This Creamy Potato Salad With Bacon and Cheese is about to become your favorite potato salad! Serve it warm or cold, doesn't matter.
Everyone loves it as there are usually no leftovers, but if there are, they don't last long!

Potato recipes are our go-to foolproof dinner ideas. Always. Our family loves when I make Potato Pancakes for breakfast or this Breakfast Casserole. For lunch, we love to serve soups quite often, and this Creamy Italian Sausage Soup is the most requested potato soup so far.
For something sweeter, we like our Mashed Sweet Potatoes with brown sugar.
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Why We Love This
- The ultimate creamy potato salad recipe works as a great base for any salad. Ingredients can easily be modified and only use your favorite ingredients. I've gone so far that I added cucumber here which makes things taste fresh (but it's optional!) and reminds me of my childhood Russian potato salad. Have you tried?
- A wonderful side dish or a fulfilling appetizer that is easy to make even if you're making a potato salad for the first time.
- This recipe can makes a good big bowl of potato salad but I highly recommend making a double batch.
- Best for meal prep and making ahead - Cook the potatoes 1-2 days before and store them in the fridge before ready to use. Toss with the dressing and other ingredients once ready to serve, that's it! The best part is that creamy potato salad tastes even better the next day.
Ingredients
- Potatoes - red potatoes, purple potatoes, baby potatoes, fingerling potatoes, new potatoes, and Yukon gold potatoes (all-purpose potatoes with medium starch content which makes them a safe option here!) are all great choices for the potato salad. These potatoes are called ''Waxy potatoes'' and are good for boiling because they hold their shape well, and their firm yet creamy texture makes perfect potato salads!
- You want to avoid starchier potatoes such as Russet potatoes which are known to be best for mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, latkes. Starchy potatoes will become mushy and will fall apart during cooking.
- Creamy dressing - I always use a combination of both Mayonnaise and sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) - in salads as this gives the best flavor. For a thicker and heavier creamy sauce swap the amounts and use more mayonnaise than sour cream instead. Alternatively, you can use store-bought ranch dressing instead. You may need to add more sour cream in this case if it feels too salty or simply overpowering.
- Dry packet Ranch seasoning - the ultimate seasoning of all time! Salads, dinners, you name it, it will enhance any dish. Omit if using ranch dressing instead as mentioned above.
- Cheese - and plenty! Sharp Cheddar is what we want here!
For the full list of ingredients, please scroll down where you'll find the recipe card.
Equipment
- Large Baking Tray - I actually have a bunch of these in different sizes. If you have a large oven enough to fit two trays, you'll save a lot of time with any recipe (especially when feeding a family).
- Mixing Bowls
- Measuring Cups
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Arrange the diced potatoes on the tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper.
Toss to combine. Bake for 45-50 minutes until potatoes are turning golden brown and fork-tender. Flip the potatoes twice during cooking to prevent burning and help them to cook evenly.
Let the potatoes cool until stirring into a salad. They can still be slightly warm (but there's a chance of potatoes becoming mushy) when serving in a salad but for a beautiful presentation allow them to cool completely.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch dressing, parsley. Cover and let the flavors blend in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Cook bacon on a dry nonstick pan over medium heat until crispy (or to the desired liking). Set aside paper towels to drain the excess fat.
Once ready to serve, add all remaining ingredients (potatoes, red onion, bacon, cheese, cucumbers go last) to the bowl with salad dressing.
Gently toss to combine and let chill and flavors blend in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Serve with freshly chopped parsley, green onions, and more crispy bacon on top.
Tips
- Potatoes - cook the potatoes until fork-tender. Or test for doneness with a knife, you should be able to easily poke a knife in them. They shouldn’t be mushy at any point.
- This salad is mild and not spicy but for some heat mix in the dressing 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. The smoky and spicy pepper flavors do compliment this salad quite a bit.
- Make it vegan/vegetarian - omit the bacon and dairy and use vegan mayonnaise instead (which actually tastes really good!).
- This potato salad can be served both ways - warm and cold. When serving warm gently toss the potatoes with the dressing to avoid the salad becoming too mushy.
- Make a fried potato salad recipe - instead of baking the potatoes, cut them into 1-inch chunks and fry on a pan with cooking oil until golden and crispy. Alternatively boiling potatoes will be easier and less time-consuming. For best flavor boil with skins on, rinse and drain potatoes and let cool to the touch. Dice into 1-inch chunks and continue with the recipe instructions.
Freezing and Storing Instructions
Store the potato salad for up to 2-3 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
The potatoes will absorb more of the creamy sauce once chilled, and to return its creaminess add a dollop of mayonnaise and/or sour cream once ready to serve again.
