Here’s a potato salad without mayonnaise that’s something a little different to the usual! It’s a Red Potato Salad with crispy bacon bits and charred corn, drizzled with a cider vinegar dressing. And what makes this salad really tick? Marinating the hot potatoes in some of the dressing so it sucks up the flavour – BOOM!
Red Potato Salad
I want to say that I’d take this potato salad over a classic mayonnaise version any day, and right now I would. But I firmly believe there’s a place in this world for both. So I’ll trumpet this one as a great alternative potato salad for all those times when you want something a little different, with a little wow factor: tasty bacon bits, charry golden pops of sweet corn, all dressed with a mildly zingy cider vinegar dressing.
And it just looks so cheerful, does it not? Like a pile of bite-size potato slices littered with a bacon / corn / green-onion salsa-ish rubble.
You don’t even need to read the recipe that this is a pile of serious YUM!
Ingredients in this Red Potato Salad
Here’s what goes in this Red Potato Salad:
Red Potatoes – Includes desiree and pontiac varieties in Australia. Try to get potatoes that are of even size so they cook through at the same time (sliced potatoes cook quickly, and it’s annoying when some are overcooked so they break!). If you can’t get red potatoes, then any potatoes will do. It doesn’t even matter if they’re waxy or starchy – I’ve made this with all sorts over the years. Just get small ones so you can slice them into bite size pieces;
Eschalot – Also known as French onions and called “shallots” in the US. They are like baby onions, but with purple-skinned flesh. Not to be confused with what some people in Australia call “shallots”, ie. the long green onions which we also use in this recipe! This brings freshness and a subtle aromatic flavour to dish;
Corn – Part of the appeal of this recipe is the smoky flavour of the sweet corn kernels that we get from charring the corn either on the BBQ or directly on the naked flame of a gas stove top. So I really do urge you to use whole corn cobs if you can.
Otherwise, use frozen or canned. Pan fry about 1 1/4 cups in 1 tbsp oil (or better yet, reserved bacon fat!) until golden and toasted;
Green onion – For colour and freshness in the flavour; and
Bacon – Do I really need to talk up the bacon here? I think not! 😂 (Except to say that, well, you can use turkey bacon or the eye of bacon aka short cut bacon – it’s an Australian thing – if you want to cut down on the fat).
Ingredients for the Potato Salad Dressing (no mayo!)
And here’s what you need for the dressing:
The mustard adds a bit of flavour but mostly acts as a thickener and emulsifier for the dressing. I also like to add a touch of sugar to my dressing which takes the sharp edge off the vinegar so I can get away with using less oil. I use 3 tbsp vinegar to 8 tbsp oil where most recipes would call for 9 tbsp of oil.
How to make Red Potato Salad with Bacon and Corn
Dressing: Make it and shake it in a jar. Quick, easy, and effective!
Cook potato: Make sure you cut the potato slices evenly, so they cook in the same time. I cut mine around 8mm / 1/3″ thick, and these cook pretty quickly – around 6 to 7 minutes after the water returns to the boil after you add them. As soon as a knife can pierce the potato with very little / no resistance, immediately drain. Because the potato slices are pretty thin, they will continue to cook even with the residual heat, so it’s ok if they are a tiny bit undercooked at first.
Be very careful not to overcook the potatoes as they will become a crumbly mess when you toss them in the dressing!
Marinate potato in dressing: Carefully drain potatoes, shake off excess water, then gently transfer them to a large bowl. Handling gently here is important as cooked potato slices are more prone to breaking than the cubes that we use for traditional potato salad.
Add in the eschalots, pour over about 3/4 of the dressing then toss very gently. Leave to marinate for 30 minutes. During this time, the hot and porous potatoes will absorb the dressing flavour (a trick I also use in German Potato Salad!), while the residual heat will semi-cook the finely sliced eschalots, taking the raw edge off them;
Cook bacon: Chop the bacon, place in a non-stick skillet without oil and turn the stove on. As the pan heats up, the bacon fat will start to melt so it renders its own fat to fry the bacon in. I find starting with a cold pan extracts more fat from bacon;
Cook corn: Cook the corn on the cob either on a barbecue (instructions here) or over the naked flame of a gas stove until you get nice charring and the corn is just cooked. It will take around 10 minutes on a barbecue or 5 minutes with direct contact with the flame of a stove. Rotate regularly to cook evenly. If you have an electric or induction stove, cut the fresh kernels off the corn and follow the pan instructions below.
