My Mom’s 1-Ingredient Upgrade for Better Potato Salad

For every summer occasion for as long as I can remember, my mom has made her famous potato salad. While she’s not a huge fan of cooking, she knows her way around the kitchen. As a working mom of four very hungry girls, she always made sure we had something homemade for dinner, even if it wasn’t the fanciest of offerings.

Over the years I’ve taken the liberty of “upgrading” (sorry, Mom) some of her classic dishes (think: chicken cacciatore, pork chops, and beef stew), but I’ve never considered making one single change to her potato salad. It is pure carb perfection.

How could something so simple (potato, mayonnaise, bacon, and onion) be so spectacular? Easy. She makes one delicious upgrade.

My Mom’s 1-Ingredient Potato Salad Upgrade

To make you understand how good this rendition is, I have to explain my relationship with mayonnaise. It’s more than complicated. To be honest, I hate everything about it: the look, the texture, the flavor, and the smell. So how on earth do I love a mayonnaise-based potato salad so much?

Bacon. My mom cooks a full pound of bacon for her potato salad and reserves the fat. When the potatoes are tender, she tosses them in a few tablespoons of that fat and allows them to absorb all the flavor and richness.

Then she adds the crispy bacon bits and a small amount of diced yellow onions. Finally, she adds the mayonnaise by eye, using just enough to bring the salad together without weighing everything down.

By adding the bacon fat, she can get away with using way less mayonnaise than a traditional potato salad, which makes for the perfect texture. Tossing the potatoes in the fat while they are still warm is key as they soak up the fat. If you wait until they cool down, the salad may be greasy. 

Tips for Making My Mom’s Upgraded Potato Salad

To make sure the salad is perfectly seasoned, I cook the potatoes in lightly salted water, but hold off on adding more salt until I’ve mixed everything together. Since different bacon brands can vary in saltiness, it’s important to taste the salad before seasoning.

Last but not least, a heavy sprinkle of freshly cracked black pepper brings this dish together. My final tip? If you are serving this for a party, always hide at least a quart for yourself in the back of the fridge. I can promise there won’t be any leftovers!