This cheddar bacon ranch potato salad is like a loaded baked potato in picnic salad form. It is a great make ahead side dish that is perfect for potlucks, BBQs, game day and more.
Potato salad is a classic BBQ side dish. It is fabulous in all of its forms, but this cheddar bacon ranch recipe is especially popular.
It is great with burgers, pulled pork and more. It is a fabulous way to switch up your side dish routine.
My husband really loves potato salad. (As long as it is a good one… and he’ll let me know if it’s not!)
So I try to make it for him every once in a while. This time I was in the mood for something a little different.
I scoured the fridge and decided ranch would be wonderful! And we like bacon!!
And we love cheese! So, really how could this not be good?
We were having some people over for dinner, so this was a perfect make ahead! You can make it the night before or the morning of.
Then there is no cooking or cleanup when the guests arrive. The first time I tried it, I used more ranch in the dressing.
I felt it was a bit too heavy. So I added some sour cream and the results were pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself.
If you are a huge ranch fan, you can up the ranch to sour cream ratio. We like it lightly ranch, but you could easily use a cup of each or more ranch than sour cream.
Turns out this is a LOT of potato salad! But, as my husband was eating it on day 2 he gave it two thumbs up. If it is still a winner on it’s second day in a row, that is a good sign!
If you like potato salads as much as we do, you may want to try my deviled egg potato salad as well. The dressing is based off our favorite deviled egg recipe and it is loaded with hard boiled eggs.
For a bacon loaded salad, try German potato salad. It has a vinegar dressing and lots of yummy bacon!
Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!
Cheddar Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
This potato salad has all of the good stuff like cheese, bacon and ranch! It's like a loaded baked potato in picnic salad form.
Ingredients
- 3-4 lbs red potatoes (russets would be fine too)
- 2-3 Tablespoons salt
- 2-3 Tablespoons apple cider or white vinegar
- 1/2 pound of bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 3/4 cup ranch dressing
- 1 1/4 cup sour cream
- Optional: 1/2 cup green onions
Instructions
- Cut potatoes into bite sized chunks. Place in a pot of cold water. Bring pot to a boil and throw in a palmful of salt. Let the potatoes boil until cooked through (they should be easily pierced) about 10 minutes.
- Drain potatoes and toss with vinegar. Let cool.
- Toss bacon, cheese and green onions with potatoes.
- Mix ranch and sour cream together and pour over potatoes, stir to coat.
- Chill for at least a couple of hours
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 287Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 489mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 6gSugar: 6gProtein: 11g
All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.
Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies
Thursday 12th of March 2020
Trying this soon. I can't find a potato salad recipe my husband likes, but this... This one will pass the test, I know it will!
Carlee
Thursday 19th of March 2020
My husband is still talking about it, so my guess is yours will be won over too!