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 Tater Salad
Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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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Ingredients
- 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
Instructions
- 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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Ok, this is just a genius idea! I would never think to use frozen hash brown taters..
Is it too early to make some?
-Lindsay and the wonder twins.
hey! Did I get first comment? With your growing fanbase, it seems I’m always like #15 or 30 on the comments. Wow! *giggles*
You DID get first girl! ~laughs~
You know it is always a great day when I get to see your face pop up!!
Gratefully,
Christy
ALL RIGHT, NOW!! YOU GIRLS ARE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME ONLINE.
~laughs~ I agree wholeheartedly! No relief in sight though!
oh that looks so delicious and easy!! I will have to give that a try. Thanks!
Thank YOU for reading and taking the time to comment!!!!
Gratefully,
Christy
Mmmm that looks so good. I think I’ll make some tonight! Thank you for all the great recipies. They are always a hit in my house
Oh you are so sweet, Charlotte!!!
I am truly honored to have even a small spot in your home!!
Gratefully,
Christy
Oh my gosh, this could not have come at a better time!
I can’t wait to share this with my family. But, I’m going to have to add extra cut-up gherkins.
Thats the cool thing, you can just make it totally your own. I bet your family knows how lucky they are to have you cook for them, too!
Gratefully,
Christy
never heard of cheese in potato salad before! Sounds good, I am cooking for my picky dad this week and he will be getting some of this!!
Megan
Oh it blends in so good with the bacon! But feel free to leave it out if you like, of course!
Gratefully,
Christy
OOO… I never thought about using frozen potatoes! My potato salad is already so quick and easy, this will make it super fast and easy!
~sings~ Boom boom! Ain’t it great to be lazy? Boom boom! Ain’t it great to be lazy!
~giggles~
Course we’re not really lazy but its fun to pretend we have time to be!
Gratefully,
Christy
One of the first things I ever read here was when you said “it’s not being lazy, it’s being efficient”.
Truer words…
Wow…Christy does it again! Another amazing and super duper easy recipe! I never thought of using froze taters either! Great idea! Thanks Christy!
Same here….never thought about using frozen potatoes!
This does sound really yummy!! If a recipe calls for cooked and crumbled bacon I use the kind that’s for salad in the little bags. That way it’s cooked already and saves even more time. Now if we could just figure out how to get the eggs done faster. lol
I often boil eggs and keep them pre-cooked in the fridge. Theya make a great snack for weight watching, a quick egg salad or tuna sald sandwich, sliced in your lettuce salads or devile deggs when you just need a couple . Just be sur eto keep the boile dand raw ones in separate containers to avoid surprises.
If you boil the eggs in advance you can add a couple of drops of food coloring that will help ‘mark’ the boiled eggs from the raw eggs in the frig.
Holy cow that’s a GREAT idea!!! And the food coloring thing is genius!!!! I always have boiled my eggs as I need them- but no more!!!!!!!
THANKS!!!!!
And I always wondered about using frozen hash brown taters- but I’m always in a hurry and have never had the time to try it out.
Now I KNOW!!!!!
…..Heres a tip to keep those boiled and raw eggs from getting mixed up!
If you have any doubt about whether an egg is boiled or not, just lay it on the counter and try to spin it on its side. Boiled eggs will spin like a top, raw eggs will only spin maybe a full turn.
Try it
BT
You need the Nordic Ware Microwave Egg Cooker ($9.25 from Amazon, but also may be available at Target)! You can cook 4 hard-boiled eggs in the microwave in 10 minutes and they are perfect, yolks centered, and you’d better hold on tight cause they slip right out of their shells!
Wonder what this would taste like with some sour cream mixed in??? Almost like loaded baked potato salad?
From one Bacon lover to another, AMEN to adding it to this fast, simple and all-ingredients-on-hand ‘Tater Salad. I know your Mama is smiling really big right now with your creativity.
~holds hand to ear to listen~ Hear that Christy? Folks in their kitchens all across America clapping to yet another great solution for quick and easy recipes. Thank you. XOXOX T.
Yum… that looks good. Reminds me of funeral potatoes.
I’ll have to give this one a try.
I just hate peeling potatoes.
