The tart pungent flavor and creamy texture of blue cheese makes a wonderful partner for potatoes, sour cream, green onions and smoky bacon. This blue cheese potato salad with bacon is pot luck picnic perfect and a great side for a juicy grilled steak.
This Summer side dish is delicious with this Buffalo Burgers, or Grilled Flank Steak with Charred Caramelized Sweet Corn, or even our Best Grilled Chicken.
Why Embrace This Recipe?
Who can argue with potatoes, bacon, sour cream and blue cheese.
- Who Is This Recipe For? This recipe is easy enough for a beginning cook and interesting enough for the seasoned home chef. If you’re someone who attends a lot of back yard bbq’s or office pot lucks, this Blue Cheese Potato salad is a recipe that will capture everyone’s attention.
- Why This Isn’t Your Grandma’s Potato Salad? It’s a potato salad recipe without mayonnaise. The creamy texture comes from adding sour cream. It’s a far cry from my mom’s Classic Potato Salad Recipe, flavored traditionally with mayo, celery and mustard. This is a unique potato salad dressing that comes with real pizzaz.
- It’s Easy: Once the prep is complete and potatoes are boiled, potato salads are a quick and very popular option for a side dish.
- Bacon: Everyone loves bacon, and blue cheese and bacon are a great combo for potatoes. And it’s the reason I call this “the ultimate blue cheese potato salad”.
Choosing The Right Blue Cheese
There’s really no right or wrong on which blue cheese you choose to make blue cheese potato salad. Here are some guidelines about flavors and textures.
- Maytag Blue Cheese: I have received no incentive to mention this name brand, it's simply the brand I prefer. It's an American made blue cheese produced in Iowa. A cow's milk cheese that is creamy and mild in flavor and easy to find.
- Roquefort Blue Cheese: Roquefort is a sheep milk's cheese. Creamy and aromatic, complex and intense. This cheese will add a stronger funky flavor to blue cheese dressing. This cheese and its strong personality is made for serious blue cheese lovers.
- Traditional Danish Blue Cheese: A strong blue veined cheese that is rich and creamy, with a slight bitterness and salt. Made with cow's milk, it's milder than Roquefort and an excellent choice for blue cheese dressing.
- Stilton Cheese: The best known British Blue Cheese that has a strong spicy flavor. I use it whenever I can find it.
- Gorgonzola: Gorgonzola, from Italy, is soft and spreadable. Depending on age, the flavor ranges from mild to sharp. Due to its softness, your chunky factor will be compromised. I'd save this one to spread on a burger
- Amish Blue Cheese: Made in Wisconsin, it's a medium strength cow's milk cheese and a good value and I've made this recipe many times using this cheese. The color variation isn't as crisp as other blue cheeses, making it not my first choice.
In summary, any blue cheese will work for this potato salad. Try them all, find your favorite and make it your own.
Table of contents
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Blue Cheese, Purchasing a wedge of blue cheese is preferable for quality. Blue cheese is very easy to crumble with your hands.
- Potatoes, Yukon Gold or Russet Potatoes work well for potato salads and even small red potatoes are a treat for this recipe.
- Sour Cream, This potato salad with no mayo uses sour cream instead, which really changes up the flavor profile from the classic.
- Hard Boiled Eggs, Three hard boiled eggs, either chopped or sliced.
- Milk, Milk is used to thin the consistency.
- Green Onions, Three green onions, sliced, white and some green parts.
- Bacon: Cooked and crumbled.
Ingredients Swaps and Substitutions
- Onions: If you don’t have green onions, use a mild sweet onion and better yet, a super sweet Vidalia onion. Just chop the onion into small pieces.
- Milk: Swap that milk with a couple of tablespoons of starchy potato water before you’ve drained it from the cooked potatoes. It’s liquid gold in keeping the potato salad nice and creamy.
- Sour Cream: I like to use full fat sour cream for optimum flavor. Feel free to use reduced fat sour cream in its place.
