Shortcut Tater Salad & Weird Mamas
Don’t go telling Mama I said this but she has kind of a weird life. You see, Mama has a lot of drop ins. Now that isn’t weird in and of itself but when I tell you a little more about what those drop-ins demand here in a minute you’ll see more what I mean.
To let you in on how my Mama works a little more, I want to tell you about a little family dinner we had at Mama’s house last night. For this little family dinner my mother served:
Fresh fried corn, homemade mac and cheese, cornbread, mashed potatoes, pintos, slaw, meatloaf, kraut and weenies, garden tomatoes, pickles, banana pudding, and fresh cantaloupe.
This was just for family so you can imagine what she’d make if she knew company was coming. But the reason I say she’s weird (other than the fact that a sane and normal person couldn’t have possibly produced me) is because of a conversation we had a few years back “Christy, I need you to come up with a quicker way for me to make potato salad. I’m always having overnight guests show up at the last minute needing potato salad with dinner”
~scratches head and thinks on this~
I have people show up a lot at my house too, but most of my friends know that I’m not real big on the SURPRISE visits (I need at least ten minutes to do a mad dash and hide the laundry pile), but I can’t say I’ve ever had a hoard of folks just show up at my door demanding a bed for the night and potato salad.
I’m not about to question Mama though. I just watch, learn, and know that someday she’ll pass the torch of hosting the we-need-potato-salad-now folks to me. With that in mind, I came up with a much quicker way to pull it together that I’m gonna bring you today. The time you save will surely help you move the laundry pile and load the dishwasher!
The great thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to use this recipe. ~grins~ I just love it when I can use those looped around sentences with y’all. What I mean is that you can use the shortcut and then just make your potato salad how you normally do. Now if you’d like to make it the way I do, I’m gonna show you how. This is a great potato salad that has been known to win over non-potato salad people as well.
How many times have I said Potato salad so far? ~stops to count~ Seven. Well now, I bet we can top that.
Potato Salad, Potato Salad, Potato Salad, Potato Salad! Now lets make it!
You’ll need: Southern Style Hash Browns*, Crisp cooked bacon, chopped boiled eggs, cheese, sweet pickle relish, mayo, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
Now if you REALLY wanna make it in a hurry, leave out the bacon and boiled eggs or make them the day ahead of time. But this whole recipe is assuming you’re pressed for time so that kinda defeats the point. Bacon and boiled eggs are really good in it though!
I am of the firm opinion that there is no human condition, situation, or recipe which is not immediately improved with the addition of bacon.
Place cubed hash browns in large pot and cover with water.
Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Once potatoes reach a boil, boil them for two to three minutes.
Drain in a colander.
I always wanna spell colander wrong. Colander, Necessary, and Embarrassment are words that taunt me daily in my zeal to misspell them!
My mother in law gave me this colander a few years ago and I just love this thing.
Kitchen equipment makes me happy
Place cooked potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
These bowls are Pyrex (of course) and the pattern is called “New Dot”. I think they’re from the seventies but have not had enough coffee to motivate myself to go look it up to be sure so sixties, seventies…one of those is surely the answer!
Dump in your cheese over your warm potatoes
and give that a little stir.
Now add relish, mustard, and mayo
and give another little stir.
Add in bacon and eggs
and salt and pepper to taste
Give another little stir.
Cover and refrigerate a few hours or overnight before serving.
Shortcut Potato Salad
- 32 ounce package frozen Southern style hash browns (the little cubed ones)
- 3 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
- 5 strips bacon, cooked crispy and crumpled
- 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1⁄2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1⁄3 cup sweet relish or diced sweet pickles
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Place cubed hash browns in large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium high heat.
Once potatoes reach a boil, boil them for two to three minutes and then drain in a collander. Place in large mixing bowl and stir in cheese. Add mayo, mustard, and relish and stir again. Add in bacon, eggs, and salt and pepper. Stir. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.
