Loaded Bacon Ranch Potato Salad {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Option}
Jun 17, 2018
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Loaded Bacon Ranch Potato Salad. A creamy potato salad made with a homemade ranch dressing, bacon, cheddar cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and green onions. All of your favorite flavors from a loaded baked potato. A perfect gluten-free creamy potato salad for your next cookout or family get together. A summer classic that everyone will love!
It’s summertime and that means grilling, cook-outs and cooking lots of summer family favorite recipes. One of my favorite summer recipes to make is potato salad.
I grew up eating homemade potato salad. It was your traditional potato salad made with chopped onions, eggs, salt, mayonnaise, and mustard. Simple, but so delicious!
I love potato salad and actually eat it all year long. See, my husband is from the South and they have a love affair with potato salad.
Occasionally, I like to get a little creative when I make potato salad.
I love the flavors of a loaded baked potato – the crispy bacon, the savory cheddar cheese and green onions and the tangy sour cream. All of those flavors perfectly combine with the lightly salty potato.
I decided that I wanted to take the flavor to the next level, so I decided to add a homemade ranch dressing to the mix.
Loaded Bacon Ranch Potato Salad In A Few Easy Steps
The first step to making homemade potato salad is to rinse and chop your potatoes into bite-sized pieces. (photo 1)
I like to cover the potatoes with cold water and then bring them to a boil and cook them for 12-15 minutes. I find that cooking them this way makes them nice and tender, without falling apart. (photo 2)
While cooking your potatoes, it’s time to hard-boil your eggs. I always start my pot of water without the eggs. I only add the eggs once the water is boiling. I boil the eggs for 13 minutes and then immediately put them in ice water to cool down. (photo 3)
I have found cooking the eggs this way to be perfectly cooked and the shells come easily off. We have chickens on our homestead, so I cook a lot of hard-boiled eggs.
Once the potatoes are nice and tender, you should drain and rinse them immediately with cold water. There is nothing worse than having mushy potatoes when making potato salad (photo 4)
I like to chop up the bacon before I fry it in a cast iron pan. I find it helps the bacon cook faster and you have a more uniformed crumbled bacon pieces also. (photo 5)
Making homemade ranch dressing is so easy!
I don’t do packaged seasoning mixes and honestly friend, neither should you. There is nothing better than homemade dressing.
It’s super simple to make, and I bet you already have what you need in your pantry.
Just add the seasonings to a small bowl and give it a quick whisk or stir before you add it to the mayonnaise and sour cream. (photo 6)
In a medium-sized bowl stir together the mayonnaise and sour cream before adding the ranch seasoning mix. Pour the ranch seasoning mix and whisk the dressing until it’s fully combined. (photo 7)
Pour the homemade ranch dressing over the top of the chilled cooked potatoes. Stir gently until the potatoes are fully covered. (photo 8)
Add the bacon, cheddar cheese, chopped egg and green onions to the ranch potato salad. (photo 9)
Stir gently to mix all of the loaded baked potato toppings into the salad. (photo 10)
Save some of the toppings to sprinkle on top of the salad before serving, so it looks just like a loaded baked potato.
Making homemade potato salad is so easy!
You are going to love the flavor of the homemade ranch dressing combined with bacon, cheddar cheese, hard-boiled eggs, and green onions.
I love the bacon ranch flavor combination! With all of the loaded baked potato toppings, it makes a super flavorful chunky potato salad!
I promise that this naturally gluten-free potato salad will become a family favorite.
It’s a perfect side dish for your next cook-out or potluck!
Looking or more Gluten-Free Side Dishes? Try these gluten-free recipes.
