Loaded Baked Potato Salad
This Loaded Baked Potato Salad ain’t your regular potato salad. It’s creamy, cheesy, and full of all the favorite toppings that make a loaded 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. Oh, and I’ve got a little shortcut to make it even easier!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Loaded Baked Potato Salad
- Main Ingredients: 32-ounce package frozen Southern hash browns, eggs, hard-boiled and chopped, bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled, shredded cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, yellow mustard, sweet pickle relish or diced sweet pickles, salt and pepper to taste
- Why You'll Love It: This Loaded Baked Potato Salad recipe is creamy, tangy, and packed with crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, eggs, and sweet relish. Made with a shortcut, it delivers all the flavor of a classic potato salad recipe with a whole lot less work.
The Easy, Cheesy Potato Salad You’ll Want to Make All Summer
If you ask me, no backyard BBQ or church potluck is complete without a good potato salad on the table. From my German potato salad to my mashed potato salad, you could say I enjoy veering away from the traditional every once in a while. This loaded baked potato salad is another fun twist on a classic, and it’s always a hit wherever I take it.
But the really 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.
Recipe Ingredients
- Frozen Southern hash browns
- Eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
- Bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled
- Shredded cheddar cheese (or sharp cheddar cheese for more bite)
- Mayonnaise
- Yellow mustard (honey mustard and Dijon mustard would all work)
- Sweet pickle relish (or diced sweet pickles)
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Variations to Try
- Garnish: Add chopped green onion or freshly chopped chives.
- Make it creamy: For extra creaminess, add ¾ cup of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
- Add crunch: Add a cup of chopped celery for extra crunch.
- Extra tang: A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice will do the trick.
- Add heat: Spice it up with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Salad
1. Cook the Potatoes
Start by placing your potatoes in a large pot and covering them with cold water. Bring it to a boil over medium heat and cook for just 2–3 minutes, until you can easily poke them with a fork.
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.
Once they’re done, drain them well in a colander.
2. Mix the Base
Now transfer potatoes to a large bowl. Stir in the cheddar cheese until it melts slightly into the potato mixture.
Then add your mayonnaise, mustard, and relish, stirring until combined.
3. Add the Good Stuff
Go ahead and stir in the eggs, crispy bacon, salt, and black pepper. Give it a taste and add more seasoning if needed – this is your salad, after all!
4. Chill
Pop it in the fridge, covered, for a few hours or overnight.
Trust me, the wait is worth it. The flavors meld together beautifully, and it tastes even better the next day!
My Top Tips for this Potato Salad
- 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.
Storage
Store leftover potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Note that potato salad doesn’t freeze well, as the creamy dressing tends to separate, so fridge storage is your best bet.
Loaded Baked Potato Salad FAQs
Yes, 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. The frozen hash browns are simply a time-saver.
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.
Homemade potato salad can easily be the start of the show as a side dish, so I recommend serving it with a simpler main meal, such as grilled chicken tenders, Crockpot beef ribs, maple-glazed pork chops, or slow-roasted beef brisket.
Made this recipe? You’re my kind of people! Leave a star rating and a comment below, so I know how it went. I read every single one!
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
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- ⅓ 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, 5 bacon strips, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, ½ cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, ⅓ cup sweet pickle relish, salt and pepper
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving.
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.
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~
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!
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.
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
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!
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