Best Ever Potato Salad is fully loaded with bacon, chives, cheese, and ranch seasoning. This recipe will become a family barbecue favorite.
This sour cream potato salad is my absolute favorite. It truly is the best potato salad! It’s the perfect side dish for all of your summer BBQs, potlucks, and parties.
I love spring and fall. Besides the gorgeous weather, sunshine, and flowers in full bloom, I love barbecue season. Now don’t get confused, I hate grilling, I leave that to my husband, the Grill Master. What I love most about barbecue are all the side dishes.
Iโve never had a traditional dish that I always take to barbecues, and that has always bummed me out. Do you know what I mean? You see, I have friends and family members that everyone always requests they bring the same dishes to parties and barbecues.
For instance, my mom is always asked to bring Watergate Salad, my dad, his 7-Layer Dip and Deviled Eggs.
Ingredients You’ll Need
This fully loaded recipe was inspired to make this dish after making my Fully Loaded Ranch Dip. It has many of the same ingredients:
- Red potatoes
- Sour cream
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Ranch seasoning powder
- Chopped fresh chives
- Bacon
- Sharp cheddar cheese
When you make this, I can promise you’ll be in love after just one bite. After devouring the first serving, youโll quickly run back for another.
How do you make this recipe?
Cook bacon according to package directions. Once cooked & cooled, coarsely chop into small chunks.
In a small mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, mayo, cheese, coarsely chopped bacon, chives, and ranch seasoning powder {start with 1/4 cup & add more if you desire a stronger ranch taste, we use 1/2 cup, which sounds like a lot but once it is all together it is perfect}. Set aside.
Place potatoes in a large pot of boiling water, and add salt if desired. Bring to a boil and let them simmer for 8-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender or easy to pierce with a fork.
Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool completely. I rinse the potatoes with cold water to stop cooking and speed up the cooling.
Once the potatoes are completely cool, add the sour cream mixture; stir together to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cover and set in the fridge until ready to serve.
If you want your potato salad a little less chunky, use an electric mixer and beat the potato salad on medium for 1-2 minutes. This will break up any large chunks and give you a smoother texture. I do this to make the potato salad more creamy but leave enough pieces to give it depth.
How do you store potato salad?
To maximize the shelf life of potato salad for safety and quality, refrigerate the potato salad in airtight containers.
Properly stored, potato salad will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.
Why Everyone Loves this Side Dish
My sister, who isn’t the biggest bacon fan {gasp, I know, people like that exist}, even liked it – eating more than one serving.
My kids loved it because it had bacon, so a win there! And well, I couldn’t stop eating it. Youโd think Iโm a big potato salad fan, but I’m not. Usually, potato salads are overdressed with mayo and mustard. While this Best Ever Potato Salad Recipe is still creamy, itโs seasoned and perfectly dressed.
Everything else I already had on hand, and I am sure you will, too, like the ranch seasoning and sour cream.
More Amazing Side Dishes
Donโt forget to pin this potato salad recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Best Ever Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. Red Potatoes skin peeled and diced
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil Mayo
- 1/4 -1/2 cup ranch seasoning powder
- 1/2 cup chives finely chopped
- 1 lb. bacon
- 16 ounces freshly grated sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Cook bacon according to package directions. Once completely cooked & cooled, coarsely chop into small chunks.
- In a small mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, mayo, cheese, coarsely chopped bacon, chives, and ranch seasoning powder {start with 1/4 cup & add more if you desire a stronger ranch taste, we use 1/2 cup, sounds like a lot but once it is all together it is perfect}. Set aside.
- Place potatoes in a large pot of boiling water, add salt if desired. Bring to a boil and let them simmer 8-12 minutes, or until potatoes are tender or easy to pierce with a fork.
- Drain the potatoes and allow to completely cool. I rinse the potatoes with cold water to stop the cooking process and speed up the cooling.
- Once potatoes are completely cool add the sour cream mixture; stir together to combine.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and set in the fridge until ready to serve.
- If you would like your potato salad a little less chunky, use an electric mixer and beat the potato salad on medium for 1-2 minutes. This will break up any large chunks, and give you a smoother texture. I do this to make the potato salad a little more creamy but left enough chunks to give it some depth.