- Creamy Italian Pasta Salad {Gluten-Free}
- Gluten-Free Bacon, Tomato & Cheese Macaroni Salad
- Southwest Quinoa Salad {Gluten-Free}
Loaded Bacon Ranch Potato Salad {Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free Option}
Ingredients
- 4 cups potatoes, , diced
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/2 cup sour cream, , dairy-free leave out or substitute dairy-free plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon dill
- 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, , hard-boiled and chopped
- 1 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, , dairy-free leave out or use your favorite dairy-free cheese shreds
- 1 1/4 cup bacon, , cooked and chopped
- 1/2 cup green onions, , chopped
Instructions
- Rinse potatoes and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- Add the potatoes to a large pot and cover with water. Cook on high and bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce the heat to medium and boil for 12-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Check with a fork to see if potatoes are cooked to your liking.
- Add water to a small pan and bring to a boil. Place 2 eggs in the pan and boil for 13 minutes. Once the eggs are finished cooking place the eggs in a small bowl of ice water in the refrigerator.
- Drain the potatoes and rinse with cold water. Add the potatoes to a large bowl and put them in the refrigerator to cool while you are making the dressing.
- I like to cut the bacon into small pieces before I fry it. In a large pan cook the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and place on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- In a small bowl add of the seasonings together and give it a quick whisk or stir to combine. This is your ranch seasoning blend.
- In a medium-sized bowl add the mayonnaise, sour cream (leave out if dairy-free) and ranch seasoning blend. Mix until fully combined. This is the homemade ranch dressing for the potato salad.
- Add the homemade ranch dressing to the chilled diced potatoes. Carefully stir to fully cover the potatoes with the ranch dressing.
- Chop the green onions and the hard-boiled eggs. I like to use a hard-boiled egg slicer. I cut the egg both ways to get an easily chopped egg. Start by adding the egg vertical and slice and then turn it horizontal and slice. A perfectly chopped egg every time.
- Add 1 cup of cheddar cheese (dairy-free leave out/use your favorite dairy-free cheese shreds), 1 cup of bacon, 1/4 cup of green onions and the chopped eggs to the potato salad. Stir gently. Save 1/4 cup of the bacon, 1/4 cup of the cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup of the green onion to sprinkle on top of the potato salad before serving. so it looks just like a loaded baked potato. It's best to chill the potato salad for 2 hours before serving,
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was great in a pinch for a family gathering. Someone else was supposed to do a potato or rice dish but they ended up sick the day of so I did a quick search here for a recipe and found this. I didn’t have sour cream (or a df alternative) or the baby greens and I used a ranch dressing seasoning mix plus salt, pepper, and garlic, instead of all the seasonings called for. It was a hit. My family wants me to make again. Next time, I hope to have the baby greens and sour cream (or df alternative). Either way, this recipe is a keeper.
Looks great. Will be trying it this weekend. How many servings does the recipe make?
I made this recipe for our Memorial Day dinner. My husband is a traditional potato salad lover and he didn’t think he was going to like this potato salad, but he did!! I loved it as well. I doubled the recipe (my husband eats big helpings) and I’m so glad that I did. It was delicious and I’ll be making it again.
This is yet another terrific recipe. Very easy to prepare, and the ranch dressing so delicious with the potatoes, cheese and bacon. My family thought it was the best potato salad I ever made. Guess it’s good to change it up after 42 yrs.
Holy cow-made this a couple of times now, we are not gluten-free or anything like that, but the taste is So Good!! I will keep this in my recipe file FOREVER!!!!!!
Everyone loved this loaded baked potato salad! A real hit! No one even knew it was gluten free. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
I liked the simpler way of cooking the potatoes. I cut mine smaller than you did and they took 6 minutes after the water came to a boil and I turned down a bit. I used to do it in the pressure cooker but one time they cooked unevenly and I never tried again. I used to boil a whole big pot of water but your recipe called for less water. The potatoes turned out perfect, it was faster and overall much easier. Thanks to you, I am back on with potato salad. My husband loves it! And I am so relieved NOT to keep buying the store brand!
This potato salad was a hit! Especially appreciated by my GF friend. Will make it again and again.
