Ever Potato Salad
This standby EVER Potato Salad (with bacon!) is straight from grandma’s recipe box! It is straightforward, creamy, and loaded with bacon, and a secret ingredient in the dressing puts it over the top. It converted us to being a potato salad lover! Please don't go through the entire summer without making this at least once!
What stands out Potato Salad with Bacon
We long disliked potato salad because of how over-the-top mayonnaise-y it typically is. That is, until this recipe. It was life-changing, and we are so happy to share the recipe with you!
This recipe comes from a friend's grandmother, and on the recipe card she gave us it is titled "Best Ever Potato Salad". A bold statement and one that always gives us pause, but it is absolutely, 100% warranted in this case.
First, we tend to trust old family recipes over others; second, the grandma was confident enough to call it a standby; and lastly, it has a secret ingredient that takes it over the top. Well-deserved!
How to Make This Potato Salad
First things first… if you haven’t hard-boiled your eggs yet, do that first so they have time to cool down before being added to the potato salad. Then…
- Boil the potatoes until they are fork-tender, then drain.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Drain off the bacon drippings, reserving a couple of tablespoons.
- Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the skillet and whisk to combine.
- Toss together the potatoes, eggs, celery, and green pepper. Pour the dressing over and stir to coat, then gently mix in the bacon.
- Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.
Making it Ahead of Time
Potato salad is the reliable candidate for making in advance! You can safely (and easily) make this potato salad up to 1 day in advance and keep it covered in the refrigerator before serving.
We have served this to people who claim to hate potato salad because of the mayonnaise factor. We have also served it to people who claim that they only like their mom's/grandma's/aunt's recipe and no others.
All of these people? They have tripped over themselves raving about this recipe, declaring it a standby ever potato salad they've ever had.
Watch the Recipe Video:
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
- Yield: 6 to 8 servings
- Prep: 30 minutes
- Cook: 30 minutes
- Total: 1 hour
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds red potatoes, cut into small cubes (about 4 cups)
- 12 ounce package bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¾ cup ( 170 g ) mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk celery, finely diced
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced
- ½ medium green pepper, finely diced
Method
- Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. (If you're not sure how to boil the potatoes,
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-low heat until crisp. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon drippings in the skillet and remove the pan from heat.
- Add the mayonnaise, mustard, sugar and salt to the reserved bacon drippings in the skillet and whisk to combine.
- In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, eggs, celery, onion and green pepper. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and gently stir to evenly coat. Stir in the bacon.
- Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving. Leftovers can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Potatoes: You can substitute Yukon gold potatoes; they also hold their shape well in potato salad.
Onion: You can use one shallot in place of the chopped onion.
Mayonnaise: You can substitute all or part with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. These will both impart more of a tangy flavor but will still work.
Storage: Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Make-Ahead: You can prepare this potato salad and keep it covered, in the refrigerator, up to 1 day in advance of serving it.
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned ]
