Loaded Baked Potato Salad
Roasted baby gold potatoes tossed with all the best loaded baked potato toppings—dairy-free cheddar, vegan bacon bits, green onions and a creamy, smoky dressing.
There are potato salads, and then there are potato salads that are basically a loaded baked potato pretending to be a side dish.
This is the second kind.
Baby gold potatoes get roasted with olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper until tender and lightly golden, then cooled completely before getting tossed with everything you’d want piled onto a baked potato: green onions, dairy-free cheese, bacon bits, fresh parsley and a creamy, slightly tangy dressing made with dairy-free mayo and sour cream.
And yes, we're using McCormick Bacon Bits. (And yes, they're vegan.)
It's creamy, smoky, salty, a little tangy and substantial enough that nobody is going to mistake it for the obligatory potato salad sitting sadly in the corner of the cookout table.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Completely dairy-free and plant-based but you can totally make this with regular dairy products if you’re not worried about it being vegan.
Easy to prep in stages and make ahead.
Great for cookouts, potlucks and game-day spreads
Familiar enough for the “I don't eat vegan food” crowd
Easily customizable with whatever loaded-potato toppings you love
Ingredients You’ll Need
Prep Time: 60 minutes, (including roasting and cooling time for the potatoes)
Yield: Approximately 6-8 servings
For the Roasted Potatoes
3 lbs baby gold potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Loaded Potato Salad
4 green onions, thinly sliced
½ cup vegan bacon bits (McCormick Bacon Bits work!)
1 cup dairy-free shredded cheddar
¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
For the Creamy Dressing
1 cup dairy-free mayonnaise
1 cup dairy-free sour cream
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon brown mustard
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
How to Make It
1. Roast the potatoes
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Quarter the baby gold potatoes and toss them with olive oil, garlic powder, kosher salt and black pepper.
Spread them onto a sheet pan in a single layer and roast until fork-tender and lightly golden around the edges, about 25–35 minutes, tossing once about halfway through.
Set the potatoes aside and let them cool completely before assembling the salad.
2. Make the dressing
In a large bowl, combine the dairy-free mayonnaise and sour cream with a splash of apple cider vinegar, a tiny bit of brown mustard and a sprinkle of smoked paprika.
Season with salt and pepper and taste.
You're looking for something creamy and rich but with enough acidity to keep the finished salad from feeling heavy.
3. Load it up
Add the cooled roasted potatoes to the dressing along with the green onions, vegan bacon bits, dairy-free cheddar and chopped parsley.
Gently fold everything together until the potatoes are evenly coated without breaking them apart.
4. Dress and Serve
If you're serving the potato salad right away, gently fold the cooled potatoes and toppings into the dressing until everything is evenly coated. sprinkle with a few more bacon bits and spring onions for garnish.
If you're making it ahead, don't add the dressing yet. Refrigerate the potatoes and toppings together and keep the dressing in a separate container until closer to serving time.
Making It Ahead
This potato salad is a great make-ahead option, with one small catch: wait to add the dressing.
You can roast and cool the potatoes, then add them to your serving bowl with the green onions, bacon bits, dairy-free cheese and parsley. Cover everything and refrigerate until you’re getting closer to serving time.
Keep the dressing refrigerated separately, then toss everything together shortly before serving.
The potatoes will continue to absorb the dressing as the salad sits, which means a potato salad that was perfectly creamy three hours ago can suddenly look a little dry by the time it hits the table. Adding the dressing closer to serving keeps everything creamy and gives you that loaded baked potato texture we're after.
What About Leftovers?
They're still delicious!
Just know that the potatoes will continue soaking up that dressing overnight, so the salad won't be quite as creamy the next day. You can eat it exactly as-is, or revive it with a spoonful of dairy-free mayo or sour cream before re-serving.
A Few Notes
Let those potatoes cool.
This is probably the biggest thing I'd emphasize. Warm potatoes + dairy-free cheese + mayo/sour cream dressing can turn into something much softer and heavier than we're going for. Cool potatoes keep their shape and let the dressing cling to them.
Don't overdo the mustard.
This isn't mustard potato salad. We're using just enough brown mustard to give the dressing a little depth and tang.
Taste after chilling.
Cold foods often need another little hit of salt or acid before serving. If it tastes slightly flat after chilling, a pinch of salt or tiny splash of apple cider vinegar will usually wake everything back up.
Final Thoughts
There is absolutely a time and place for a classic potato salad.
There is also a time to roast a bunch of baby gold potatoes, cover them in cheese, bacon bits and a creamy sour cream dressing, and essentially turn a loaded baked potato into something you can bring to a cookout in a giant bowl.
I know which one I'm bringing.
Love, Light, and Lentils, my friends.
Sarah