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’ll have to remember the hashbrowns for the next time I need a quick potato salad just for us. Normally while boiling my potatoes I go ahead and mix my mayo, mustard, dill relish and onions and let that be sitting in the fridge to stay cold. Then as soon as potatoes are tender drain and add and in an hour or so we are ready. Will have to try some bacon in the next round too!
Lora, I was trying to decide whether or not to comment on this, but decided to because it’s a matter of food safety. When you finish boiling your potatoes, please rinse them under cold water until they’re chilly, drain, then add your dressing. I learned in a cooking class and a food safety handling class that since cooked potatoes go bad so fast (because they’re really low in acid), adding mayo (which acts as an insulator) to hot potatoes and then sticking them in the fridge really reduces how long your potato salad is good for. When you hear about people getting food poisoning from potato salad, it’s not really from the mayo (assuming you use jarred mayo from the store and don’t make your own from raw eggs), it’s from the potatoes. Also an advantage to rinsing the potatoes under cold water is that the salad is pretty much ready to eat right away since everything’s already cold 🙂
Anything to make cooking easier.. I’m a fan of! Thank ya Christy Lou!
Christy – getting your email in my mailbox is the highlight of my day. (Just wanted you to know that!) I am a “displaced” GRITS and reading your recipes just feels like home to me. Love the idea for a quick potato salad. Gonna try it 4th of July weekend!
I have been using frozen potatoes for a while. I even like the shredded ones. There is an Amish place here called The Cheese Shop that makes the BEST potato salad I’ve ever eaten. They used shredded potatoes, vinegar, majo, sugar, sweet pickle, and egg.
I’ve NEVER heard of putting cheese in potato salad – and I am a Cheese-a-holic from way back. I’m really going to have to try this! Also, I use my microwave egg poacher to do “hard boiled eggs” to chop for potato salad. It’s fast and EASY!
Hey Girl, Just love your humor do you ever get into trouble with some of your sayings I know I sure do.
Just a thought to make this quicker and keep the bacon in it, they have the already cooked thin very crispy bacon that could be kept on hand just for this time if you can keep the kiddos out of it for breakfast. Crumbles very nicely as well.
Keep up the good work you life my spirits for the day.
I BOIL MY EGGS IN THE POT WITH MY POTATOES….WORKS WELL WHEN BOILING REG. POTATOES….COULD MAKE WORK HERE TOO!
Thanks for the potato salad recipe!! Honestly I am not a fan of potato salad, my mom always makes it with onions & celery which ok I dislike both lol. So this is awesome because it has neither! I’m definitely going to give this a try this weekend!