You’ll get the best flavour using fresh corn. But as an alternative, use 1 1/4 cups of frozen (thawed) or canned (drained) corn kernels. Cook it using the leftover pan bacon fat or oil over high heat until you get nice golden bits on the corn (though you won’t get quite the same charring you see in flame-grilled stuff);
Assemble! Add most of the bacon, green onion and corn in the bowl with the potato. Then gently toss (use your hands if necessary, for the most gentle touch) until just combined. Transfer to serving bowl, garnish with remaining bacon and green onion, then drizzle over remaining dressing.
This salad is best served either slightly warm (which it will be if you assemble it straight away after 30 minutes marinating time) or at room temperature. Just not fridge cold – the fats and oils tend to congeal (ick!) and you don’t get as much flavour out of it!
What to serve with this Red Potato Salad
So. Many. Possibilities! Basically anything other than probably Asian and Indian foods. It’s as at home with Western / European foods as it would be with Latin American and Caribbean foods.
Try it alongside a simple piece of pan-fried fish. Or a roast chicken, or Slow Cooker Roast Chicken for that matter. Actually, this would be sensational alongside any roast – beef, lamb, pork, chicken.
Perfect at room temperature and travelling well, it’s also an obvious choice for BBQ’s / pot lucks etc, just like traditional creamy mayo dressing Potato Salads. Try it as a side dish for your next burger night, or when you grill up some marinated steaks, chops or salmon.
Potato salad stays tasty for days, and is just a great all-round choice for a make-ahead / standby side. Just … try it! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Red Potato Salad with Bacon and Corn (No mayonnaise!)
Ingredients
- 1.2kg / 2.4 lb red potatoes , sliced 0.8cm / ⅓" thick (5cm / 2" round, Note 1)
- 1 tbsp salt (for cooking potatoes)
- 1 eschalot , finely sliced (US: shallot, Note 2)
- 2 ears of corn (whole, Note 3)
- 2 green onions , finely sliced (3/4 cup)
- 200g / 7oz bacon (streaky is best!), chopped
Cider vinegar dressing:
- 3 tbsp cider vinegar
- 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic , minced or grated
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 3/4 tsp white sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Dressing: Shake Dressing in a jar.
- Cook potato: Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add salt. Add potato. Bring it back up to the boil, then cook for 5 minutes or until just soft. Keep an eye on them – sliced potatoes cook quickly, and if they overcook they will break when tossing.
- Drain and marinate: Drain potatoes, then transfer them to a bowl. Handle gently – the shape of these potatoes make them prone to breaking while hot (they're firmer when cool). Pour over 3/4 of the dressing, add eschalots and toss very gently. Set aside to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Cook bacon: Place bacon in a cold non-stick pan then turn the stove to medium high. As the pan heats, the bacon fat will melt so there's no need for oil! Cook bacon, stirring constantly (to avoid spitting!), until golden or to your taste. Drain on paper towels.
- Cook corn: Meanwhile, cook corn cob using one of these methods. Either grill on the BBQ (10 min on high) or directly over the gas flame on your stove (6 min, direct contact with flame), until nicely charred and corn is cooked. Otherwise, cut the corn off the kernels then pan fry on high heat in residual bacon fat or 1 tbsp olive oil until charred.
- Cut off kernels: Cut kernels off cob, trying to keep of the kernels in clumps (looks nice!). (Note 4 for my method)
- Make salad: To the same bowl, add all the corn, half the bacon and most of the green onion. Toss gently, then transfer to serving bowl. Scatter with reserved bacon and green onion, drizzle over remaining Dressing. Serve!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
All the other Potato Salads …
Life of Dozer
No potato salad for you, Dozer! Too much garlic and onion. Here, help me polish off this blue cheese instead.
How did I miss this first time round!?@##!?? I have an amazing radar for anything Potato or Bacon, this looks Reallreally Delicious 😋 💜😋
Do you think this would still be tasty without the bacon? Thanks!
I’ve made this twice and it is amazing. The flavors come together so well! This is a great year round potato salad and will be one of my go to recipes. Thank you!
Excellent potato salad and it tastes just as good the next day. All the confusing names for various members of the onion family, you would think as a nation we would be on the same page but no. In South Australia we call green onions, spring onions and eschalots, we call shallots. I am grateful for your pics, to clarify which is which.
