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Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad

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This Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad has been our family favorite for many years. It never disappoints!

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad from @creativculinary

The first cookbook that was ever really mine was ‘The Better Homes and Gardens ‘New’ Cookbook’ published sometime in the 70’s. And the first recipe I made from it was this Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad; and it’s been my favorite ever since.

It was and remains a great primer with some basic information for all cooks including weights and measure and substitutions but by today’s standards it would most likely earn nary a consideration by many cooks. No big celebrity or chef endorsements and few photos; nope…just some great basic recipes.

Many I’ve made time and time again that are still favorites including a Hamburger and Baked Bean Casserole that was a staple when my kids were growing up, my favorite Strawberry Pie that I have updated a bit, and this perfect Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad.

Truth is, that particular book was in storage while my life is in limbo in 2013 and I’ve still yet to unpack all my books here but I’ve made it so many times over the years, I’m sure at least once every summer, that it’s now simply held in my heart.

I’ve made it to woo a boyfriend when I was young, made it for picnics with other young marrieds, made it for barbecues held at my home and made it for my daughter’s backyard graduation party. Most recently it was made for a group of neighbors getting together on Sunday afternoon for some burgers off the grill and this was, as it often is, my contribution.

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad

I could have called it ‘The Best Potato Salad Ever‘ for I really think it is…and I’ve made some changes over the years that I want to believe have enhanced the original. No longer peeling Idaho potatoes, I simply cut up and use red potatoes, skin and all (what a timesaver LIFESAVER!).

Where I once followed the recipe exactly and use bottled Italian salad dressing to marinate the potatoes after they cooked, I now prefer to whisk together some bacon fat (oh yeah), olive oil, vinegar and herbs from the garden for an even fresher (and better) taste.

I did learn through experimentation though that as good as balsamic vinegar tastes, it’s not a good choice. Tan potato salad is just not so pretty! Still the main ingredients rule…some egg, some bacon, some sour cream and no, doggone it, whoever decided that it belongs there anyhow, RELISH. No. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch.

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad

By the way did you know that old fashioned Pyrex bowls are a BIG DEAL? My daughter and her friends hold swaps, yearn for ones they see on Pinterest and there are definitely bragging rights if you score a set like you see in this post. These belong to my friend Karen who let me borrow them for this old fashioned recipe that is still my favorite today.

Did she know anything about how popular they’ve become? Heck no, these are simply a wedding gift that they have now used for over 30 years! Who knew? Certainly not Karen. Or me. How about you? Are you one of the new Pyrex fanatics? It seemed most appropriate to use these bowls; they and this recipe are of the same generation and they are a great example of ‘What’s old is new again.’ Try it…you’ll see, it’s the BEST!!

If it’s Thursday it must be time for the Food Network #SummerSoiree. Today it’s one of my favorites; potato salad. I love this potato salad and others too and imagine I’m going to want to make every single dish on this list from our other contributors. Perfect time of year and enough barbecues and picnics I bet we could do just that!

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Feed Me Phoebe: French Lentil Salad with Roasted Baby Potatoes and Herbs
The Lemon Bowl: Vegan Potato Salad Recipe
Healthy Eats: Spruced-Up Spuds: 5 Better-for-You Potato Salads
Homemade Delish: Brazilian Potato Salad
The Mom 100: Egg and Potato Salad with Bacon
Creative Culinary: Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad
FN Dish: 7 Ways to Win at Potato Salad

PIN ‘Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad’

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad PIN

Yield: 6-8 Servings

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad

Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad from @creativculinary

A favorite recipe that never gets old; we think this Sour Cream and Bacon Potato Salad is the absolute best!

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

For the marinade:

  • 4 oz olive oil
  • 2 oz bacon drippings
  • 2 oz cider vinegar
  • Herbs of your choice - I used 6 basil leaves, 1 sprig of fresh rosemary and about 2 Tbsp of fresh thyme; all chopped.
  • 1/2 tsp garlic salt

For the Potato Salad:

  • 4 pounds small Red potatoes
  • 4 large eggs, hard boiled. Separate yolks from whites and chop whites.
  • 8 oz bacon, cooked to a crisp and crumbled (Be sure to reserve some bacon drippings for the marinade above)
  • 1/2 bunch green onion, chopped
  • 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 3/4 cup sour cream (in a pinch I've used Greek yogurt)
  • 3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
  • Salt and Pepper for seasoning

For Garnish:

  • Chopped green onion and crumbled bacon (optional)

Instructions

To Make the Marinade

  1. Combine the bacon fat, olive oil, vinegar, herbs and garlic salt in a small food processor or shaker jar and combine well.
  2. Season with pepper to taste.

