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Roasted Potato Salad is made with crispy roasted potatoes, bacon and caramelized onions in a flavorful dressing. An easy, delicious side dish for dinners or gatherings.
Roasted Potato Salad takes a classic favorite and gives it a delicious upgrade. Instead of boiling, the potatoes are roasted until golden and crispy on the outside. Then you add bacon and caramelized onions for an over the top treat!

This roasted potato salad is tossed in a warm bacon vinaigrette dressing. There’s no mayo bath here. You can serve it warm or cold, this side dish that always stands out.
It is great for summer get togethers when you don’t want to have to worry about mayo sitting out for too long. This warm bacon vinaigrette gives the potatoes lots of flavor, and stands up well to sitting for awhile.

Ingredients You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Yukon Gold Potatoes – these medium starch potatoes are well suited for roasting, but if you prefer, red-skinned potatoes will also work.
- Olive Oil
- Onion
- Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Black Pepper
- Bacon
For The Vinaigrette
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Sugar
- Dijon Mustard
- Warm Bacon Drippings – The drippings should be warm so that the fat doesn’t solidify. This way, you’ll get an even coating throughout the salad.
- Olive Oil
- Italian Seasoning
- Black Pepper
- Salt


Roasted Potato Salad
Ingredients
Potato Salad
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 strip bacon, chopped
Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons reserved bacon drippings, warm
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400º F.
- Toss potatoes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread in an even layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown and fork tender.1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- Meanwhile, In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and sugar, tossing to coat. Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring often. You want the onions to become a deep brown color, but not from too high of heat. Once the onions are brown remove from heat. Set aside and keep warm until ready to use.1 onion, 1 tablespoon sugar, 4 tablespoons olive oil
- In another skillet over medium heat brown the pieces of bacon. Cook until crispy. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Set aside. Reserve the bacon drippings.6 strip bacon
- To prepare the vinaigrette, whisk together all of the ingredients until well combined.3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons reserved bacon drippings, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- In a large bowl add the roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon, and the vinaigrette. Toss well to combine. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How To Make Roasted Potato Salad
- Roast The Potatoes – Toss together the diced potatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread them out into a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 40-45 minutes until they are fork tender and nicely golden brown.
- Caramelize Onions – While the potatoes are roasting, combine thinly sliced onions with a bit of oil and sugar in a pan over medium heat. Keep an eye on them, and stir them periodically so the onions brown evenly. You’ll know they’re done when they’re translucent, brown, and jammy.


- Brown Bacon – Cook up your slices of bacon on medium heat until crispy. Remove bacon and drain, but reserve the drippings for the dressing.
- Make Vinaigrette – Combine all the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl with a whisk or in a blender. Once thoroughly mixed, keep it on the counter (not in the fridge) until the potatoes are finished.
- Toss Salad – Combine the roasted potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon bits, and warm vinaigrette in a large bowl and toss until evenly coated.

Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Roasting Potatoes. When roasting potatoes, try to arrange them so that they don’t touch on the pan. This way, you’ll get the best-roasted finish on each chunk.
- Pre Cook Potatoes. If you have the time to pre-boil your potatoes for just a bit before roasting them, this recipe will be even more delicious (if you can believe it). Pre-boiling will cut down the time you need to roast the potatoes, and you’ll achieve a soft and pillowy center with perfectly crispy edges for each bite. If you par-boil your potato chunks before roasting them, check on them about 25 minutes into the cooking process to avoid overcooking.
- Food Safety. Don’t serve potato salad that’s been kept at room temperature (or outside) for longer than 3 hours.
- Bacon Grease. If you have time, prep the bacon BEFORE caramelizing your onions. Reserve some of the bacon grease for cooking the onions. It’s delicious, and you’ll thank me later.

Storage
Store your potato salad in an airtight container in the fridge, and it’ll last between 3-4 days.















This is beautiful!!!
Your roasted potato salad looks so good, I would love to bring this dish to a BBQ:-)
This looks awesome! And so much lighter than a traditional potato salad!
Wow, looks really good. I can’t believe you don’t like mayo, mashed potatoes or baked must be a texture thing since it’s just a potato. Anyway this looks great and I love roasted vegetables so I know this is wonderful.
Oh yummy! This looks wonderful!!! I love this kind of potato salad, however my Husband won’t eat it unless it’s loaded with mayo, blah!
what a great potato salad!!!
Potatoes, bacon, and caramelized onions?! Yes, this must be the best potato salad!
I roasted some fingerling potatoes this weekend too. I love roasted potatoes and this salad version looks fantastic. 🙂
Now this is my kind of potato salad! Looks incredible! 🙂
I love how you use a vinaigrette instead of a heavy dressing!