Best Ever Potato Salad
This BEST EVER Potato Salad (with bacon!) is straight from grandma’s recipe box! It is easy, creamy, and loaded with bacon, and a secret ingredient in the dressing puts it over the top. It converted me to being a potato salad lover! Please don't go through the entire summer without making this at least once!
Why You’ll Love This Potato Salad with Bacon
I 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 I am so happy to share the recipe with you!
This recipe comes from a friend's grandmother, and on the recipe card she gave me it is titled "Best Ever Potato Salad". A bold statement and one that always gives me pause, but it is absolutely, 100% warranted in this case.
First, I tend to trust old family recipes over others; second, the grandma was confident enough to call it the best; and lastly, it has a secret ingredient that takes it over the top. Well-deserved!
Ingredients
This classic potato salad relies upon these basic ingredients:
- Red Potatoes – You can substitute Yukon gold potatoes; both hold their shape really well in potato salad.
- Bacon – Regular sliced bacon is perfect!
- Hard-Boiled Eggs – A classic potato salad add-in.
- Celery – For crunch and flavor!
- Onion – A small yellow onion; you can substitute a shallot.
- Mayonnaise – This is the base of the dressing. You can substitute all or part with either sour cream or plain Greek yogurt. These will both impart more of a tangy flavor, but will still work well here.
- Dijon Mustard – Adds a little bite to the dressing.
- Sugar – Classic granulated sugar for a little sweetness in the dressing.
Many potato salad recipes call for vinegar of some type in the dressing, but the Dijon mustard here does a great job of adding tang and acid and goes incredibly well with the creaminess of the mayonnaise and the sweetness of the sugar.
The Secret Ingredient that Makes This Potato Salad THE BEST
The bacon drippings!
Along with all of the great ingredients that give this salad a great depth of flavor and lots of texture, the dressing on this potato salad is what makes it insanely special.
After frying up the bacon, you save a couple of tablespoons of the bacon drippings and whisk in a modest amount of mayonnaise, some Dijon mustard, a bit of sugar, and a smidge of salt.
It is ah-mazing. The flavor is robust, not terribly mayonnaise-y (a huge bonus in my book), and a perfect accent to all the flavors and textures in the salad.
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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 perfect 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.
I have served this to people who claim to hate potato salad because of the mayonnaise factor. I 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 the best ever potato salad they've ever had.
If You Like This Potato Salad Recipe, Try These Summery Salads:
- Chinese Coleslaw
- Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Thai Peanut Cabbage Slaw
- Seven Layer Salad
- Broccoli Salad
Watch the Recipe Video:
If you make this potato salad recipe and love it, remember to stop back and give it a 5-star rating - it helps others find the recipe! ❤️️
Best Ever Potato Salad
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
Instructions
- Boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. (If you're not sure how to boil the potatoes, this is a good resource.) Drain the potatoes and set aside.
- 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.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
[photos by Ari of Well Seasoned]
My second time making this and I love it!! Everyone can’t get enough!
Growing up I never really liked potatoe salad. Everyone else around me liked it and as I got older I kept trying the odd taste at social events but still wasn’t a fan.
Thank to the Brown Eyed Baker I can join the potatoe salad lovers. BUT, this salad is the best and I am not the only potatoe salad fan to love this recipe.
I made a double batch and took it to a social event and had many compliments. So in return my compliments to the Brown Eyed Baker. THANK YOU!!
Thank you for wonderful recipes.
Have you used an Instant Pot? My wife makes a red skin potato salad similar to this and it is the best I have ever had.
Hi John, I still don’t have an Instant Pot! I keep wavering on pulling the trigger since I don’t know how much I would use it? And I have a couple slow cookers? Worth having both?
Greetings from Sweden! I am a regular visitor of your website and usually only look at the cake recipes, but I tried this salad at my summer party. Everyone loved it and thought that it was the most delicious potato salad ever! I changed nothing and even though there is mayo, I don’t mind….everything in moderation. :-) Thanks!!
I’m so thrilled to hear the potato salad was a big hit!
I made this and it was fantastic! … I skipped the sugar and cut back a bit on the salt, but the bacon drippings definitely put it over the top! I also cooked up an 8 Oz (or so) bag of Trader Joe’s English peas. .. Great addition. Whole grain mustard and lots of finely chopped cornichons. I had a red pepper, so I used that as well. It got raves from my family!! … Thanks for sharing!!
Intensely attractive option for those vegetarians who love to experiment with their usual salad!
Jackpot! Thank you for the wonderful recipes I found on your site this morning. I don’t have the exact recipe names in front of me…salted cookies with ground coffee in them, the best potato salad, no bake peanut butter chocolate cookies, Boston creme cupcakes. You gave me much to look forward to .
