Want to be the MVP at every potluck and picnic? Bring this Ranch Potato Salad! Loaded with tender red potatoes, crispy bacon, sharp cheese, and a creamy ranch dressing, this Bacon Ranch Potato Salad recipe is outrageously delicious and always a crowd-pleaser.
When it comes to summer cookouts, everyone expects burgers, baked beans, and potato salad. And while I love just about any and all forms of potato salad, from classic potato salad to Italian potato salad, this Ranch Potato Salad is everyone's favorite!
Reasons Everyone Loves Ranch Potato Salad
- The Ultimate Flavor. Made with creamy red potatoes, salty bacon, sharp cheddar, and a creamy ranch-flavored dressing, this Ranch Potato Salad puts the an irresistibly flavorful twist on classic potato salad.
- No Need to Peel Potatoes. The most tedious part of making potato salad is the peeling of the potatoes! But just like my Italian Potato Salad, this ranch potato salad recipe uses red potatoes which do not need peeled prior to cooking.
- Party-Perfect. This Bacon Ranch Potato Salad is a fabulous dish to bring to a potluck or to entertain with, as it is not only a dish everyone loves, but it can also be prepared up to 3 days in advance.
Ingredients for Ranch Potato Salad
Ranch Potato Salad is made up of two main components, potatoes and a homemade creamy ranch-flavored dressing. You can stop right there and have a delicious potato salad. But adding crispy bacon, sharp cheddar, and chives, takes this potato salad to the next level!
- For the Potatoes: Small red potatoes are best for this ranch potato salad, as their creamy, waxy texture and flavor hold up well to the ranch-flavored dressing.
- For the Ranch Potato Salad Dressing: The creamy ranch dressing that coats this potato salad, is made with mayonnaise, sour cream, vinegar, and homemade ranch seasoning. It is creamy, tangy, and extremely flavorful.
- Flavorful Additions: Crumbled baked bacon (or bacon bits), shredded cheddar cheese, and chives are all optional, but encouraged.
How to Make Ranch Potato Salad
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Cook Red Potatoes in Heavily Salted Water
In order to ensure your potatoes cook evenly and are well seasoned, be sure to start the cooking process with cold water and heavily season the water with salt. Once the potatoes are fork-tender, drain the potatoes and then return them to the hot pan for a minute or two. This extra step will help to remove the excess water from the potatoes and prevent your potato salad from becoming watered-down.
Cool Potatoes
It is best to allow the potatoes to reach room temperature before dressing them with the creamy dressing. I like to spread the cooked potatoes out on a large rimmed sheet pan, which will allow the potatoes to cool quickly.
Make the Ranch-Flavored Dressing
While the potatoes are cooling, I like to use that time to prepare the thick and creamy ranch-flavored dressing. Simply whisk together the seasonings, vinegar, mayonnaise, and sour cream together in a large mixing bowl.
Dress the Potatoes
Add the cooled potatoes and shredded cheese right to the mixing bowl with the prepared dressing. Gently stir until the potatoes are evenly coated with the ranch dressing.
Serve Chilled with Bacon
For best results, you want to plan to chill your potato salad for 4 hours prior to serving, as this will allow time for the potatoes to absorb the flavor of the creamy, ranch dressing. Right before serving, add cooked, crumbled bacon and minced chives to the potato salad and toss to combine. This will ensure the bacon stays crispy and the chives don't wilt.
Storage Instructions
- To Prepare in Advance: This ranch potato salad can be made up to 3 days in advance. Just wait to mix the cooked bacon and chives into your salad until right before serving, so that the bacon stays crisp and the chives stay fresh.
- Storage: Leftover potato salad can be stored in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
More Picnic-Worthy Side Dishes
- Mediterranean Chickpea Salad
- BLT Pasta Salad
- Antipasto Pasta Salad
- Sour Cream Cucumber Salad
- Tabbouleh Salad
- Instant Pot Potato Salad
- Caprese Pasta Salad
- Easy Homemade Coleslaw
If you tried this recipe for Bacon Ranch Potato Salad, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 6 strips bacon or ⅓ cup of bacon bits
- 3 pounds red potatoes scrubbed and quartered
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt for cooking potatoes
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried dill
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon minced chives
- 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
Homemade Bacon Bits
- Preheat the oven to 400℉. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with foil and place a wire cooling rack on the cooking sheet. Lay bacon evenly across the baking rack, so that it is not overlapping. Bake the bacon until crispy, 13-16 minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the oven and let cool. Once cooled, crumble the bacon into tiny bits. Store the bacon bits in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve the potato salad.
Bacon Ranch Potato Salad
- Cook Potatoes. Place the potatoes into a large saucepan and cover with cold tap water and season with 2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Bring the water to a rapid boil over medium-high heat and continue to boil until the potatoes are just fork-tender, but not falling apart. Drain the potatoes and then return the potatoes to the hot pan and gently toss the potatoes around in the pan, until any excess water has been evaporated from the potatoes.
- Cool Potatoes. Spread the potatoes out onto a sheet pan to allow them to cool quickly. The potatoes just need to cool until slightly warm, not hot, to the touch.
- Prepare Dressing. While potatoes are cooling, mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, vinegar, parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and basil in a large mixing bowl until combined.
- Chill and Serve. Cover the potato salad and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, overnight is best, before serving. Right before serving, stir the chives and bacon into the potato salad.
Equipment Needed
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2018 but was updated in 2022 with new tips and a video.
Valentina
I LOVE this delicious bacon ranch potato salad recipe! made it for the 4th and it was a hit.
Kristen Chidsey
I love hearing you all enjoyed.
Jessica
Talk about FLAVOR! I absolutely LOVED this recipe and so did my family. I already can't wait to make it again. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
I am so happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the Potato Salad Jessica!
Kristyn
I love potato salad, but adding the bacon, takes it to a whole new level! Love the flavor of this too! I'll be eating this all summer long!
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! It is so delish! I am glad to hear you enjoy this Bacon Ranch Potato Salad as well.
Dave
I combined your other potato salad idea -- cubed potatoes in the IP with eggs nestled on top -- with this (plus olives), and it was just like I remembered from my mother's wonderful salad. Yummy and easy
Amy Anderson
The flavor of this potato salad is AMAZING! My husband loves potato salad and he couldn’t say enough about how good it tasted. Thank you for the tip on getting the potatoes cooled.
Kristen Chidsey
YAY! Thanks for sharing, Amy! I love hearing you all enjoyed it so much!
Laura Reese
The bacon and ranch in this potato salad makes this amazing! It adds so much to the flavor.