The flavors of potato salad get a serious upgrade when combined with a loaded baked potato salad! Stuffed full of bacon, cheese, herbs, and green onion the flavor of this red skin potato salad is just unbeatable. This potato salad is made with simple ingredients and is a delicious American classic.

Loaded potato salad topped with cheese, bacon and green onions on a plate with grilled chicken

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Why We Love Loaded Potato Salad

This recipe is always a hit for a party as a side dish.
Can be made ahead, I recommend making it up to 24 hours in advance.
Bacon and cheese is super delicious with potatoes, the combo is just delicious.

I love making cold salads for parties or just as a side for a summer barbecue. This is a great recipe, but if you need others try quick and easy coleslaw, easy classic Italian pasta salad or perfect pesto pasta salad for more great cold salad recipes.

Ingredients For Your Shopping List

Most of these ingredients people keep pretty standard in the fridge or pantry, but if you don’t have them you can find them at the grocery store pretty easily.

Ingredients for loaded potato salad in bowls.

1 teaspoon Salt- This is for salting the water for the potatoes
3 pounds Red Potatoes – diced, chop these evenly so they are bite sized, but don’t worry about being too exact.
12 slices Bacon – I prefer lower sodium bacon when I cook, but use your favorite.
1 Cup Mayonnaise
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
1 Cup Cheddar Cheese – shredded
5 Green Onions- You need the green part only.
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika- Regular paprika can be used, but smoked paprika packs moere flavor.

How To Make Loaded Potato Salad

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil on high heat. Chop the potatoes into about one-inch cubes.

Add chopped potatoes and bring the temperature down to medium heat so the pot doesn’t boil over. Boil the potatoes 10-12 minutes until fork tender when pierced. Rinse with cold water to cool the potatoes, then drain and dry well. Place potatoes in a large bowl.

Potatoes diced in a pot full of water from overhead

Chop the bacon into small pieces and place in a cold skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook the bacon until crisp while stirring frequently for, about 8-10 minutes. Drain the bacon on a paper towel.

In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, sour cream, onion powder, garlic powder and smoked paprika and mix well.

Remove the white root part from the green onions, then chop the tender green part and the rest of the white part of the onion for the salad. Chop the thicker part of the onion a little smaller.

Add the mayonnaise mixture to the potatoes and stir to coat. Add green onions, bacon, and shredded cheese to the potatoes and stir until everything is evenly mixed.

Cheese, bacon and green onions being mixed into potatoes cover in dressing in a bowl.

Cover the bowl and cool in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving for the perfect potato salad. This red potato salad recipe is best served cold.

Variations And Substitutions

Add Broccoli- Lightly steamed broccoli is super delicious in this recipe, and goes well with the bacon, cheese and potato flavors. I usually add about a cup and a half. If you add too much broccoli, scoop a little extra sour cream or mayo into the recipe.
Change The Bacon– Bacon is delicious in this recipe, and since it’s a loaded potato it has a lot of it. I’ve reduced the crumbled bacon to six slices and the salad is still tasty. I’ve also crisped up thinly sliced ham and it’s equally delicious in this salad. In a pinch I’ve also used real bacon bits, but it doesn’t have quite as much flavor.
Green Onion Swap– Green onions have a nice mild onion flavor, but they aren’t the only onion that is delicious in this salad. Try a little diced sweet onion, or for a little more bite use diced red onion. Chives also easily swap into this recipe. The onion flavor will mellow some as the recipe cools in the refrigerator.
Add Ranch Seasoning– Adding a little ranch seasoning to this potato salad can be super delicious if you like ranch flavors. I usually add it on top of the herbs that we are already adding.
Use Leftover Baked Potatoes – You can use actucal baked potatoes in this recipe. I find the flavors are so similar it’s quicker to just boil them BUT leftover baked potatoes easily transform into this salad. The dressing on this salad means the skin from baking the potato won’t stay crispy. Here’s how to bake the potatoes in the oven, you just need a little olive oil, salt and black pepper.

What Kind Of Potatoes Are Best For Potato Salad?

I like to use red skin potatoes to make the best potato salad because they hold their shape a little more and are a good cooking potato. Waxy potatoes such as fingerlings, new potatoes, and even Yukon gold potatoes hold their shape pretty well in this loaded baked potato salad recipe.

I do not recommend using russet potatoes for this recipe. Russet potatoes become super soft when boiled and don’t hold their shape very well. Russet potatoes work best for mashed potatoes, for one of my favorite recipes these Roasted Potato Wedges or even for my Twice Stuffed Broccoli Cheese Potatoes. Russets become creamy inside when cooked.

How Long Can You Keep Potato Salad In The Refrigerator Before It Goes Bad?

Potato salad will last for up to five days in the refrigerator before it typically goes bad, but will taste it’s best for the first three days.

Potato salad may have gone bad if it smells off, it is slimy and especially if you see signs of mold

If your potato salad is on a buffet table, especially in the heat it can go bad much more quickly. Potato salad that has been out of the refrigerator for more than two hours can go bad more quickly.

How Do I Store Potato Salad?

Store potato salad in an airtight bowl with a lid or in a bowl with tight-fitting saran wrap.

Can You Freeze Potato Salad?

It is not recommended to freeze potato salad. Mayonaise is sensitive to temperature and can separate or grow bacteria easily during the thawing process.