We love making tasty side dishes to go with a main course! Sometimes sides are the best part of the meal. One of our favorite sides to make at home for summer BBQs is a bacon ranch potato salad. It’s one of the easiest potato salad recipes we’ve ever made and is always a major crow favorite, every summer! Not only is this tasty recipe a crowd favorite, but it eliminates the great debate of mustard or mayo potato salad. And also incorporates one of our favorite ranch dressing mixes with the savory flavors of potatoes and bacon.
While it does take a while to complete because you have to let the potatoes cool, this potato salad is the perfect make ahead recipe. If you’re anything like us, you don’t enjoy the crazy-hectic-madness that can happen on the day of a get together. We usually make this the night before we have people over and let it rest overnight. Major win-win because it’s one less thing to do on the day of AND you know it’s going to be nice and cold when served!
Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Potatoes (Red or White) Cut into bite-size pieces.
- 16 oz Sour Cream
- 1 oz Ranch dressing mix packet
- 1.5 cups Bacon Cooked and crumbled
- 2 cups cheddar cheese More cheese never hurts
- 2 bunches green onions Chopped
Instructions
- Turn oven to 400º
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add bite-size potatoes and cook to fork tender, 12-15 minutes depending on how many potatoes. Drain and set aside.
- While potatoes are cooking it’s time to cook the bacon. Lay the strips of bacon out on a cookie sheet and cook for about 25 minutes (depending on your oven). Switch bacon from bottom rack to top rack half way through cooking for optimal crispness.
- Once bacon is crisp, remove from oven and let cool on a plate with paper towels to soak up excess grease.
- Once bacon feels dry to the touch, crumble the strips in to small pieces.
- In a medium-large mixing bowl whisk together the sour cream and the ranch dressing packet until mixed thoroughly.
- Fold in the potatoes, ¾ of the bacon, ¾ of the cheese, most of the green onions and gently mix it all together.
- Place in fridge for about an hour to really let the potato salad settle and capture all of the flavors.
- Top the potato salad with the remaining bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions.
- Serve and enjoy!
This was the perfect, almost classic side dish to go with our peach pork ribs, summer succotash and fried okra for July 4th. This potato salad is an incredibly easy recipe that doesn’t actually require much cooking. We love starting this before anything else and letting it sit either while we work on the main course, especially if we’re making it the day we’re planning to serve it.
We couldn’t think of a better side for a holiday weekend get together. Or even as a side to go with a steak or chicken on a week night. It’s easy to make and is one of the best potato salad recipes we’ve made. Who doesn’t love bacon, ranch and potatoes all together? So delicious. Enjoy!
