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This flavorful Red Potato salad loaded up with blue cheese, bacon and green onion. This is the perfect side for a potluck or summer BBQ. Plus the patriotic colorings of Red, White & Blue makes it great for Memorial Day or 4th of July picnics!
All about this Red White and Blue Potato Salad…
- Red Potatoes: these are a low starch potato with a nice creamy texture. These little potatoes hold their shape nicely after boiling allowing us to enjoy those bites of potato in our salad.
- Creamy, Flavorful Dressing: the dressing is a mayonnaise base, lightened up by using part mayo and part sour cream. Seasoned with ground mustard, dried dill and onion powder, the dressing alone is flavorful and creamy.
- Blue Cheese, Bacon, and Onions: adding these ingredients give us texture and flavor to our potato salad. Nothing bland about these potatoes! This salad is sure to please!
Ingredients Needed:
Notes on some ingredients:
- Baby Red Potatoes: if you are unable to find this particular potato you could use regular red or gold potatoes.
- Dill: the recipe calls for dried dill, but if you have fresh on hand go ahead and use that instead! Substitute 1/2 tablespoon of fresh dill for the 1/2 teaspoon in this recipe.
- Mayonnaise & Sour Cream: this creates the creamy base to the dressing. Substitute with dairy free choices as needed.
How to Make (step-by-step):
- Step 1: Chop the potatoes to 1 inch chunks, keeping the size of the potatoes consistent helps to ensure even cooking.
- Step 2: Boil the potatoes. Place the potatoes in a large pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Be sure to salt the water to season the potatoes and help them cook quicker. Once the potatoes are fork tender, drain and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.
- Step 3 & 4: Prepare Dressing. While the potatoes are cooling, prepare the dressing by combining the mayo, sour cream and seasonings. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your tastes.
- Step 5: Once the potatoes are cooled, add the additional ingredients to the salad.
- Step 6: Add the dressing. Adding the dressing last helps to ensure all ingredients are coated in dressing and we are not mashing up our potatoes unnecessarily.
Expert Tips:
- Salt: Adding salt to the potatoes while they boil helps to season the potatoes and also allows them to boil quicker.
- Make Ahead: This salad can be made ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator 1 day in advance. Before serving check to make sure that there is still enough dressing, since sitting overnight, the potatoes can soak up the dressing. If needed, simply mix together some more mayo/sour cream and seasonings and add back to the salad.
- Serving Amounts: this recipe will make approximately 6 cups of prepared salad. If you are planning a bbq or picnic, plan on having 1/2 cup of salad per person. This recipe can easily be adjusted up or down as needed.
- Add Dressing Last: keeping this to the last step ensures we are not over-mixing our salad and mashing up our potatoes.
Red Potato Salad: FAQS
Are red potatoes best for potato salad?
Red potatoes are a great option for potato salad since they have a nice firm texture that doesn’t turn to mush when boiled. They retain their shape. Plus they have a beautiful colored skin that doesn’t need to be peeled before boiling and can be included in the salad.
Is it better to boil potatoes whole or cut for potato salad?
It’s best to cut your potatoes prior to boiling when making potato salad. Ensure that the potatoes are cut to the same size to help with even cooking.
Should I let the potatoes cool before adding dressing to potato salad?
Allow the potatoes at least 30 minutes to cool down before adding any mayonnaise type dressing, this will prevent the mayonnaise from becoming oily.
More Side Dish Recipes:
- Blue Cheese Coleslaw
- Mexican Corn Dip
- Texas BBQ Style Potato Salad
- German Potato Salad
- Classic Macaroni Salad
- Chicken Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad
Red White & Blue Potato Salad
This Creamy Red Potato Salad is perfect for potlucks, BBQs and picnics! Simple and easy to make, this side dish can be made ahead of time. Loaded up with red potatoes, blue cheese crumbles and a creamy white dressing this Red White & Blue potato salad is patriotic to serve all summer long!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs baby red potatoes
- 1 tsp course sea salt
- 6 slices bacon cooked & crumbled
- 5 ounces blue cheese
- ½ cup green onion sliced
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ tsp dill
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground mustard
- ½ tsp onion powder
Instructions
- Chop the baby red potatoes into small 1 inch cubes, place into a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and add the coarse sea salt. Boil for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and tender and able to be mashed with a fork.
- Remove the pot from the heat and pour the potatoes into a strainer to drain out all the water. Place potatoes into a large bowl and allow to cool to room temperature, or place into the refrigerator to cool down.
- In a small bowl combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, dill, salt, ground mustard, and onion powder. Stir to combine.
- Add the bacon, blue cheese and green onion to the cooled potatoes.
- Spoon dressing over the top of the salad and stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Serving Amounts: this recipe will make approximately 6 cups of prepared salad. If you are planning a bbq or picnic, plan on having 1/2 cup of salad per person. This recipe can easily be adjusted up or down as needed.
- Dill: the recipe calls for dried dill, but if you have fresh on hand go ahead and use that instead! Substitute 1/2 tablespoon of fresh dill for the 1/2 teaspoon in this recipe.
- Make Ahead: This salad can be made ahead of time and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator 1 day in advance. Before serving check to make sure that there is still enough dressing, since sitting overnight, the potatoes can soak up the dressing. If needed, simply mix together some more mayo/sour cream and seasonings and add back to the salad.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 9g | Sugar: 2g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe first published June 21, 2018. Updated May 20, 2022 with new images and information. Recipe is unchanged.
Photography by the talented @ModernFarmhouseEats
This was easy to make. Everyone at the BBQ luncheon loved it. This will be my go to recipe.
This really was amazing. It was perfect
I’ve always loves this salad. And this recipe does not disappoint. It’s the only potato salad my husband wants now. So easy and so delicious. 5 🌟
A BBQ favorite for our family. If you like blue cheese, this is a great recipe for you!
Love the recipe. Make it at least once a week.
Just one tiny thing – the word is COARSE for salt, COURSE for classes at school or how many courses in a meal. In a world of spell check, it’s easy to miss.
Thank you so much for posting this recipe. It was a hit for 4th of July and so yummy! I usually just buy the red,white, blue potatoe salad from Vons but with the pandemic they didn’t have it. Found this recipe and decided to give it a try. Will definitely make it again , better than Vons.?
Excellent recipe! Just the right amount of creaminess and balance of flavors. I left the bacon in 1 inch pieces and it turned out perfect! Definitely will be a redo!
This is an amazing summertime favorite of mine
This is really delicious and I highly recommend, but do NOT cook the potatoes for 15-20 minutes! We ate my first batch as mashed potatoes last night. Today I boiled them only 10 minutes checking every 5. Definitely go with the 1/2 inch cubes, not the 1 inch stated in the instructions. 1/2 inch is mentioned in the intro up above. So Serene, if you can fix these two things I won’t have to explain it every time I recommend this recipe 🙂
This sounds fabulous, Serene. Blue cheese in potato salad.. never tried it! Will do now!
Hi Serene….! oh wow this is perfect salad for this hot summer, this looks sooo yummy & delicious… i will tried to making this potato salad…Thanks for sharing…..!
The mayo definitely counts as white! And darn delicious too 🙂 I adore potato salad, it’s my favorite part of grilling season. Love the blue cheese! Pinned!
PS again, congrats on the sweet little guy of yours!