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In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.
Submitted by Kolene. Submit your quote here.
Posted by Christy Jordan
on Jun 16 2010. Filed under Side Dishes.
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This looks so good. Can’t wait to get the ingredients and try it. I love potato salad but hate peeling and dicing.
I can honestly say that I have never eaten Potato Salad with cheese. But that is about to change. My next party will be a House Party that I hosting – featuring Kraft Bull’s Eye Bold BBQ Sauce. Right next to that platter of various grilled meats will be the heaping Pyrex bowl of Christy Jordan’s Speedy Potato Salad. I have made Potato Salad with canned potatoes before but not with cheese and/or bacon. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing!
How yummers does this sound??!!
My husband’s grandmother made the BEST potato salad and I used to comment on how her potatoes were small perfect squares. I was always amazed at how she cut them so perfect, BUT after seeing this post…. I would bet the farm that she used taters like your receipe. What an excellent idea!!!!!!!! I may try this for father’s day lunch. I guess grannies can be a tad bit sneaky too with their special receipes.
Wow! Can’t wait to try this one!! I love potato salad! My husband didn’t like onions either so I put some dried onions into the dressing and after it sat awhile, he couldn’t find them and didn’t know the difference – and I still got my onion! My aunt makes mashed potato salad with the chopped eggs, etc., puts it in a loaf pan and slices it to serve. Uses up those leftover mashed potatoes and is pretty darned good, too!!!
A packing is winging its way to you – went in the mail today! Let me know when it arrives, ok?
Thanks Christy…this is so great using hashbrowns, love onions in mine.
This is a fantastic idea! Way to go, Christy
I think I’ll have to make some potato salad here soon. I love that your base recipe is pretty much the same as mine- I put in more like 8 eggs because my fiance prefers for his potato salad to resemble egg salad (which he would just eat with a fork if given the opportunity). Also, last summer I figured out that using a combination of sour cream and mayo results in super creamy and wonderful potato salad. Even light mayo and light sour cream are good 
I want to try making the dressing with light mayo and fat free Greek yogurt. May sound gross, but Greek yogurt is so thick and not as tart as normal yogurt (we’ve actually been using it in place of sour cream on tacos and the like, and I use it in dips), so I think it would be good in potato salad. If you sprinkle a little paprika on top of the finished potato salad, you can call it “Deviled Potato Salad” since it’s pretty much deviled eggs plus taters!
I like to make “Deviled Potato Salad” too! I like to take all the yolks and mash them up with the mayo like you do when you make deviled eggs…So yummy!
I have thought about using frozen potatoes before, but was worried they might get mushy??
Umm, sounds so good and so easy. I like to eat my potato salad warm, so this would be so easy to do. Thank you again for such an easy recipe. Being a mom of three, it’s always appreciated when you bring to us quick, easy, delicious recipes. Thank you so much!!
Glad to know about the “Southern Style” hash browns. I’ve seen cooking shows that said you could pick up diced potatoes in your produce aisle. Well in downtown Moulton, we don’t have anything diced or pre-prepared in the produce aisle. I’ll be trying this for the 4th picnic.
Christy, it sounds great. I’m wondering how it would taste to lightly fry the hashbrowns in coconut oil first. It would give it a different taste, for sure. I’m going to try it both ways. Thanks so much for the frozen potatoes idea.
So far, I am seeing yellow and brown. How about a little color and add delicious green garden onions? Makes it pretty and delicious. Green peppers give it color and adds a totally different flavor…maybe even some fresh cut-up tomatoes – I don’t know…never tried tomatoes.
I’m thinking using cream cheese instead of shredded will make the sauce really creamy and good. It’s better for us also…going to make one this weekend….going to make about three kinds to give all of them a try…some with…some without…some fried…some not…experiment, experiment, experiment, using some of these neat suggestions from all of you.
