Creamy BLT Potato Salad Recipe

This Creamy BLT Potato Salad piles crispy bacon, juicy cherry tomatoes, and a tangy dressing onto tender potatoes for the best side dish at your next cookout.

Creamy BLT Potato Salad is a cold potato salad built on the classic bacon, lettuce, and tomato combo, tossed in a mayonnaise and sour cream dressing. This recipe serves 6 to 8 people, delivers a dressing that’s tangy and rich without being heavy, and it’s perfect for backyard cookouts, potlucks, or any weeknight meal that needs a cold side. Here’s everything you need to make it perfectly.

I’ve made a version of this Creamy BLT Potato Salad every summer for the past few years, and the one thing that changed everything was salting the potato water like it’s pasta water. Skip that step and the whole salad tastes flat, no matter how good your dressing is. That’s the kind of detail you only pick up after making it more times than you’d like to admit.

Why You’ll Love This Creamy BLT Potato Salad

The Yukon Gold potatoes stay tender without turning mushy, and the tangy mayonnaise-sour cream dressing coats every piece without drowning it. Crispy bacon and sweet cherry tomatoes add texture and pops of flavor in every bite. It comes together with basic pantry staples and about 20 minutes of hands-on work, then the fridge does the rest. This is the kind of BLT potato salad recipe that disappears fast at any potluck.

What Ingredients Do You Need for Creamy BLT Potato Salad?

Ingredient Group	Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Main Ingredients	Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed	2 lbs	Cut into 1-inch cubes
Main Ingredients	Bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled	6 slices	Cook until very crisp
Dressing	Mayonnaise	1 cup
Dressing	Sour cream	1/4 cup
Dressing	Apple cider vinegar	2 tablespoons
Dressing	Dijon mustard	1 tablespoon
Dressing	Celery salt	1/2 teaspoon
Dressing	Black pepper	1/4 teaspoon
Mix-Ins & Garnish	Cherry tomatoes, halved	1 cup
Mix-Ins & Garnish	Green onions, chopped	1/2 cup
Mix-Ins & Garnish	Iceberg lettuce, shredded	1 cup	Optional, add just before serving

Yukon Golds are the right call here because they hold their shape after boiling instead of falling apart into mush. The sour cream is what keeps this dressing from tasting like a plain mayo-based potato salad — it adds a tang that balances the smoky, crispy bacon. And don’t skip celery salt for this one. It’s a small ingredient that does a lot of the flavor work in a homemade BLT potato salad.

How to Make Creamy BLT Potato Salad Step by Step

1. Place the potato cubes in a large pot and cover with cold, salted water.
2. Bring the water to a boil and cook the potatoes until fork-tender, about 10-15 minutes.

💡 Salt the water generously, the same way you would for pasta. It’s your only chance to season the potatoes from the inside.

3. Drain the potatoes well and let them cool slightly.

Pro Tip: Warm potatoes soak up dressing better than fully cooled ones, so don’t let them sit too long before mixing.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, sour cream, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, celery salt, and black pepper until smooth.
5. Add the cooled potatoes to the dressing and gently toss to coat.
6. Stir in the crumbled bacon, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped green onions.

💡 Fold gently here. Aggressive stirring breaks the potato cubes down into a mash instead of a salad.

7. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to let the flavors meld.

Pro Tip: This creamy potato salad with bacon actually tastes better the next day, once the dressing has had time to fully soak in.

8. Just before serving, gently fold in the shredded iceberg lettuce, if using, and serve chilled.

Expert Tips for Perfect Creamy BLT Potato Salad

Pro Tips for Success

The key to a creamy texture that isn’t soupy is draining the potatoes thoroughly before they ever meet the dressing. Any extra water thins out the mayo mixture and leaves you with a pool at the bottom of the bowl.

For best results, cook your bacon until it’s genuinely crisp rather than just browned. Soft or chewy bacon gets soggy once it sits in the dressing overnight.

The most common mistake is adding the lettuce too early — instead, fold it in right before serving so it stays crisp instead of wilting into the salad.

Creamy BLT Potato Salad works best when the potatoes are cut into uniform 1-inch cubes, since even sizing means they all finish cooking at the same time.

I learned the hard way that skipping the chill time is a mistake. An hour in the fridge is what actually lets the vinegar and Dijon cut through the richness of the mayo instead of just sitting on top of it.

Delicious Variations

Quick Version: Use pre-cooked bacon bits and store-bought cooked, cubed potatoes to cut the active prep time down to about 10 minutes.

Alternative Ingredients: Swap the sour cream for plain Greek yogurt if you want a slightly tangier, protein-heavier dressing.

Low-Carb Version: Replace half the potatoes with cauliflower florets, boiled the same way, for a lighter take on this bacon lettuce tomato potato salad.

Troubleshooting Common Problems

Problem: The dressing looks watery or thin after mixing. Solution: Make sure the potatoes were fully drained and had a few minutes to steam-dry before dressing them.

Problem: The bacon turned soggy by the next day. Solution: Cook the bacon extra crisp and add it right before serving instead of mixing it in a full day ahead.

Problem: The potatoes fell apart into mush. Solution: Check them earlier next time and pull them from the boiling water the moment a fork slides in easily, since even a few extra minutes overcooks Yukon Golds.

How to Store and Reheat Creamy BLT Potato Salad

Storage Method	Duration	Best Practice
Room Temperature	Up to 2 hours	Keep covered and out of direct sun at a picnic or cookout
Refrigerator	3-4 days	Store in an airtight container, lettuce mixed in only right before eating
Freezer	Not recommended	Mayo-based dressings separate and turn grainy once thawed

This salad is meant to be served cold, so there’s no real reheating step involved. Give it a quick stir straight from the fridge, and if the dressing looks like it’s tightened up overnight, a small splash of milk loosens it right back to its original creamy texture.

Leftovers work well the next day tucked into a wrap with extra lettuce, or spooned over a baked potato for a loaded twist. For more on safe handling of mayo-based dishes, the <a href=”https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep-food-safe/food-safety-charts” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>FoodSafety.gov storage guidelines</a> are worth a quick look before a big cookout.

FAQs About Creamy BLT Potato Salad

Honestly, this is one of those recipes that gets better the longer it sits in your rotation. Give it a try this weekend, save the recipe to your BLT potato salad Pinterest board so you don’t lose it, and let me know in the comments if you swap anything — I mean it, I read every one.

Creamy BLT Potato Salad loaded with crispy bacon, sweet cherry tomatoes, and a tangy homemade dressing. The ultimate cookout side dish, ready in under an hour and even better the next day.