Caesar Potato Salad

Forego the chopped lettuce and replace it with cubed baked potato to make the most delicious Caesar Potato Salad. Loaded with bacon, hard-boiled eggs, fresh chives, and parmesan cheese, this salad is tossed with a caesar and mayo dressing.

I’ve said this before, but it’s worth repeating. I was born and raised in Newfoundland. Do you know what that means? Among other things, it means that I know potato salad better than anyone! As a food blogger, it is my job to try recipes, and I’ve tried more potato salads that I care to count. To date, I have not found any potato salad that can beat a traditional Newfoundland variety, but this Caesar Potato Salad comes very close!

What seems like a lifetime ago now – all the way back to 2006 or so – I was fortunate enough to meet and get to know a lovely couple, Kris and Tammie. We were young and careless at the time, so much of our time together was spent on in our front yard smoking cigarettes and drinking margaritas. During that first hot summer of knowing them, we would share meals together quite often. Tammie was the main cook in her home and I was the same in ours. I hope I left her with a lasting, fond memory of my Crab Egg Rolls, because her Caesar Potato Salad certainly left an impression with me!

So much has happened in the 20 years since those carefree summer days. Life has a way of getting in the way sometimes and you end up losing touch with good friends. But, if by chance you’re reading this, Tammie and Kris, my phone number has not changed! I would love to hear from you both. In the meantime, let’s talk about this salad!

BAKED POTATOES

If my mom were preparing baked potatoes, she would do what everyone else does. She would stab them a few times with a fork, rub them down with a little bit of oil, generously salt them, wrap them in foil, and bake them in a 400-degree oven for 40-50 minutes. She would keep them in there until she was able to easily pierce them with a fork.

But growing up in Newfoundland in the 80s, us kids would bake them quite differently. First, you must understand that building an outdoor fire was quite common for us. I remember being quite young – around 8 or 9 years old – and building a fire on the hill behind our house. It would most likely be me and a couple of friends. Our parents were never present. We would grab some matches from the basement and a bit of birch rind and build a fire by burning twigs, branches, or spruce trees that we chopped down with our axes.

Once the fire was burning nicely, we would toss raw, unwrapped potatoes into the flames and leave them there to roast. In the meantime, we might cook a wiener or roast an apple on a stick that we carved into a point using our pocket knives. Or maybe we tossed in some used-up aerosol cans and ran away, hiding behind a tree or laying low in the grass until the thing exploded. Once our fun was had, we would hook the now blackened potatoes out of the fire using a stick, slice it open, and enjoy. That smoky, burnt flavour cannot be accomplished any other way!

For the purpose of this recipe, Dear Reader, you can bake your potato any way you see fit. You can even use the microwave if you prefer! I will say that even though a fire-baked potato is the best way, I know it’s not an option for everyone. In fact, I haven’t done it in many, many years. The baked potatoes used in this Caesar Potato Salad recipe were wrapped in foil and roasted in an oven.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

• Potatoes – Use 5 large white flesh potatoes. Rub them down with oil and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. Wrap them individually in foil and set them on the middle rack in your oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until you can easily pierce to the center of the potatoes with a paring knife.
• Bacon – I’m using thick-cut bacon because I like the texture of it better when it’s fried. Regular-cut bacon is fine too. 
• Mayonnaise – You can use any mayonnaise, even the fat free stuff!
• Caesar Salad Dressing – Use your favourite store-bought dressing. We are partial to Renee’s Mighty Caesar.
• Parmesan Cheese
• White Vinegar
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Celery Salt
• Hard Boiled Eggs – Peeled and diced.
• Chives – These add a burst of freshness to the salad.
• Ground Black Pepper

HOW TO MAKE A CAESAR POTATO SALAD

Rub the potatoes down with oil and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. Wrap them individually in foil and set them on the middle rack in your oven. Bake at 400 degrees F for 45 minutes or until you can easily pierce to the center of the potatoes with a paring knife. Carefully remove the foil and set the potatoes aside to cool until you can easily pick them up to remove the peel without burning your hands.

In the meantime, prepare the eggs and fry the bacon. Peel and chop the eggs and set them aside. Drain the bacon, cool slightly and chop or crumble. Set the bacon aside as well. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, caesar salad dressing, white vinegar, worcestershire sauce, celery salt, and ground black pepper.

Cut the cooled baked potatoes into cubes and transfer them to the mixing bowl. Transfer the eggs, bacon, parmesan, and chives to the mixing bowl as well. Using a large spoon, mix and fold all of the ingredients together. You may serve the salad immediately, however for best results, transfer the salad to a bowl with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.

INCLUDING THE EGG YOLKS

Whenever I make a potato salad with hard boiled eggs in it, I tend to only use half of the egg yolks. Let me explain. All of the eggs are hard boiled and then roughly chopped. Before I chop them, I cut the eggs in half and remove the yolk from half the amount of eggs. The only reason I do this is that I don’t care for an extremely yellow salad!

I don’t mind a little yellow tint to the finished product, but I don’t want the salad to be completely yellow. Does it matter? Absolutely not! You can include all of the yolks in your salad, but if you do, keep in mind that your salad will be more yellow than the one you see in the photographs.

It’s all in my head, I know! But, how many times have we all heard the expression that we eat with our eyes first? Well, my eyes tell me that I don’t want to eat a yellow Caesar Potato Salad. Ha! You do you, Dear Reader!

STORING AND REFRIGERATION

It’s important to let the salad chill in the fridge for at least four hours. This will allow the ingredients time to hang out and get to know each other! The potatoes and dressing will marry and all of the flavours will be exchanged and absorbed.

After four hours, the salad is ready to serve. Toss it again before plating just to freshen everything up. The salad does tend to settle a little bit. You can safely store this salad in your fridge for up to three days. Be sure to keep the salad covered at all times.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!