Loaded Baked Potato Salad
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With a sneaky shortcut, my quick and easy loaded baked potato salad recipe is so full of flavor, with crispy bacon, boiled egg, mayo, mustard, and sweet pickle relish.
I have my Mama to thank for inspiring this loaded baked potato salad recipe. You see, she asked me to come up with a quicker way to make potato salad because she was always having overnight guests show up last minute “needing potato salad with dinner.” This made me scratch my head because, you know, what guests show up demanding potato salad?! But I didn’t question my Mama and instead created this loaded baked potato salad… with a couple of sneaky shortcuts.
First, we’re not going to use boiled potatoes. Yes, really! Instead, my big shortcut is to use frozen Southern hash browns, which boil up so much faster. Then we mix these little cubed potatoes with so many deliciously flavorful ingredients and condiments, like crumbled bacon bits, chopped boiled egg, shredded cheddar cheese, sweet pickle relish, mayonnaise, and mustard. How tasty does that sound? Quick and easy loaded baked potato salad – sound good?
And if you’re looking for other potato salad recipes, you must try my German potato salad and mashed potato salad. Alright, let’s get mixin’!
Recipe Ingredients
- Southern hash browns (or any cubed hash browns)
- Crisp cooked bacon
- Chopped boiled eggs
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sweet pickle relish
- Mayonnaise
- Mustard
- Salt and black pepper to taste
How to Make Loaded Baked Potato Salad
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.
Drain potatoes in a colander.
Place cooked potatoes in a large bowl.
Dump your shredded cheese over your warm potatoes…
And give that a little stir.
Now add relish, mustard, and mayo to this …
And give another little stir.
Add in bacon and eggs…
And salt and pepper to taste.
Give another little stir.
Cover and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before serving.
Storage
Store leftover potato salad covered in plastic wrap or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Recipe Notes
- 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!
- Here are some variations to make this loaded baked potato salad work for you:
- Add chopped green onion or freshly chopped chives.
- Use whatever mustard you have on hand. Yellow mustard, honey mustard, and Dijon mustard would all work.
- For extra creaminess, add 3/4 cup of sour cream or plain Greek yogurt.
- Substitute the bacon for turkey bacon.
- Use sweet pickle relish, diced sweet pickles, or just diced dill pickles.
- Add extra tang with a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, or lemon juice.
- Substitute the cheddar cheese for sharp cheddar cheese or something completely different like crumbled blue cheese or goat cheese.
- Add a touch of heat with a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.
- Add extra crunch with a cup of chopped celery.
Recipe FAQs
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)
Sweet Potato Skins With Candied Bacon and a Spicy Basil Cream Sauce
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.
In cooking, as in all the arts, simplicity is the sign of perfection.
Submitted by Kolene. Submit your quote here.
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!