Loaded Baked Potato Salad
If you ask me, no backyard BBQ or church potluck is complete without a good potato salad on the table. But y’all, let me tell you, this isn’t your regular potato salad. This is a delicious Loaded Baked Potato Salad that’s creamy, cheesy, and full of all the favorite toppings that make a baked potato so good. We’re talking crispy bacon, sharp cheddar cheese, boiled eggs, sweet pickle relish, and a creamy dressing that pulls it all together.
And if you’re looking for other potato salad recipes, you must try my German potato salad and mashed potato salad!
The great thing about this version? Instead of peeling and chopping pounds of potatoes, I take a little shortcut with frozen hash browns. It cuts the cooking time way down, but the end result tastes every bit as comforting as a batch made from scratch. It’s hearty, it’s easy, and if it’s your first time trying it this way, I think you’ll be hooked.
Before You Get Started
- Choose your potato style. Frozen hash browns are my shortcut here, but you can swap in red potatoes, russet potatoes, Yukon Golds, or even baby potatoes if you’d rather boil your own. Just cut into bite-sized pieces and cook until fork-tender.
- Don’t overcook. Boil the hash browns for just 2–3 minutes. You’re looking for tender potatoes, not mush.
- Mix while warm. Adding cheese to the warm potatoes helps it melt slightly into the potato mixture, making the whole salad extra creamy.
- Chill before serving. Like any good potato salad, this one needs a couple of hours in the fridge for the flavors to come together. Cold potato salad always tastes better the next day.
- Personal preference. Feel free to add favorite toppings like green onions, fresh chives, or even a little creamy sour cream if that’s your style.
Recipe Ingredients
- 1 (32-ounce) package frozen Southern hash browns
- 3 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
- 5 bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or sharp cheddar cheese for more bite)
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ⅓ cup sweet pickle relish or diced sweet pickles
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Salad
1. Cook the Potatoes
Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 2–3 minutes, until just fork-tender. Drain well in a colander. Tip: Don’t boil the potatoes too long! 2 to 3 minutes is plenty. You want them tender but not falling apart, since they’ll soak up dressing as they chill.
2. Mix the Base
Transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in cheddar cheese so it melts a little into the potato mixture. Add mayonnaise, mustard, and relish, stirring until combined.
3. Add the Good Stuff
Stir in eggs, crispy bacon, salt, and black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to your liking.
4. Chill
Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. The flavors deepen as it rests, so the next day it tastes even better.
Variations
- Garnish: Add chopped green onion or freshly chopped chives.
- Mustard: Use whatever mustard you have on hand. Yellow mustard, honey mustard, and Dijon mustard would all work.
- Make it creamy: For extra creaminess, add 3/4 cup of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
- Bacon swap: Substitute the bacon for turkey bacon.
- Relish swap: If you’re not a fan of sweet relish, try dill relish, chopped dill pickles, or even chopped bread-and-butter pickles for a tangier bite.
- Extra tang: Add extra tang with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice.
- Cheese swap: Substitute the cheddar cheese for sharp cheddar cheese or something completely different like crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese.
- Add heat: Add a touch of heat with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
- Add crunch: Add extra crunch with a cup of chopped celery.
Storage
- Fridge: Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: Potato salad doesn’t freeze well, as the creamy dressing separates. Stick to fridge storage for best results.
- Make-ahead tip: 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!
Recipe FAQs
Can I use fresh potatoes instead of frozen hash browns?
Yes, just peel and cube russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, then boil until fork-tender. The frozen hash browns are simply a time-saver.
Can you make loaded baked potato salad ahead of time?
Absolutely! This potato salad will last in the fridge for up to 5 days, so you can make it multiple days in advance and let those flavors marry together in the fridge.
What do you serve with loaded potato salad?
Homemade potato salad can easily be the start of the show as a side dish, so I recommend serving it with a more simple main meal, such as:
- Grilled Chicken Tenders (No Grill Needed)
- Chicken Planks (Like Chicken Fingers, Only Better)
- Crock Pot Beef Ribs
- Butter Roasted Chicken Recipe
- 3-Ingredient Ritz Cracker Chicken
- Maple Glazed Pork Chops
- Slow-Roasted Beef Brisket in the Oven
Check out these other potato recipes:
- Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes (Freezer Friendly)
- 2 Ways With Broasted Potatoes
- Sweet Potato Skins With Candied Bacon and a Spicy Basil Cream Sauce
- Fried Potatoes Recipe
- Loaded Potato Soup Recipe
- Loaded Sweet Potatoes With Marshmallows
Ingredients
- 1 32-ounce package frozen Southern hash browns
- 3 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
- 5 bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish or diced sweet pickles
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place cubed hash browns in a 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 colander.1 32-ounce package frozen Southern hash browns
- Place in a large bowl and stir in the cheese. Add mayo, mustard, and relish, and stir again. Add in bacon, eggs, salt, and pepper. Stir.3 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped, 5 bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, 1/3 cup sweet pickle relish or diced sweet pickles, salt and pepper to taste
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
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.
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!!
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?
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.
Wonder what this would taste like with some sour cream mixed in??? Almost like loaded baked potato salad?
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!
Same here….never thought about using frozen potatoes!