What are funeral potatoes?
I adore potatoes but am allergic to mustard… anyone got a recipe that is mustard free? pretty please?
Just leave the mustard out hun…not as tangy as with it- but it’s still slap-your-granny good!!!
hummm. how did I miss that?!? thank you VERY much sunny! I think it may be past my nap time… ^_^
instead of the mustard, you could add a tbsp of cider vinegar or red wine vinegar – that’ll put the tang back in there
And I’d definitely want a second helping!!
I hav enever tried cheese in potato salad but bacon and cheese are always a winning combination. When I need potato salad in a hurry I bake my potatoes in the microwave. I run them under cold water just long enough that my neighbors don’t think I am playing the hot potato game all by myself and then chop them unpeeled. I also add chopped onion and celery to potato salad I like still warm potato salad and I eat the skin on baked potaoes too so I don’t mind them. I know many people just scoop out the middle of a baked potato but the skin contains the vitamins.If I am making a prettier batch I ould peel th epotaotes but actually I think the skins add flavor.
Awesome!!! I never would have thought to use frozen hash browns either! I was making potato salad once for a church potluck, and I overcooked the potatoes a bit. They got too mushy and mashed potato-like as I added everything in, and I ended up adding some canned, cubed potatoes from the pantry. It worked in a pinch, and my hubby still tells friends about my “mashed potato salad”, and how good it turned out!
I will definitely try cheese and bacon in the future, as both are loved in my house. And I also use the prepackaged real bacon bits that are sold in bags or jars at the store. Another good time saver.
Our School lunchroom used mashed(cream) potatoes to potato salad. Just added boiled egg, salad pickles and mayo. I do this if I have leftover creamed potatoes.
*to make potato salad.
That looks really delicious and how clever to use the frozen taters. I’d have to add a little onion, though.
But you are going to HAVE to find out the rest of the story about guests who demand potato salad. That is like to keep me up at night wondering.
This is just how I make our potato salad except I use dill pickle relish an sometimes o’brien potatoes if I’m feelin’ sassy.
Hash browns are a quick start to potato soup too! That’s our go-to dish when someone is sick at our house. My 6 year old calls it sickpotato soup. Also delish with bacon…(if you aren’t the sick person.)
Oh my goodness! I swear you are reading my mind before every post!! I have been hankering for potato salad, but I don’t have any potatoes! I am so praying to the good Lord above that Walmart in the midwest sells southern style hash browns!
My husband and son are at Cub Scouts Day Camp and I know they are going to love this potato salad when they get home!
Thanks Christy . . . hope you didn’t pick up an accent when you visited New York! Glad you had a great time.
Wow, I never even thought of that! I’m definitely going to use this recipe when I get the hunger for potato salad and I don’t want to spend all the time using whole potatoes. Thanks, Christy! <3
what a great idea… I will have to start my eggs earlier, since I always boiled them with my taters… and they were always cooked perfect and never green.. hate green boiled eggs.
I love your emails but you make me hungry every time I read them.. going to have to save them for after supper reading. LOL.
thanks for all the good ideas!!
Boiling the eggs with the potatoes is a good idea too!
I would have never thought about boiling the eggs with the potatoes! Thanks for a GREAT tip!
I absolutely LOVE the idea of using the frozen hash browns! We love potato salad, but I hardly ever make it because I hate dealing with the potatoes!! I always add cooked, crumbled bacon to my potato salad (when I DO make it), though. Then, I saute a handful or so of chopped onions in the bacon drippings, pat with paper towels to absorb the grease, and then stir them in. So YUMMY!! And I want to thank Bobbie (above comment) for the hint of adding a bit of food coloring when hard-boiling eggs to have on hand in the fridge; that is a great suggestion!
Thanks for the potato salad recipe!! Honestly I am not a fan of potato salad, my mom always makes it with onions & celery which ok I dislike both lol. So this is awesome because it has neither! I’m definitely going to give this a try this weekend!
I BOIL MY EGGS IN THE POT WITH MY POTATOES….WORKS WELL WHEN BOILING REG. POTATOES….COULD MAKE WORK HERE TOO!
Hey Girl, Just love your humor do you ever get into trouble with some of your sayings I know I sure do.
