Ranch potato salad is packed full of smoky bits of bacon, shredded cheese, onion, and the creamy flavor of ranch.
This easy potato salad is effortless to throw together for your next cookout or potluck. Best of all, it is great to prepare in advance because the flavors continue to meld as it sits in the refrigerator. When you crave something a little bolder than classic potato salad, this is the recipe for you!
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Red potatoes - Yukon gold potatoes are the best substitutes, but you can also make this with starchy potatoes, like Russet potatoes.
- Sour cream
- Mayonnaise
- Dry ranch dressing mix
- Shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- Regular cut bacon - Thick cut bacon tends to get gummy as it absorbs liquid.
- Green onions
- Red onion
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Kosher salt
- Optional - You can add fresh herbs, like dill, or hard-boiled eggs.
How to make it
To make this creamy potato salad recipe with ranch, begin by boiling the potatoes in a large pot of salted water until they are fork-tender. At the same time, fry up the bacon in a separate skillet set over medium high heat, and cook it until crispy.
Tip: You can crumble the crispy bacon after it cools, or you can cut it into one-inch pieces prior to cooking it.
Once tender, remove the potatoes from the pot and rinse under cold water to cool.
Mix the mayo and sour cream in a large bowl with the ranch seasoning packet. Then add all of the remaining potato salad ingredients and fully combine.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover ranch potato salad should be stored in an airtight container and kept in the refrigerator for up to five days, for best flavor.
Ranch Potato Salad
Equipment
- Large skillet
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
- 3 pounds red potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 ounce packet ranch dressing mix
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
- 1 pound bacon
- ½ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ½ red onion chopped
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Place chopped potatoes in a large pot of salted cold water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes for ten minutes or until fork tender. Then drain, and rinse under cold water to cool.
- While potatoes are boiling, place bacon in a large skillet and fry over medium-high heat, until bacon is crispy. Then place the strips of bacon on a paper towel to drain, and crumble into small pieces once the bacon is cool enough to handle.
- Add mayo, sour cream, and dry ranch dressing mix to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Then add the cooled potatoes, shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, green onions, red onion, salt, and black pepper. Fold the mixture together with a rubber spatula, then serve.
Leave a Reply