If you love potato salad, this recipe is one you have to try this summer! Creamy potato salad with shallots and bacon is so delicious and full of flavor. It’s a hit whether you’re making it for a party or for a weekend barbecue.
It’s the season of barbecues and picnics, and that means it’s time to break out all the summery salad recipes. I love a good creamy potato salad – it’s one of my favorite summertime recipes.
Potato salad is the perfect side dish for grilled chicken, pork, or veggie burgers. It’s even good on its own for a light summer lunch.
I know that you might think, oh no, potato salad has eggs. So it’s out for my egg-allergic family. Not true! There are a few types of mayonnaise that don’t contain eggs, so you can easily make an egg-free potato salad. We like Earth Balance mayo – it’s pretty widely available at stores like Kroger or Whole Foods.
If you don’t like creamy potato salads, you could try my favorite dill pickle potato salad. It’s free of mayo, but full of flavor.
And if you’re vegan, just leave the bacon out, or use your favorite vegan bacon. Even if you leave the bacon out, this recipe will still be delicious.
Potatoes
I love to use yellow potatoes for potato salad, like Yukon Golds. I find that they have a really nice flavor, and they hold their shape well when cooked. You could try red skin potatoes if you prefer. I have a recipe for roasted red skin potato salad that you may like!
Shallots or Onions
Shallots are in the same family as onions, but do have a slightly different flavor. I find then to be the most like red onions, but a little less intense. If you don’t like a strong onion flavor, you may want to substitute sweet yellow onion in this recipe.
Dressing
I like to use the blender to mix up the dressing. You can whisk it together in a bowl, but I prefer the texture of it when it’s blended.
If you don’t love cilantro, you can use a different fresh herb like dill, parsley, or basil.
Make It Ahead
Yes, you can make this the night before if you like! Just leave the bacon out and add it right before you serve it so it doesn’t get soggy.
Variations
- If you don’t love cilantro, you can use fresh basil or even dill.
- Chopped onion will work well if you don’t have shallots.
- If you aren’t able to eat mustard, you can leave it out. Try a little lemon juice instead of the vinegar and mustard if you like!
More Summer Salad Recipes
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Recipe
Potato Salad with Shallots and Bacon.
Ingredients
- 6 cups Yukon Gold potatoes peeled and diced – about 8 medium sized potatoes
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- ½ cup cilantro chopped
- ½ cup mayonnaise use egg free mayo if needed – we like Earth Balance
- 1 ½ Tablespoons mustard
- 1 ½ Tablespoons vinegar
- 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- â…“ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup dill pickles chopped
- 8 slices cooked bacon crumbled
Instructions
- Peel and dice the potatoes. Put in a pan with water and bring to a boil. Boil for about 12 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Place the cilantro, mayonnaise, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a blender. Blend on high speed until smooth.
- Place the cooled potatoes, dill pickles, and crumbled cooked bacon in a bowl. Add the dressing, and stir gently to coat everything evenly. Top the salad with extra bacon or some cilantro leaves.
- If you want to make this ahead of time, just set the bacon aside and add it when you are ready to serve.
Darryl
The dressing on this salad is delicious.