Just a thought to make this quicker and keep the bacon in it, they have the already cooked thin very crispy bacon that could be kept on hand just for this time if you can keep the kiddos out of it for breakfast. Crumbles very nicely as well.
Keep up the good work you life my spirits for the day.
I have been using frozen potatoes for a while. I even like the shredded ones. There is an Amish place here called The Cheese Shop that makes the BEST potato salad I’ve ever eaten. They used shredded potatoes, vinegar, majo, sugar, sweet pickle, and egg.
I’ve NEVER heard of putting cheese in potato salad – and I am a Cheese-a-holic from way back. I’m really going to have to try this! Also, I use my microwave egg poacher to do “hard boiled eggs” to chop for potato salad. It’s fast and EASY!
Christy – getting your email in my mailbox is the highlight of my day. (Just wanted you to know that!) I am a “displaced” GRITS and reading your recipes just feels like home to me. Love the idea for a quick potato salad. Gonna try it 4th of July weekend!
Anything to make cooking easier.. I’m a fan of! Thank ya Christy Lou!
I’ll have to remember the hashbrowns for the next time I need a quick potato salad just for us. Normally while boiling my potatoes I go ahead and mix my mayo, mustard, dill relish and onions and let that be sitting in the fridge to stay cold. Then as soon as potatoes are tender drain and add and in an hour or so we are ready. Will have to try some bacon in the next round too!
Lora, I was trying to decide whether or not to comment on this, but decided to because it’s a matter of food safety. When you finish boiling your potatoes, please rinse them under cold water until they’re chilly, drain, then add your dressing. I learned in a cooking class and a food safety handling class that since cooked potatoes go bad so fast (because they’re really low in acid), adding mayo (which acts as an insulator) to hot potatoes and then sticking them in the fridge really reduces how long your potato salad is good for. When you hear about people getting food poisoning from potato salad, it’s not really from the mayo (assuming you use jarred mayo from the store and don’t make your own from raw eggs), it’s from the potatoes. Also an advantage to rinsing the potatoes under cold water is that the salad is pretty much ready to eat right away since everything’s already cold
I like your idea with the hash brown potatoes. Just want to tell you last night I made a london broil with the marinade recipe you sent out a couple of days ago. It was a big hit. They didn’t want me to throw out the marinade so I boiled it and they added extra to their meat. Excellent recipe.
Wow that really sounds good, never thought of using frozen hash browns. “Smarty Pants” (just had to say that, hadn’t heard that expression it years). I have used instant mashed potatoes lots of times to make hurry up potato salad. If I have a left over baked potato all the better to add for a little texture, but most of the time if I have time I just boil up one potato and add it to the instant along with a nuked egg or 2. I always keep a bag of real bacon bits on hand. I buy them at Sams Club or Costco. That is as much of a staple around my house as self rising flour.
I’m definitely going to try this next time I go to the store. I make ‘tater salad weekly during the summer months, it’s my hubby’s favorite and goes with anything. Thanks for the short cut. I would have never thought of the frozen hash browns and I’ve been married and cooking for 52 years!
O’brien potatoes cooked in their bag in the microwave works wonders. They already have onions and peppers added. Add your other ingredients.
You amaze me with all the “fast and furious” recipes, you know I will be “thieving” this one!!
Your mama story belongs in the Twiligh Zone…..they have to be aliens wanting ‘tater salad at midnight!!!!!
I am going to break my own rule of trying a new recipe for potato salad ’cause of course I thing mine is best!~!
In Canada Eh? we have Miracle Whip and it has a wonderful tang that mayo does not; I do use the mustard and eggs, and relish if I have it in mine. I use that type of colander as it’s easiest to clean:o)’
P.S. How do I get a pic on my posts?
throws apron up in the air woo hooo…lightbulb tater moment going on up in here! Quickly puts this recipe on my menu for Fathers Day…thank ya Christy! I’m going to add jus a wee bit of hot sauce and paprika… EUREKA!!!!
Oh, now, that IS easy. Great idea for any potato salad recipe. I think I might want to stock up on some frozen hash browns.
