Bacon and Blue Cheese Potato Salad

6/22/12

Swap the mayo for Greek yogurt then add just enough blue cheese and bacon to pack tons of flavor and you get a lightened-up summer side dish that’ll disappear fast. For your next barbecue, your menu needs Bacon and Blue Cheese Potato Salad.

Bacon and Blue Cheese Potato Salad

Potatoes get a bad rap.  Perhaps that’s because most of the time we eat them fried, covered with cheese, or mashed with butter and cream.  But really, the potato is not the bad actor here.  In fact, one medium sized potato (about 5 oz.) with its skin has only 110 calories, zero fat, and no sodium.  And it provides more potassium than a banana, 2 g of fiber, and half your daily value of vitamin C.  So potatoes can definitely be part of a healthy diet.

Just not when they are drowned in mayonnaise.  Like my mom’s potato salad.  She makes it the pretty traditional way, with just mayo (and a lot of it), white vinegar, salt, pepper, and chopped hard-boiled eggs.  Everyone in my family goes nuts over her potato salad.  Anytime she makes it, she pretty much uses an entire 5 lb. bag of potatoes, and sometimes I think my sister could eat the whole bowl.  I am an outcast and practically disowned because I don’t like it.  But I am just not a mayo fan.  And hard-boiled eggs – yuck!  So it isn’t just her potato salad.  Most other kinds I encounter are even worse because they have two of my least favorite things – raw onions and celery.

So when I saw US Potato Board Healthy Summer Potato Salad Recipe Contest for Recipe ReDux members that challenged us to create a healthier version of this summertime staple, I was totally on board.  I wanted to come up with a potato salad that I would love, and would feel good about eating.  I actually thought about my Greek Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing recipe when I was trying to decide what to make.  So I swapped out the mayo for fat free Greek yogurt to lower the calories and fat, and add lots of calcium and protein.  Then I wanted to amp it up with bacon and blue cheese – two ingredients that have tons of flavor, so only a little is needed to have a big impact.  I used three slices of a lean, center cut bacon, which I cooked until crispy, and drained well.  So the bacon really just served as a seasoning.  And you can even use a reduced fat blue cheese, like I did.  The creaminess and tang from the yogurt, versus the sharp bite of the cheese and smokiness of the bacon really elevated the standard potato salad.  I honestly have never had a potato salad that just hit your palate in so many ways in just one bite.  This will be my go-to recipe from now on.

Unless mom is making the potato salad.  (Love you, mom!)

And it went so well with this nice, lean filet, some collard greens, and a nice Cabernet. A perfect summertime meal.

The Hubby and our dinner guest could not get enough.  I certainly ate my fair share, too.  I hope you’ll serve it at your 4th of July barbecue.  Not only is it tasty and healthy, but it’ll match the decor, too!

Make sure you check out the other recipe contest entries at the bottom of this post.

Are there any recipes in your family that everyone loves…  except you?  What do you put in your potato salad?

Disclosure Statement:  By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe contest sponsored by the United States Potato Board and am eligible to win prizes associated with the contest. I was not compensated for my time.

Bacon and Blue Cheese Potato Salad

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Serves 4-8     adjust servings

Ingredients

• 2 lbs. small red potatoes, quartered
• 3 slices center cut bacon
• 1/2 c Greek yogurt (fat free or low fat)
• 3 T cider vinegar
• 1/4 t dry mustard
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 T chopped scallion
• 1/2 c crumbled blue cheese (regular or reduced fat)

Instructions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot and cover with cold water.
2. Bring to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 12-15 minutes.
3. Drain the potatoes, place in a bowl, and cool completely.
4. Cook the bacon in a pan until crispy, and drain well on a paper towel.
5. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
6. In a small bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, cider vinegar, dry mustard, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper, and stir until well-mixed.
7. Gently fold in the reserved bacon, blue cheese, and scallions.
8. Pour the Greek yogurt mixture over the potatoes, and toss gently.

Enjoy!

Here are some more barbecue recipes…

• Semi-Homemade Baked Beans
• Buffalo, Bacon and Blue Cheese Hot Dogs
• Caprese Grilled Filet Mignon