato Salad:
- When potatoes cooled enough to handle, chop them into about 1/2-inch cubes.
- Combine chopped potatoes, crumbled bacon, diced green onion, shredded cheese, dill weed, mayo, sour cream, salt, and pepper.
Jil says
This is the second time I’m making it. I doubled the recipe. Everyone loved it. It was delicious.
LyubaB says
I am so glad you like the recipe, Jil!
Mary Perkins says
Making this for the 3rd time in 2 weeks! We love this recipe. Thank you!
LyubaB says
I am so glad you like it, Mary!
Wolftrax N says
Love it! It’s a must have, have passed it to lots of people and they love it too
LyubaB says
I love that you love it! Thanks for stopping by to let me know!
Angela says
Freaking delicious!
LyubaB says
Thank you, Angela!