loaded baked potato salad recipe

you know that feeling when you get back from vacation and your only objective the next morning is to find underwear that doesn’t feel tight? like everything on me is tight right now. after a week of driving around banff, canada and wine country, california i’m going to have to be off of bread for a while. but potatoes are vegetables and i feel perfectly find writing about such things. i made this loaded baked potato salad from a few things i picked up at the farmers market the other week.

i love the teeny tiny new potatoes from the vendor at the holland farmers market that sells crates of vegetables 4/$10. i usually stock up on a few of these potatoes because they are so easy to cook with. they don’t need to be peeled or sliced to cook just washed. plus they look really fun mixed into a salad or pan fried in some butter. wait, i’m supposed to be vacation detoxing (forget i said butter)

i was having my entire family over for sunday dinner so i mixed up some of the larger potatoes cut in half and then a container of these small ones. roast them in olive oil, salt and pepper for 30 minutes or so and let them cool. i actually did this the night before so the day of the party i just had to assemble.

i also prepped all the bacon and sliced green onions so when it was game time i just had to make the dressing and toss it into the bowl.

here is what you will need for this salad. (because it has dressing i think that is why we get to call it a salad).

1 lb of bacon, cooked and chopped
16 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
5 lbs of potatoes roasted*
1/2 cup of mayonnaise
1/2 cup of ranch dressing
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper for seasoning.

*to roast the potatoes toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. place on a lined baking sheet and cook 20-30 minutes at 375F. the size of the potato will determine cooking time. you can also halve them if they are too large. once cool, chop to bite size if you are not using the small sizes.

in a serving bowl toss together the potatoes, bacon (save some for topping), cheese (save some for topping) and half of the green onions. set aside

whisk together mayonnaise, ranch dressing, sour cream and dijon mustard. season with salt and pepper.

gently toss together the dressing into the potato mixture until incorporated. best if chilled for an hour or so. lasts up to 2 days.

this recipes dressing was adapted from taste of home.

want more potatoes? how about some homemade potato chips?