To Make the Potato Salad

  1. Clean (but do not peel) the potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Immerse in salted water; bring water to a boil and boil for 7-10 minutes, testing potatoes to see if they are done. They should be firm but easily penetrated with a fork.
  2. Remove from heat, drain and place back into pot.
  3. Add the marinade and stir gently to cover all of the potatoes; refrigerate for at least one-half hour.
  4. Mash egg yolks finely with a fork in a medium size bowl. Make the dressing by combining the yolks with the mayonnaise, sour cream and Dijon mustard; mix with a whisk and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Add dressing, chopped egg whites, bacon and green onion to potatoes and mix gently. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.
  6. Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour before serving; best if made ahead and refrigerated overnight.
  7. Garnish before serving with green onion and bacon bits.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 860Total Fat: 60gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 43gCholesterol: 181mgSodium: 1916mgCarbohydrates: 53gFiber: 5gSugar: 7gProtein: 26g

The nutritional information is computer-generated and only an estimate.

© Creative Culinary

 


Comments

  2. I love potato salad but potato salad with bacon, even better! Sounds so good! Perfect timing too! Yes I love old Pyrex, I spent ages perusing eBay in the UK and managed to get an old Cinderella Pyrex bowl, wonder how it ended up over there? Well of course it's here with me now and I still watch out for more of the old Pyrex bowls!
    Reply

    • My daughter loves collecting them. My friend has no idea they are collectibles; to her they are just bowls. :)
      Reply

  3. Delicious! I usually just let my hot spuds marinate in some vinegar while still hot, but I love your more complex marinade. And yes to the bacon grease!
    Reply

  4. Hello Barbara Kiebel Thank you for the most delicious and yummy Bacon potato Salad recipe I'm very slim women so this recipe is perfect for me to gain my weight and your blog is good keep update this amazing and good site of food thank you greeting from U.K...
    Reply

    • So glad to hear; it's been my favorite for many years and nothing comes close if you ask me! Enjoy.
      Reply

  7. This potato salad looks lucious! I am always asked to bring potato salad to family potlucks, and I will try this one next time, as well as my old stand-by. I have a set of these bowls that I collected one by one. I've done that for my sister in-law, and daughter, too. My mother received a set for a wedding present back in 1947, and they are still intact. She always said she wouldn't have been able to cook if she didn't have them.
    Reply

    • I've been making it forever and nothing else measures up for me; but then I don't love relish and I do love bacon! Funny how those bowls are now collectors items isn't it?
      Reply

  8. It’s early in the morning i read this recipe sour cream and bacon potato salad my sister love to cooking in home and this delicious recipe i must be share soon with my sister thank you so much for this lovely post with amazing picture..
    Reply

    • Thank you...as my vegetable garden shrinks I've compensated by growing more and more herbs!
      Reply

  11. The Better Home and Gardens cookbook was one of the first cookbooks that I purchased, mainly because it often made appearances in both my grandma and mom's kitchens, so I knew it was reliable. It was such a great guide for me when I first started cooking, and I think it really helps with fundamentals and gives you a good base for getting more creative in the kitchen. I can see why it has been reprinted so many times! The salad looks great! Hey, you could have entered this in the Bacon Takedown!
    Reply

    • Son of a gun, I could have couldn't I? It was fun being a judge though; much less pressure than being a contestant!
      Reply

  12. Love this potato salad! I've never prepared potato salad with the step of marinating the potatoes but it sounds like it would add such a great flavor. I adore red potatoes too. That's how I make my mashed potatoes. I love their flavor so this salad is right up my alley.
    Reply

    • That step must be important because I've always just loved this potato salad Kate. My only caveat that I learned through trial and error? Don't use balsamic vinegar. As much as I love it, it did add a brownish hue to the potatoes; tasted great but not so great in the looks department.
      Reply

    • That is surely the key to why I love this so much...everything is better with bacon right?
      Reply

    • Just tell her to put it in her will for YOU Abbe...who knew it would take off as a vintage favorite?
      Reply