I found this recipe on Pinterest & have made it several times. Its our new favorite potato salad-a nice change from the regular way of making it. Thanks!
Just made this to go with BBQ ribs. Cooled it only slightly because I like a slightly warm potato salad. It is absolutely delicious! Will keep this recipe for future cookouts!
Wow was this beyond great. Were new to gluten free, my grandson is gluten free so grandma is learning how to cook again. Thank you so much for all your knowledge.
Delicious! I will never buy ranch seasoning again. I’ve made this twice. The second time I left out the bacon and it was still wonderful. I also cut back on the salt when I did make it with bacon. This is my new favorite potato salad. Thanks for sharing!
Everyone loves this potato salad. I made a few modifications – added a lot more fresh dill, some celery for crunch and fresh chives. Left out the sugar, cheese and eggs. It gets better the longer it sits too!
I love this recipe! It was a big hit with my family.
I am new to cooking gluten free for my grandchildren. Great taste and easy to follow instructions.
Great recipe! The homemade ranch dressing is the best!
This is a neighborhood favorite!! Every time I make it everyone wants the recipe and it’s all about the homemade ranch. I add 4 eggs instead of two just because that’s what we prefer. Thank you for the best potato salad recipe ever!! And to Pinterest for helping me find it.
I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the potato salad and it’s the best recipe ever! Thank you so much Emily for the awesome 5-star recipe review.
Delicious!!!! A great recipe if you are looking for something different than traditional potato salad.
Thank you so much April for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the potato salad. Thank you again!
OMG! This is one of the most delicious potato salads. I am gluten, dairy and soy free so I had to use a few substitutes. I used avocado mayo, dairy free plain yogurt but boy this tastes delicious. I used white potatoes because they were on sale this week. Yum! Yum! Yum!
Thank you so much Lourae for the awesome 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you enjoyed the potato salad. Thank you for sharing your modifications as I know it will help others. Thanks again!
Holy moly this is a GAME CHANGER!!! I made this for the 4th and made it dairy free- instead of sour cream I used Silks dairy and soy free plain yogurt and we used the violife vegan cheddar cheese. It was incredible. Also, your ranch is on point. My daughter is allergic to dairy and she said it was the best ranch she has ever had. Thank you so much for sharing your recipes!!! This was awesome and will be added to our line up!
Thank you so much Gretchen for the awesome 5-star recipe review! It really made me smile. I am so happy that you and your daughter enjoyed the potato salad and that you will be adding it to your line up. Thank you for sharing what you used for the dairy-free options. I really like the Violife vegan cheddar cheese too. You are so welcome, I love sharing what I make for my family!
Made this for Memorial weekend – it was a hit! Everyone said it had the best flavor and I have to agree. Easy to follow directions too! Will be repeating at our next BBQ!
Thank you so much Micki for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that everyone enjoyed the potato salad and that the directions were easy to follow. Thank you again!
Really delicious and easy…I used my Instant Pot to steam the potatoes while I was prepping the rest of the ingredients!
My family members all commented on how much they enjoyed it. Thank you!
Thank you so much Laura for the wonderful 5-star recipe review! I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed the potato salad. I love using my Instant Pot too! It makes cooking so much easier and quicker. Thank you again!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and made it for a family BBQ for Mothers Day! Everyone loved it and it is now going to replace our traditional potato salad at family BBQs! Thank you for sharing an amazing recipe! ❤️
Thank you so much for your wonderful 5-star recipe review Jessica! I am so happy that you and your family enjoyed the potato salad, especially that it is now going to be your go-to recipe for family BBQs. You are so welcome I love sharing what I make for my family. Thanks again!
A most delicious potato salad. So much better than the traditional potato salad that is often served at every BBQ
Thank you so much Jessica for the wonderful 5-star recipe review. I am so happy that you enjoyed the potato salad. I’m a big fan of potato salad and I agree with you that this one takes the flavors to the next level. Thanks again!