Step by Step, How To
- Step 1: Simmer the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into large bite sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Liberally salt and set on a burner over medium heat. Gently bring the potatoes to a simmer and cook until just getting tender. Don’t boil, or over cook or the potatoes will become mushy. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. (Save a bit of that starchy water to add to the potato salad)
Tip: How To Cut Potatoes For The Best Bite Sized Pieces
When making potato salad, I like the chunks of potatoes to be a little larger that diced or cubed size. That way they won’t get lost in the other ingredients. Cut them roughly 1 inch in size.
- First slice the potatoes into planks and then cut the planks into sticks.
- Then cut those sticks into cubes.
- If you want them to be perfect, start by squaring off the potatoes by cutting off the ends and sides. That will give you more even potato squares without any mis-shapes from their oblong shape. I don’t do this because once mixed into the salad, an odd shaped from a corner will hardly be noticeable.
- Note: When using small new Yukon Gold or Red Skinned potatoes, simply quarter them.
- Step 2: Place the hot potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the blue cheese, sliced onions, sour cream, milk (or starchy potato water, or both) and cooked bacon bits.
- Step 3: Using a large spatula, gently blend the ingredients together. Don’t over mix. It may cause the potatoes to break apart. Adjust seasonings and add a little more milk or starchy water if necessary.
Tips For Success
- Potatoes: Choose medium starch potatoes like Yukon Gold or Red Skinned Potatoes. A waxy potato will avoid a mealy texture. They’ll hold their shape and texture better than Russet potatoes, which are a high starch potato. Save those for mashed potatoes or baked potatoes.
- How To tell when potatoes are “just right done” insert a fork or sharp knife into a potato. If the potato feels tender and the utensil releases easily, they’re done.
- Grab a wedge or blue cheese rather than pre-crumbled blue cheese in a plastic container. The product will be creamier, fresher and more flavorful.
- If you don’t want the blue cheese to melt, let the potatoes cool before proceeding with the recipe.
FAQ’s
No matter what the potato I’m using to make potato salad. I always cook the potatoes with skin on. If using russet potatoes, which have a tough skin, once the potatoes have cooled enough, I remove the skin before proceeding with the recipe. If using Yukon Gold potatoes, I generally will leave the skin on after boiling. The skins are tender enough that they won’t distract from the flavor and texture of the potato salad and they’re very edible.
Simple! They were cooked too long. Watch them closely and test the potato periodically with a knife. Once the knife doesn’t have a “pull” when you release it from the potato, it’s done.
A creamy potato salad like this recipe is traditionally served cold. A vinaigrette sauced potato salad, like this Warm German Potato Salad, are recipes that can be served warm.
Simple, omit the bacon. If you’re looking to keep some crunch, try adding toasted pecans or walnuts.
Make Ahead and Storage
- Make Ahead: As with any recipe like this, cold potato salads or pasta salads taste better the next day. Perfect to make ahead to save time. You can make this up to two days in advance. Store in the refrigerator, well sealed.
- Storage: How long will potato salad last in the refrigerator? Store any leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Recipe For Bacon Blue Cheese Potato Salad
This Blue Cheese Potato Salad with Bacon has quickly become one of our favorite Summer side dishes. Bacon and blue cheese pair wonderfully with potatoes and onions and sour cream, the rest is history.
More Popular Recipes Using Blue Cheese
- Silver Spur Ranch Blue Cheese Hamburger
- Blue Cheese Potatoes Dauphinoise
- Mango and Avocado Salad with Blue Cheese
- Black and Blue Burgers
And the most popular on my site for Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing. It’s steakhouse quality.
Looking for more side dish recipes? Don’t miss my side dish category. You’ll find lots of great recipes including the most popular on my site for Broccoli Cheez Whiz Casserole.
And if you’re looking for even more side dishes for picnic style gatherings, don’t miss this line-up of Summer cook-out sides. I’m positive you’ll find something you love.
