Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. 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
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 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. 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.
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.
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.
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Notes
For Ranch Seasoning: In place of the parsley, dill, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, and ½ teaspoon salt, use 2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning mix. Storage: This ranch potato salad can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days after preparation.To prepare in advance: Prepare the potato salad up to 3 days before serving. But keep in mind that it is best to mix the cooked bacon and chives into your salad right before serving so that the bacon stays crisp and the chives stay fresh.