Baked Potato Salad

yooper's Note:

A unique potato salad! Potatoes are baked with oil and Italian salad dressing mix instead of boiled. I usually omit the tomato because I find it gets mealy and doesn't hold up. From "Taste of Home"

• Total Time: 2 hrs 45 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 16

• 4 ½ lbs potatoes , peeled and cut into 3/4 inch chunks
• ¼ cup olive oil or ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix
• 1 medium green pepper , chopped
• 1 medium sweet red pepper , chopped
• 1 bunch green onion , chopped
• 1 small onion , chopped
• 2 large tomatoes , chopped
• 4 hard-boiled eggs
• 5 slices bacon , cooked and crumbled
• 1 ½ cups mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, toss the postatoes with oil and dressing mixes.
2. Place into 2 ungreased 13x9x2 inch baking pans.
3. Bake, uncovered at 400 for 45 minutes or until tender.
4. Cool.
5. Transfer to a large bowl, add peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggs and bacon.
6. Toss gently.
7. Combine remaining ingredients in a small bowl.
8. Mix well.
9. Pour over salad and mix gently.
10. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Reviews

[Bev]

yooper, this may very well be the best potato salad I've EVER tasted! The potatoes smelled so good while roasting in the oven I wasn't sure they would make it all the way into a salad, but I sure am glad they did! I left the tomatoes out because I was also serving your Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Parmesan Cheese Topping Baked Cherry Tomatoes with Parmesan Topping. Otherwise I prepared the recipe exactly as directed for one fantastic dish! Thank you so very much! We really enjoyed our meal tonight thanks to you! Next time we have company, this one is coming to the table and I don't care what else is being served! :)

[M&Mers]

REALLY liked this one, yooper! Great idea to season and then bake the potatoes! As you did, we left out the tomatoes (they tend to make salads too runny anyway). Also, instead of the oil, we used zesty italian dressing to coat the spuds then sprinkled the dry mix over them. Next time we'll add a couple more eggs...just a personal preference. Thanks for a keeper recipe, yooper! M&Mers

[Kim D.]

This was AWESOME potato salad! I don't think I will ever make normal potato salad again! I left the tomatoes out of the recipe, because of your comment, but I didn't miss them.... the potato salad had a wonderful flavor! This is definitely a KEEPER!