Just finished making this recipe with a couple of minor substitutions.. I used red, white and blue (purple) mini potatoes for the 4th of July Holiday. I used scallions in place of the onions and omitted the green peppers. I only used 2 eggs. The potato salad is fabulous even before chilling. I look forward to serving it tomorrow. Definitely an “old fashioned style”. Perfect for this holiday.
I made your Best Ever Potato Salad yesterday for Father’s Day dinner. It was the first time I made potato salad–my mom always made it for picnics and holidays. My husband and son-in-law loved it! I followed the recipe as is, it was easy to put together and they enjoyed it very much! Thank you for helping me add to my recipe collection, again!
Just made this morning to go with grilled Bratwurst this evening. Great recipe- will taste even better and refrigerating all day. Thanks!
This is by far the best potato salad, a little time consuming but well worth the time. Very flavorful. Whole family agreed this is the only potato salad for our family.
I am 50 and a good cook but have never made potato salad because I really don’t care for it. I only made this because when I asked what to bring to a party, this was the request. My husband loves all potato salad and we both loved this along with all the party guests who tried it. I definitely love this recipe. I made a few slight changes. I did not add any eggs, I added black pepper because I like it in everything, and I did not add the full amount of dressing. I made the dressing as the recipe called but then spooned it on until I had the right amount for us. I trippled the recipe and had a little over a cup of dressing left over which I saved for future use.
I made this last night….it is the best potato salad have ever made or tasted. Sooooooo yummy!
I micro waved red potatoes in batches for 5min
They were perfect!
This is seriously delicious! My husband (not a huge fan of potato salad ) had seconds. It’s creamy without an overbearing mayonnaise taste. Definitely has earned the spot of my go to ! Thanks for the wonderful recipe
This was very good! My guests loved it!
It looks very nice :)
When u refrigerate the salad wouldn’t the bacon drippings in the dressing congeal?
Nope, not at all!
I made this for a big event at out church today “Bike Blessing”. and it was a hit! But I started with 20 lbs. red potatoes, 3 dozen eggs and 3 lbs. bacon. I pretty well stayed with the recipe except I used green onions and a vidalia, used a red bell instead of green and added pimento, grated garlic, dill and siracha. Thanks for the recipe and I am sure I will be asked to make it again. and I am posting on fb for all those who asked for recipe today. God Bless!!
I should have added that this is quite a good recipe, without any modifications. Also, Vidalia onions are in season, and they add a pretty wonderful combination of sweet and peppery.
My prior comment about cooking bacon in 1″ cut pieces was simply a question about a technique I’ve never really understood.
What is the objective in trying to cook 12 0z (!) of bacon cut into 1″ pieces? That’s an almost impossible way to get evenly cooked bacon, and an almost guaranteed way to end up with a combination of burnt and raw pieces. I’ve seen this recommendation before, and I just don’t get it. Maybe you can provide the rationale.
I’ve made egg salad, tuna salad, potato salad, you name it and they all become watery when I add the chopped eggs. Is it the whites that are turning to water?
Hi Victoria, Hmmm I’ve not had that issue. As long as the eggs are cooked, they shouldn’t turn watery at all.
Sounds great but would be better if you skip the green pepper and use sweet pickles instead. My mother used candied dill strips.
Oh my God! I omitted the sugar, bell pepper and onion and it is still unbelievable.
Why add the sugar? Unless you make your own mayonnaise or get a particular brand (which I will not name because everyone should read labels) your store-bought mayo has sugar in it anyway. Even if your mayo has no sugar, I still don’t see the need for it in potato salad.
I want you to know how much I enjoy your recipes, pictures, and blog. I get quite a few emails with recipes to try but I have started to weed them out because I am getting waaaaay too many.
I won’t be deleting yours though….I get a kick out of reading your thoughts and comments.
You have made me think about having Sunday dinners at my house too!
Take care,
Debbie
I skipped the onions and green peppers and subbed green onions and everyone loved it! I’m still getting asked about the recipe!
I made this on Thursday. It is excellent. I am lucky there was enough for the weekend. My husband took it with his lunch and others managed to taste test it before the weekend. Good thing I doubled the recipe. I love salt but agree much less is needed if you are using bacon. I used 1/4 tsp salt. It is perfect. I also cooked the bacon in the oven as it is less messy. I scraped the bottom of the pan and used a turkey baster to remove the oil and bacon drippings. I definitely got the bacon drippings flavor. Thanks for such a great recipe.
Everyone really liked it
Made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious. Will definitely be my go-to potato salad recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Just made this & it is amazing! This is definitely on my “list” of sides for the summer! <3