Potato Salad with Bacon

Bacon Potato Salad — 🥓🥔🎉 This no mayo potato salad is studded with crispy bacon pieces and coated in a tangy vinegar dressing. It’s ready in just 30 minutes and the whole family will love it! Perfect for picnics, potlucks, casual entertaining, and the perfect EASY side dish!

This isn’t your grandma’s potato salad. You know, the one that’s loaded with gloppy mayo, mushy potatoes, and hard-boiled eggs? Not even close.

First, there’s bacon, which makes it an instant crowd pleaser.

Second, there’s no mayo so it feels lighter, and as a bonus you don’t have to worry about it as much at warm outdoor potlucks, picnics, and events.

To keep it fresher and to boost the flavor profile while incorporating texture and crunch, there’s fresh sweet corn, spinach, parsley, red onion, and a touch of garlic. I love seeing the green because it feels healthy, and I remember my mom making spinach salads with warm bacon dressing — it’s a natural pairing!

Bacon Potato Salad Ingredients

This potato salad recipe with bacon is my go-to in the warmer months when I need a quick and easy side for a potluck or party. Gather the following basic ingredients:

• Baby potatoes
• Bacon
• Red onion
• Garlic
• Sweet corn
• Spinach
• Fresh parsley
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Granulated sugar
• Salt and pepper

Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.

How to Make Potato Salad with Bacon

This is an easy potato salad to make, and you can serve it warm or chill it. Either way it’s a great side and will be sure to disappear whenever you make it!

Let’s quickly review how the no-mayo potato salad comes together:

1. Boil the potatoes until fork tender — be careful not to overcook them! Drain and rinse the potatoes with cold water to prevent them from cooking further. 
2. While the potatoes are cooking, make the bacon. You can make the bacon as crisp as you’d like. When the bacon is cooked to your liking, transfer it to a paper towel-lined plate and crumble it once it’s cool enough to handle. 
3. In that same skillet you cooked the bacon in, sauté the onion and garlic until tender. 
4. Then, whisk together the potato salad dressing in a small bowl.
5. Dice the cooked potatoes and add to a large bowl along with the remaining potato salad ingredients.
6. Toss gently to combine and add more salt and pepper as needed. 

What to Serve with Bacon Potato Salad

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Grilled Honey BBQ Chicken

Sheet Pan Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon

Grilled Pork Chops

Recipe Video

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4.41 from 281 votes

Potato Salad with Bacon

By Averie Sunshine

🥓🥔🎉 This no mayo potato salad is studded with crispy bacon pieces and coated in a tangy vinegar dressing. It's ready in just 30 minutes and the whole family will love it! Perfect for picnics, potlucks, casual entertaining, and the perfect EASY side dish!

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 10 cups

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Ingredients  

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Bacon Potato Salad

• ▢ 2 pounds baby gold potatoes
• ▢ 2 teaspoons salt, for the boiling water
• ▢ 1 pound bacon
• ▢ one small/medium red onion, diced small
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced or pressed
• ▢ 1 medium/large ear fresh sweet corn with kernels cut off, 3/4 cup frozen corn may be substituted
• ▢ 1 to 2 cups fresh baby spinach, loosely measured
• ▢ ½ cup fresh parsley, regular or Italian flat-leaf, finely chopped

Dressing

• ▢ 3 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• ▢ 3 tablespoons dijon mustard
• ▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, or to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• To a large pot, add the potatoes, cover with water, add 2 teaspoons salt, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and allow potatoes to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until done and fork-tender. Drain and rinse potatoes under cold water to stop the cooking process; set aside. While potatoes cook, make the bacon.
• To a large skillet, add the bacon and cook over medium heat until done and as crisp as desired, about 10 minutes, flip intermittently. Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and when it’s cool enough, crumble it; set aside.
• To the skillet with the bacon fat, add the onion and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes or until tender, stir intermittently.
• In the last minute of cooking, add the garlic, stir, and cook for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Take skillet off the heat and set aside.
• To a very large bowl, add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, mustard, sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt, pepper, and whisk to combine; set aside.
• Halve or quarter the potatoes depending on their size and add to the large bowl. Add the crumbled bacon, red onion and garlic (use a slotted spoon to remove because there will be excess bacon fat in the skillet; discard oil in a small container – don’t pour it down the drain), corn, spinach, parsley, and toss well to combine.
• Taste potato salad and make any necessary adjustments, i.e. more salt, pepper, sugar, dash of extra mustard or vinegar, etc.
• Serve immediately if desired or cover and refrigerate until chilled. Potato salad will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Video

Notes

• Recipe adapted from Woman’s Day

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 312kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 30mg, Sodium: 884mg, Potassium: 541mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 573IU, Vitamin C: 24mg, Calcium: 25mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Originally posted June 13, 2016 and reposted May 31, 2021 and August 16, 2024 with updated text.