This potato salad can be served warm or at room temperature. Plenty of bacon, dill, and sour cream make this an easy crowd pleaser and delicious side dish.
Not only is warm potato salad delicious, it’s also a time saver! No need to chill potatoes: simply cook, rinse, and toss with the delicious sour cream based dressing and lots and lots of bacon.
I love to serve this potato salad with dishes like sous vide ribs and sous vide brisket. It’s the best way to round out a potluck or barbecue! If you’re looking for even more side dish recipes, don’t worry, I have plenty.
Since it’s meant to be served warm or at room temp, you can also make ahead if you want. Get the potatoes boiled at the beginning of your prep, then toss with the dressing right before serving.
Why warm instead of cold?
Cold potato salad is the classic, but let’s be real: does anyone like cold potatoes as much as warm potatoes? The answer is a hard no. All of our other favorite potatoes, like scalloped potatoes, mashed potatoes, and fries, are warm! Why shouldn’t potato salad be?
Serving your potato salad warm is not only more delicious, it’s simpler: no need to plan ahead. Boil your potatoes, give ’em a rinse, toss with the dressing.
How to Make Warm Potato Salad
First, you’ll start by cubing and boiling potatoes. I like to use red potatoes for potato salad. You’ll want to boil until just fork tender, careful to not veer towards mushy, about 7-9 minutes of boil time.
After boiling, strain and rinse with cold water for about 10 seconds. Let drain completely.
In the meantime, make the dressing for the potato salad. You’ll need sour cream, garlic powder, pepper, chives, dill, red onion, and dijon mustard.
This part is easy: simply stir all the dressing ingredients together and toss with the cooked potatoes!
And there you have it: potato salad that’s creamy, herby, bacony, and delicious. The ultimate side dish (okay, okay, it does compete for macaroni and cheese in my heart but it’s a close competition).
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can this be made ahead?
- Yes! You can even just serve it cold 😉 If you want to make ahead and still serve it warm, let it come to room temperature or reheat for 15 minutes in a 300 degree F oven.
- Can I use _____ herb instead?
- Feel free to play with the fresh herbs used in this recipe! However, I do think dill is the best complement to the other flavors here.
- Is potato salad gluten free?
- This recipe is indeed gluten free!
View this recipe as a step-by-step web story here.
Get the Recipe:
Warm Potato Salad with Sour Cream and Bacon
Ingredients
For the Potatoes:
- 2 lbs red potatoes, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
- Kosher salt
For the Dressing:
- 6 strips cooked bacon, crumbled
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped dill
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Fill a large stockpot about 6 inches deep with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add enough kosher salt to make the water taste salty, like the ocean. Start with 3 tbsp and continue adding 1 tbsp at a time until salty.
- Add potatoes to the water and boil for 7-9 minutes or until potatoes are barely fork tender.
- While the potatoes are boiling, mix together all dressing ingredients in a large bowl.
- When the potatoes are done, drain and rinse with cold water for about 20 seconds. Toss in strainer to remove as much water as possible and let sit for about 5 minutes until dry.
- Add the potatoes to the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Can this be made ahead?
- Yes! You can even just serve it cold 😉 If you want to make ahead and still serve it warm, let it come to room temperature or reheat for 15 minutes in a 300 degree F oven.
The flavors are so good! I ended up using Yukon gold and mashed the potatoes while mixing the ingredients., this recipe makes amazing mashed potatoes