Hey this is the potoato salad my mama makes, I’ve never had it anywhere else. She adds pickle juice to the “dressing” of mayo and mustard but otherwise it’s the same! Great idea to use hashbrowns. I’ll make this for her soon!
Making this today to go with BLT sandwiches tonight! Easy supper!!
Aw, my late momma had that blue dot bowl (don’t know what happened to the other two LOL). Every chocolate chip cookie my family and I ever ate when I was growing up had been mixed up in that bowl!
Thanks for the great idea about the potatoes, will make some for my potato-salad-loving 10-year-old to carb-load on before her ballet rehearsal tonight!
I can use easy fast yummy food dish such as this potato salad — genius idea indeed to use hashbrowns potatos — I use these potatos when I fix a cheese potato oven cassarole dish but never thought to use them for potatos salad nor cheese either in potato salad. I put Heinz 57 sauce insted of yellow mustard (what do you think of that?) and also I change off and on with either dill or sweet relish. I always put eggs and onions but not often enough do I put bacon in – gotta keep it in mind thanks for reminding me — Wink — have a super day!
God Bless your Mama! Tell her I said THANK YOU!!! My hubby loves tater Salad and i have wished for a faster way to make it. I always have these taters handy.This will make is so much easier for me….and can’t wait to try it with cheese!
Girl….do you know how much you are appreciated? Thank you for all your hard work.
Marie, your comment made me feel so good! Thank you! I’m gonna head to bed on this note. Can’t think of a better way to end my day!
Gratefully
Christy
I made this potato salad yesterday and I have had many wonderful comments from my family. I do make my dressing for the pototo salad a little different. I use part Marzetta Slaw Dressing, part mayo and a few squirts of mustard. The Marzetta gives it a little twang.
Brenda, I love that beautiful pic of you!! Thank you for the tip, I’m gonna pass that on to my mama!!
What a great idea. I usually avoid potato salad because it seems like a lot of work.
I hope to try this recipe tonight. My grandmother used bacon in her potato salad recipe too, and I love it! And I just have to say I love your website. We must be separated at birth, girl
This comment is long after you posted this – but had to tell you – I made your potato salad today and it is a hit — thanks so much for sharing – I do mean it — greatly!
I made this yesterday it was very fast and GOOD. I added celery and onions. I have never had potatoe salad with cheese and bacon.Try it Thanks so much for sharing.
Absolutely genius idea…I am going to keep those potatoes in the freezer this summer. And, yes, bacon makes everything better
Never thought of using frozen taters before, sure would cut the prep time way down lol….I make 5 pounds at a time. Usually using red taters and leaving the skin on. Never used cheese and bacon either, but will have to try it. Family will have coronaries lol, changing up my mama’s recipe lol. I changed hers too to suit my taste when I got out on my own. I use 1 medium chopped onion in mine. Also use 1 jar of Dill Relish instead of the sweet relish. To me, tater salad is just not suppose to have a sweet taste. I also use a dozen hard boiled eggs. Thanks for another great recipe and new idea on an old recipe lady!! Huggers~Laurie
I have this recipe and it says you can microwave the hash browns. In a bowl, lightly covered, microwave for 3 minutes, stir, cover and microwave for another 3 minutes or till tender. Easier than boiling the water and waiting for it to come to a boil. Good idea?
Linda
MMMMMMM I could make meals out of just potato salad alone…love it love it love it !!!!! Can’t wait to try this recipe !!!
Christy tell Mama she has just saved my life when it comes to making tater salad, and using hasbrown tater, (who would have thought-:). I love tater salad but I don’t make it often because I hate spending the time peeling and cubing taters. But I plan to have my fill with this recipe. I will get a chance this Sat. to share Mama’s special salad with friends, I will be taking it to a going away dinner. I can’t wait to make it. Tell Mama “thanks”. Christy I feel so blessed to be able to share in Southern Plates, thank you for allowing God to use you to bless other.