Is 1/2 cup correct for the ranch seasoning? That seems like an awful lot to me. I use 1 packet in 5 lbs of potatoes for potato salad and sometimes even that is a bit heavy. The cheese and bacon additions sound delicious.
At what point are chives added? I see them in the recipe list but I don’t see when you should add them.
You can add chives when you’ve mixed ething else. They’re mainly just color
I would love to try this only with Idaho russet potatoes. I’m not a big fan of red potatoes or even Yukon golds. I think I would go half and half with the mayo and sour cream which I’ve never used sour cream in potato salad but the bacon, chives and cheddar cheese sounds so good I may have to try this. Could you use miracle whip instead of mayo since I always use miracle whip? I guess I’ll just have to wing it. Sounds and looks so good, this is one of, if not my favorite dishes.
in the UK what is a substitute for ranch seasoning
I’m a big fan of potato salads. I have one that I’m asked to bring or make all the time but I’m getting sick of it! Your recipe looks delicious. I really like the idea of blending it a bit at the end.
I love potato salad — I will have to try this!
Love how fully loaded this is! Bacon for the win!!
I usually just buy store bought, but this looks ah-mazing! I need to try this and make this my new go-to recipe this summer!
We love potato salad so much!
Ranch + potato salad + bacon = awesomeness! I can’t wait to try this!
I can definitely see why this is a favorite!
This is a fantastic recipe! I made it yesterday and loved it!!
My friend made this recipe for a potluck and I had to get the recipe from her! It’s so delicious!! Thanks. Now I’m making for an Independence Day picnic tomorrow! ๐
What a definite changeup than the old classic potato salad on the best foods jar. I made this today and it is delicious! My son likes it better than the classic.
I only added 1/4 c. of the dressing mix and added a lil pepper ….no salt. A definite do-over recipe. Thank you for this!! A definite 5 Star !!
I’m so glad you and your son enjoyed it!
I can see this becoming a family favorite! It has all of the best toppings in a salad. Yummmm!
Thank you!
What a great side dish with our barbecued chicken last night! Looking forward to enjoying this again and again this summer!
I’m so glad you liked it!
mmm..potato salad is my favorite!! This looks incredibly delicious!!
Thank you!
Looks beyond delicious! This is my ultimate side dish, so excited to make this!
Thank you, enjoy!
This potato salad looks terrific . I need to try it soon.
Thank you, you definitely do!
This is how I love my twice baked potatoes, so I KNOW this potato salad will be awesome! Yum!
I used to make the regular yellow potato salad and just made this for Christmas. Now I’m in charge of making it when we have nothing else.. It’s sad because my mother passed this month before she could try it this year. So thank you so much.
Yum! I love potato salad! I can’t wait to try this!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy.
This sour cream potato salad couldn’t look any more perfect!
Thank you!
I love a good potato salad and this looks like a winner!
Thank you!
This salad looks so creamy! So perfect for our summer potlucks!
Thank you, that sounds like a perfect idea!
Such a creamy and delicious potato salad! I can’t wait to try it!!
Thank you, enjoy!
I can see why you called it the best ever! So good!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it.
Our new favorite!
Thank you!
This is a summertime staple in our home; so delicious! Looking forward to enjoying this all season long!
So glad to hear that!
This is the best potato salad I have ever eaten. My guest at a Fourth of July celebration loved it!!! Thanks for sharing.
So glad to hear that you and your guests enjoyed it!
Love the texture of your salad! Bacon, cheese, and ranch for the win!
This Potato Salad looks really delicious! A perfect side dish!
So delicious and our new favorite! Such a big hit during our BBQ this weekend! I’ll definitely be making this again!
So easy to make, and perfect for a picnic or bbq!
I love that you add ranch seasoning to this! YUM!
Potatoes are our favorite ingredient for side dishes. This salad is a must try!
My all- time favorite side dish! I just love everything about this, yummy!
I have made a lot of potato salad recipes and this was hands down my favorite. Everyone else loved it too!
Always a hit on our table! I’m definitely making this!
I made this for a barbecue, and everyone asked me for the recipe! Thank you so much for this one!
I love how creamy and delicious this is!! I can’t wait to try it!
This potato salad sounds amazing! I love the flavors!
All the ingredients I love in one potato salad! I am making it!