Bacon Ranch Potato Salad

What You’ll Love About This Ranch Potato Salad

My ranch potato salad is a BBQ staple, with good reason. It swaps Greek yogurt for mayonnaise to make a lighter but still creamy dressing. And let’s talk about all the deliciousness, from the seasonings to be cheddar to the… BACON! Plus, you don’t even need a Ranch dressing seasoning packet – a few pantry herbs come together to recreate those Ranch flavors we all adore. Like my Blue Cheese Potato Salad, this is not your ordinary potato salad recipe!

Add a big scoop of ranch potato salad alongside grilling favorites like slices of Honey Balsamic Grilled Flat Iron Steak, juicy Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak, or crunchy Street Corn Salad, and you’ll be the star of the next backyard party. Here are a few more highlights:

• Fresh. Find all the familiar flavors of Ranch seasonings here without preservative-packed bottled dressing or seasoning packets.
• Unexpected additions. I’ve dressed up this potato salad a bit with some extras like chopped bacon, halved cherry tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese to make it stand out.
• Perfectly cooked potatoes. No mushy potatoes here. See my tips below on how to cook your potatoes correctly.
• Elevates a basic dish. While I love Instant Pot Potato Salad, which is a more traditional potato salad recipe, I also love to branch out with extra flavors and ingredients.

What You’ll Need

You don’t need a seasoning packet to make this recipe: Just add the same dried herbs and spices as you’d do for this easy Greek Yogurt Ranch Dressing recipe. Here’s what you’ll need to make it, with the full ingredient amounts in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Potatoes: I use small white potatoes, and you don’t need to peel them.
• Bacon: Use freshly cooked bacon rather than purchased bacon bits.
• Greek Yogurt: You can use full-fat, low-fat, or non-fat Greek yogurt, just make sure it’s a plain variety.
• Apple Cider Vinegar: If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, you can substitute white vinegar.
• Olive Oil: I like extra-virgin olive oil. It adds the richness you get from mayo, but you only need a little.
• Salt and Pepper: I use Kosher salt and black pepper
• Ranch Seasoning: A mix of onion powder, garlic powder, dried parsley, and dried dill.
• Tomatoes: Cherry or grape tomatoes work fine.
• Cheddar Cheese: I prefer to shred my own cheese because pre-shredded cheese often contains anti-caking agents.
• Garnish: Scallions or parsley.

Boiling Potatoes: How to Do It Correctly

Start with the right kind of potatoes—choose waxy potatoes so that they hold their shape better when cooked. I like to use small creamer potatoes that you only have to wash, then halve or quarter. But you can use larger white or red potatoes, cut into about 3/4-inch pieces. These potatoes all typically have a tender skin, so it isn’t necessary to peel them (although you can if you like).

Start with a large pot of cold, salted water. Add the potatoes, making sure they’re fully submerged. Bring the pot to a boil and cook the potatoes until they are fork tender, about 8-10 minutes. Be careful not to overcook the potatoes, or they will break apart and get mushy.

After draining the water, return the potatoes to the hot pan; this will allow some of the excess moisture to evaporate from the heat of the pan. Cool the potatoes completely before mixing them with the dressing.

How to Make Ranch Potato Salad

You can see how easy it is to make this salad in the photos below. Find the detailed instructions in the recipe card lower down.

• Cook the potatoes. Boil the potatoes until fork-tender, then drain and cool.
• Cook bacon. As the potatoes cool, cook the bacon until crisp, then drain.
• Make dressing. Combine the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

• Add dressing. Pour the dressing over the cooled potatoes and toss to combine, then add the grape tomatoes, cheddar, and bacon.
• Mix. Fold and mix the salad ingredients to combine, then serve topped with bacon, cheddar cheese, and scallions or parsley.

Tips and Variation Ideas

• How to cook the bacon: You can cook the bacon in a pan, microwave, or oven (see my tips for How to Cook Bacon). You’ll want it to get nice and crispy to add a bit of texture to the potato salad.
• Make ahead. While I recommend serving the salad on the same day you make it, you can prepare the potatoes up to 2 days in advance. Store them in an airtight container in the fridge until you’re ready to assemble the salad.
• Go simpler. If you like a more traditional-tasting potato salad, you can leave out the tomatoes and cheese (and the bacon if you like).
• Make it vegetarian. Skip the bacon or use veggie bacon to make this into a vegetarian potato salad.
• Dairy-free. Use dairy-free Greek yogurt or swap it for mayo and omit the cheese to easily turn this salad dairy-free

Make It a Meal

• Burgers. Swap ranch potato salad for fries and serve it with Air Fryer Hamburgers, perfectly grilled Greek Burgers, or go veggie with Black Bean Quinoa Burgers.
• Chicken. Potato salad is so nice with chicken dishes! Try it with a grilled favorite like Lemon Herb Yogurt Marinated Chicken, or whip up some Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Legs.
• BBQ favorites: Get saucy with Slow Cooker Root Beer Pulled Pork or Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs to pair with your potato salad.
• Summer sides. Add a big bowl of ranch potato salad to the potluck table with other cookout favorites like Pineapple Coleslaw, Cilantro Lime Taco Slaw, or Easy Baked Beans.
• Other veggies. Easy vegetable sides like Grilled Asparagus or Peruvian-Style Grilled Street Corn, and Parmesan Roasted Broccoli are great with potato salad.

More Easy Side Dishes

• Mexican Quinoa Salad
• Cauliflower Tots
• Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
• Greek Fries