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Blue Cheese Potato Salad with Bacon
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds Potatoes Yukon gold or russet
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons milk or reserved starchy water that the potatoes were cooked in
- salt and pepper
- 3 green onions sliced
- 3 eggs hard cooked and chopped or sliced
- 4 ounces blue cheese
- 4 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Simmer the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into large bite sized pieces. Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with cold water. Liberally salt the potatoes and set on a burner over medium heat. Gently bring the potatoes to a simmer and cook until just getting tender. Don't boil, or over cook or the potatoes will become mushy. To tell when they're "just right done" insert a fork or sharp knife into a potato. If the potato feels tender and the utensil releases easily, they're done. Drain the potatoes in a colander in the sink. (Save a bit of that starchy water to add to the potato salad)
- Place the hot potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Add the blue cheese, sliced onions, sour cream, milk (or starchy potato water, or both) and cooked bacon bits.
- Using a large spatula, gently blend the ingredients together. Don't over mix. It may cause the potatoes to break apart. Adjust seasonings.
- Serve garnished with sliced or chopped hard boiled eggs. Add some chopped parsley for some color.
Notes
Nutrition
Bacon Blue Cheese Potato Salad … It’s What’s For A Summer Side Dish
Why Trust My Recipes? I am a Culinary School Graduate and a lifelong student of home cooking. I hope to inspire you try to cook as often as you can. I’ve been cooking for 50 years, and my recipes are tried and true tested and tested and then tested again before published. To read more take a look at my About Page.
I love potato salad and this definitely sounds like a good one. I reminds me of a stuffed baked potato.
Love, love, LOVE potato salad. Particularly at this time of the year. This one is nice — want to make it, and soon. Thanks!
Even though I commented in 2015, I will change from “it looks delicious” to it looks awesome” except I always use waxy potatoes as the russets can fall apart. Can’t believe I haven’t made it but must soon.
Delicious and a Tasty change from the ordinary to Extraordinary!
Wow. Love Kate! This recipe sounds delicious!!!!
Thanks Debra.
Hi Lea Ann, Here you are getting ready for summer with the potato salad, and I’m still shoveling snow! Since I love blue cheese, this potato salad is making me hungry. I also looked at your traditional one which is how I usually make mine. Hope you’re having a nice spring.
Thanks Barb. You just can’t beat that traditional version, but this was great for a change. And I’m thinking BBQ and this would make a great meal.
Awesome recipe, Lea Ann. Of course the almonds and bacon don’t hurt. 🙂 Love that crunch. Really must try this for a pot
Iuck coming up.
Cute idea…bloggers clue.
Thanks Barbara. Always good to hear from you.
I like that this dressing is a combination of mayo and sour cream – I bet its got great flavor.
Thank you Lauren!
Lea Ann, this sounds delicious! I love potato salad, so I’d serve this one in addition to, rather than instead of, my regular potato salad! Forget the main dish, pass me those salads!
Thank you Jean! We really liked this one.
I’m with you on that main dish, I’ll take a bowl of potato salad. 🙂
A perfect recipe for the BBQ and picnic season ahead! I love blue cheese and never would have though to add it to potato salad.
Thanks Susan and I agree about that BBQ season and a great side dish.
Sounds like a great potato salad. I had such a hard time finding a recipe on your site this month – you have too many great options. I’ve bookmarked all your hatch chile recipes to try – I still have a freezer full of hatch chiles.
PS, loved your basil pesto – so fresh and delicious!
Happy Spring!
That egg.
The slice in the bottom right hand corner.
He’s a smiley face. See the two eyes and where the yolk pulls away, that is his smile. I can’t un-see it.
I would make this at an upscale BBQ dinner if I do a charity event type of thing. That and a fussy type slaw. Maybe that’s a blog post I need to work on – gourmet BBQ dinner.
what a perfect choice!! 🙂