This is dee-lish!! I made this for a hamburger luncheon yesterday. It traveled well. I took a small throw away jar of remaining dressing and zip lock baggie of green onions and bacon, topped it quickly, and gifted the serving bowl. So no mess or fuss in the host’s kitchen. Easy peasy! AND, it’s amazingly good. The flavor combination of sweet corn, tart dressing and of course – bacon is a winner! I received lots of compliments and requests for the recipe. It’s going into our regular rotation here at home. I did skip the shallots, so doubled up on the green onions. I thought the dressing too tart at first with a taste straight from the mixing jar, but it really balanced out perfectly with the sweet corn. Don’t hesitate, just make it and enjoy “happy belly”
Oh I wanted to add a quick comment to roasting the corn. I didn’t use the grill. I tried roasting over the gas stove burners, sticking the corn cob on a long fork, but it didn’t work out. I ended up using a cast iron skillet and it cooked and charred perfectly. Now I know what works easily for me.
You know how good this was??!
It was so good I took a big hunk of bread and sopped up every little smidgen of leftover juices, bacon, etc. that were in the bowl and stuffed it in my mouth!!!🤤😛😜😋
Hi Nagi
Another great recipe. Every recipe I have made of yours never fails and it always the best!. This potato salad will now be one that will go on high rotation. thanks Liz 🙂
Wahoo, thanks so much Liz, I love hearing this!! N x
OMG!! This is delish. We’ve made it twice so far, once served with sausages and once with fish. And the leftovers are great fried for breakfast with a couple of eggs ❤️
Nagi – this sounds absolutely delicious. My husband very much dislikes mayo, so this will be perfect. I am thinking of serving with chilean sea bass. Do you think that will go well together. Thanks
Yum, a perfect combo Mary!! N x
Hey Nagi, love your recipes and was wondering if there is an alternate to cider vinegar? Thanks!
Hi Angie, yes you could use sherry vinegar or rice wine vinegar in its place 🙂 N x
I have made this salad dressing many times now. So simple and absolutely delicious!!
You are absolutely AWESOME Nagi. I love trying out all your recipes and of all the food websites or cookbooks out there, you are my numero Uno. Thank you for always sharing recipes that are delicious, and also that WORK, they are always foolproof and tasty!
Delicious! The 15 minute prep time is misleading…more like an hour…but worth it!
Hi there. Taste delicious! Wondering how to store this since you said the fridge makes the oils congeal. Is it safe a room temp out of the sun? I’ve heard horror stories about food poisoning from potato salad at room temp for BBQs.
Hi Mindy, you can store in the fridge, just bring up to room temp 30-60 minuets before serving. N x
Oh Nagi, this salad was to DIE FOR!!! I wanted to eat it for breakfast next day!!!
And no one would judge you Naomi 😉 N x
Dear Nagi,
Incredible wonderful and simple ideas and they WORKED perfectly. I have tried 8-10 times to make this dish in the last 20 years. It was “OK” but deceiving with the skin. Your advice corrected the problems completely!!! Many many thanks for your advice. The belly was just as you described. I added a pea puree and hand sauteed potato thick rings, in butter mind you…
Eitan Gilboa, France.
Hi Eitan, I assume you’re talking about pork belly and not potato salad!! I’m so glad you’ve nailed it now though!! N x
LOL
Of course I meant the belly… By now I can confirm that the skin is great also after anight in the fridge. I followed your advice separating skin from meat. The first went into a table oven for 4-5 minutes and the latter into a mixture of veggies with your soy, rice vinegar, honey (molasses actually) and garlic. Formidable !!!
Do u have any tasty vegan recipes? My daughter is vegan. I know most chefs hate this but we love her and I understand why she is vegan.
Hi Isabel, I have a stack of vegetarian recipes here – a lot can easily be transformed into vegan by using vegan sauce subs (like vegetarian oyster sauce etc) https://www.recipetineats.com/category/vegetarian-recipes/ N x
Thank u so much for your reply. Will definitely try these recipes.
Thank you so much for your reply. So many chefs do not care about vegetarian or vegan options.
Thank you very much.I’m always after new recipes and this one delicious.It will also help with the fat content.—after the last year.🤔
Hi Nagi
Thank you for sharing all your beautiful recipes with us 😊
I have made Sausage Bake with potatoes and gravy yummy 😋
Love seeing all the adventures Dozer gets up too 😉
Yum!! Sounds fabulous Tarina! N x
Hi Nagi ,
I just wanted say thank you for the artisan bread recipe . This time I made two , in one I made the regular way ,the second one I added 8 oz of extra sharp cheese ( used potatoe peeler for wide pieces ) , I added the cheese that I had dusted with flour at the end let rise .
It turned out great . I would send you a picture but my husband and son ate it before I could . LOL
Sounds amazing Sybol, I love that idea!! N x