  15. I found three old cookbooks in my mom's kitchen cupboard on my last trip home but could only fit two in my carry on luggage so her copy of The Better Homes and Gardens ‘New’ Cookbook from the 60s or 70s is still there, waiting for my next trip back. But I do have a reprint of it and love it! I love the good, old fashioned homey recipes. This potato salad looks great, especially with the bacon. This is one of those recipes that's great the original, old fashioned way or with a new, updated twist. Love the bowls!
    Reply

    • I love some of the old standards; not those that relied on Cool Whip or canned everything but those that showed that yes indeed, people actually used to cook by scratch in 'the olden days.' Aren't the bowls pretty...Karen has a bunch of Pyrex; she would be a hero to the new 'I have to have vintage Pyrex' generation!
      Reply

  17. I agree, no relish. Bacon? Of course! I love that you use a marinade with this, it sound wonderful and the salad looks scrumptious. No doubt that beautiful *collector's* Pyrex bowl was emptied in no time. Your friend certainly takes good care of her wedding gifts :)
    Reply

    • THANK YOU Paula. I've read some say that relish or pickle juice is the key to great potato salad success and I want to leave a comment. Stop. No. Don't do it!! Ruins it for me; glad to have a soulmate in that opinion!
      Reply

  19. I have a Betty Crocker Cokbook that I received as a wedding shower gift and feel the same way about it as you do your Better Homes and Gardens book. Lots of classic recipes, some made better with a few twists but reliable recipes nonetheless. I think I should plan a bbq so that you can bring this to my house! Trouble is I'd have a whole list of foods I'd love for you to bring along...drinks too!
    Reply

    • I'm sort of missing that book now; funny how that is...and sure, plan away. I'll bring drinks and salad and dessert and...oh wait; that's enough right? :)
      Reply

  21. I still have my cookbook & it's probably the same vintage as yours! Use it all the time, especially when my step-daughter asks for tried and true basic recipes! I love the pyrex bowls but alas I have none! My mom has one left from her set and it is a turq-blue and I always want to snag it for it's size! Maybe Pyrex should do an anniversary edition of them similar to Ball brining back blue mason jars for their anniversary!
    Reply

  22. Oh how very delicious! This is JUST how I like my potato salad... love those flavours, the bacon, the sour cream! Other than my mother's version, this ranks as the BEST I've seen! Do you home deliver?
    Reply

    • Thanks Liz...I would offer home delivery to you but I fear I would eat it all before I got there. Oops!
      Reply

  23. Terrific looking potato salad! I love the combo of bacon and sour cream. I make a German potato salad sometimes that's distantly related to this - no sour cream, the dressing is just hot bacon grease and cider vinegar. And you can serve it hot, warm, or chilled. This looks really good - definitely something I need to try. Thanks!
    Reply

    • Thanks John! I make a German one too; my Grandma's recipe I think? If it's German and I make it I probably got the recipe from her! Ever done a French potato salad with olive oil and fresh herbs? You should try it, so light and fresh and for summer a great transportable one; nothing that has to be refrigerated.
      Reply

    • Thanks Mick...it is! Just needs a great steak on the side...hmm, wonder where I can find one of those? :)
      Reply

  25. LOVE this recipe, Barb! And, I have to chuckle over the younger girls and their vintage Pyrex bowl obsessions. Hahaha! They are THE BEST. (Several are on my Pinterest board, too.) I grew up with the primary color set my mom had. The large yellow and white bowl was our popcorn bowl. The colors matched with the white popcorn and yellow butter! So fitting and we have such fond memories sharing popcorn from that large bowl. You have a flair for improving vintage recipes and it is a fun thing for me, too! Always feels good to make something better that everyone loves. Adore this post, B! Pinning two pics because I love them both! xo
    Reply

    • I had NO idea they were all the rage; but I do love things that stand the test of time and that they have. My daughter scored a couple of pie plates; they will surely make an appearance here soon!
      Reply

  26. My Better Homes and Gardens cookbook still has pride of place in my kitchen. For good stand by recipes, this is my go to. I am ashamed to say that I have never made this potato salad but I certainly will now.
    Reply

    • I erred in not bringing it with me; especially now...I'm feeling such nostalgia for it. I'll come over and flip through yours a bit if that's OK? :)
      Reply

    • Exactly...those pages that almost stick together because they've been referred to SO many times. Now I'm sort of missing it but then I'm missing all of my stuff; it's time to buy me a new home!
      Reply

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I’m Barbara Kiebel, the cook, photographer, author, and everyday eater at Creative Culinary. I hope you enjoy the recipes I prepare for family and friends and appreciate every one of you that come visit my virtual home! Read More…

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