I like the quickness of this recipe. If you don’t have time to boil and peel eggs, scramble them and cook them in the microwave. I then take a meat fork and sort of chop them up. Once it is in the salad no one will know!!!!
My hubby was just wanting potato salad and here it is!!!!
GREAT idea! I would’ve never thought of using frozen hash browns…. AWESOME! Can’t wait to make it. Thanks Christy!
I grew up in South Alabama eating my mama’s warm potato salad made with mashed potatoes and no mustard. It’s still my family’s favorite way to eat potato salad, but most people prefer the chunk potatoes and mustard, chilled. Finally, a quick way to please my company! I have tried the canned diced potatoes, but I didn’t like the way they turned out…this sounds perfect. I’m thinking if you sat the colander full of cooked potatoes in a sinkful of ice & water for a bit, it would cool the potatoes quickly. Thanks so much, Christy!
Awesome, I going to try this for sure. Pics are great also.
Awesome! I am going to HAVE to try this! (I don’t think I’ve ever made potato salad, even though I have my mom’s recipe and love it! *hanging head in shame* ) I really like any quick & easy recipe!
Christy, that was sheer genius! We will use this recipe over and over. You’ve heard of “Parrot Heads”, well our family are “Tater Heads” because we’ve never seen a tater dish that we didn’t like. Thanks for this easy recipe!
What a great idea!! I don’t like potato salad with big chunks of potato and I’m too lazy to cut up the potatoes this small so this is the perfect solution. I’m heading to the grocery store in a few minutes and am going to pick up the ingredients and make it tonight for dinner tomorrow.
I love your site and all of your yummy, good old fashioned southern recipes. Can’t wait to get your book
Potato salad without ONIONS???????? NEVER.
Lol. I’m sorry Miss Betty! My mama hates raw onions and even though I love ‘em, I left them out for her.
Which is why its so cook that you can just make this recipe your own.
Dear Christy-
Your Mama doesn’t even like Vidalia’s or Maui’s, or Texas 1015s?
(Mild onions like these are perfect for potato salads, and I usually use these varieties of onion, instead of the standard brown ones in the red mesh bags.)
Another winner of a recipe! I have a potluck this coming Saturday, and was wondering what to take.
Thank you for all you do for us!
Try adding chopped green onions, blades and all! They’re great and the color’s pretty. (Oh, and speaking of color, a small jar of pimentoes tossed in is tasty, too!).
Thanks, Christy, gotta make this one soon. I can eat tater salad for breakfast!
Gosh, can ya make supper any easier than this, just get a rotisserie chicken, make a batch of this, and BOOM!! Happy family! Of course I would have to put some onion in mine (it aint tater salad without the onion)
Now Robert … since everything else in it is cooked, do you think you’d sautee those onions first? Or put ‘em in raw? I can’t decide, but I AM gonna make this recipe for a quick dinner with a rotisserie chicken this weekend! Thanks for the suggestion!
I like my onions in my tater salad raw, the crunch and that fresh twang of the onions is what makes it
I wouldn’t have ever thought to use has browns either for potato salad. Thinking outside the box is genious! I would add celery and onions also.
I’m sure I could find those frozen hash browns at a Super Walmart, but what exactly makes them Southern? I live in NJ lol. This recipe sounds great, and I think I may sneak it to my dear boyfriend who says, “Potato salad has to melt in your mouth”. Can you tell me (for Mr. Fussbudge’s sake) what the consistency ends up being? i.e. thicker or thinner? I’d leave the bacon in for me, but would make it without for him. And the cheese? Yeah!
Yay for potato salad without celery (blech) and WITH cheese (mmm). Everything is better with cheese. I’ve never liked potato salad, you might just win me over with this one too =0)
~My ma in law is famous for her tater salad…so I always have to put a dab on my plate to be polite ~grin~
Hey this sounds great, I wonder though to make it even quicker if you could used canned potatoes? I see at our Walmart they now have their brand of potatoes in diced. Do you think they would turn mushy when mixing? Just a thought….
When I tried the canned, they did turn mushy. And they tasted…bland. Hope this helps.
Sounds delicious..~adding frozen hash browns to my shopping list~…I just love your Mama’s thoughts about her overnight guests and their need for potato salad!!
Bountiful Blessings!