Can you freeze potato salad? Theoretically, you can but unfortunately, potatoes won’t retain their beautiful firm texture after thawing. The flavor will be off and things will look soggy, and less appealing.
Serving Suggestions
- Serving suggestion - Serve the potato salad warm or cold, it will taste good both ways. But I enjoy adding warm potatoes to the dressing, it helps the flavors to blend beautifully.
- Garnish with fresh herbs such as chopped parsley, and dill. Want to try something new? Try fresh oregano, rosemary, and thyme sprigs for a great aroma.
- What to do with leftover potato salad? Bake it in a casserole with other ingredients and more vegetables and protein, serve it in a sandwich, or fry it in a croquette style.
Dinner Ideas With Potato Salad
When I think potato salad, it instantly reminds me of Russian and German cuisine and their delicious and addictive dinner choices!
Think hot dogs, burgers, bratwurst, pork chops, steaks, sauerkraut, fried chicken, roasted crunchy veggies, cold appetizers and finger food, and many more. These are ideal to be served with a potato salad on the side.
We love making this creamy potato salad for dinner along with Crispy Chicken Burgers, Chili Cheese Dog Casserole, and Chicken Barbecue Pizza.
FAQ
The best potatoes for a potato salad are new baby potatoes, red potatoes, purple potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes. You want to avoid starchy potatoes such as Russet which are known to be best for mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, latkes. Starchy potatoes will become mushy and will fall apart during cooking.
For a potato salad, use unpeeled potatoes, wash and rinse them under cold water before cooking. After boiling until fork-tender texture, rinse again under room temperature water (ideally it should be warm water but as we are making potatoes for a salad, we can use cold water instead. Rinsing potatoes will remove the starch that is left, and stop the cooking process.
It is already gluten-free however double-check your store-bought mayonnaise jar and ranch seasoning for an appropriate label.
Properly stored in an airtight container will keep in the fridge for up to a week. But for fresh flavor make as much as you'll consume and eat any leftovers in 2 days.
As this potato salad has creamy dairy-based dressing it should not be left out for more than 1 ½ - 2 hours.
Thank you so much for reading about this Creamy Potato Salad With Bacon and Cheese. Please feel free to comment with any questions you may have! I love reading your feedback.
Rita
Easy Dinner Side Dish Recipes
We have quite a few great sides for pretty much any main course on this blog. From our all-time favorite Hawaiian Macaroni Salad, the good old classic and light Caesar Salad to our special Chicken Fajita Salad and many more. For more recipes please take a look at my ALL SALAD recipe collection.
Get more inspired by trying one or more of our recommendations:
📖Recipe
Easy Creamy Potato Salad With Bacon And Cheese
Ingredients
- 2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks, see notes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 8-10 slices thick-cut bacon or pancetta, diced into ½ inch squares
- ½ small red onion, diced
- 1 cup diced cucumber, skin peeled off and seeded (optional), ½ inch dice
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon ranch seasoning
- 2 teaspoon parsley, finely chopped
- 4 oz cheddar cheese, cubed
- More parsley and green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Arrange the diced potatoes on the tray, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Bake for 45-50 minutes until potatoes are turning golden brown and fork-tender. Flip the potatoes twice during cooking to prevent burning and help them to cook evenly. Let the potatoes cool until stirring into the salad. They can still be slightly warm (but there's a risk of potatoes becoming mushy) when serving in the salad but for beautiful presentation allow to cool completely.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing. In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise, sour cream, ranch dressing, parsley. Cover and let the flavors blend in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Cook bacon on a dry nonstick pan over medium heat until crispy (or to the desired liking). Set aside paper towels to drain the excess fat.
- Once ready to serve, add all remaining ingredients (potatoes, red onion, bacon, cheese, cucumbers go last) to the bowl with salad dressing. Gently toss to combine and let chill and flavors blend in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. Serve with freshly chopped parsley, green onions, and more crispy bacon on top.
Notes
- Potatoes - red potatoes, purple potatoes, baby potatoes, fingerling potatoes, new potatoes, Yukon gold potatoes (all-purpose potatoes with medium starch content which makes them a safe option here!) are all great choices for the potato salad. These potatoes are called ''Waxy potatoes'' and are good for boiling because they hold their shape well, and their firm yet creamy texture makes perfect potato salads!
- Creamy dressing - I always use a combination of both Mayonnaise and sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt) - in salads as this gives the best flavor. For a thicker and heavier creamy sauce swap the amounts and use more mayonnaise than sour cream instead. Alternatively, you can use store-bought ranch dressing instead. You may need to add more sour cream in this case if it feels too salty or simply overpowering.
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