No-Mayo Bacon Potato Salad

This easy no-mayo bacon potato salad tosses tender baby potatoes with crispy bacon, fresh parsley and a tangy mustard dressing!

I have never been the world’s biggest potato salad fan. If I’m going to spend my carbs on a side dish, I usually want pasta, rice or corn—and the traditional mayo-heavy versions can be a little too rich for me.

But add tender baby potatoes, crispy bacon and plenty of fresh parsley, then toss everything in a tangy mustard dressing made with a spoonful of bacon drippings? Suddenly I am completely on board!

This easy no-mayo bacon potato salad is fresh, flavorful and just right for picnics, cookouts or any dinner that needs a seriously delicious side dish.

Jump to:

• 🔎 A quick look at this recipe
• ⭐️ Why this recipe works
• 🥔 Ingredients you need
• 📝 Ingredient notes
• 💡 Ingredient substitution ideas
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Here’s how you make potato salad with bacon and parsley!
• 🤔 Recipe FAQs
• No-Mayo Bacon Potato Salad
• 👩🏻‍🍳 Variations on this recipe
• 😍 Other potato salad recipes we love!
• ⭐️ We want to know what you think!
• 🥣 Come on into our kitchen!

🔎 A quick look at this recipe

⭐️ Why this recipe works

• 🥓 Bacon brings the magic: Crispy bacon adds smoky, salty flavor—and a little bacon drippings makes the dressing extra delicious.
• 🥔 Baby potatoes make it easy: Their tender skins mean there’s no peeling required!
• 🌿 Parsley keeps things fresh: A generous handful adds bright flavor and color to every bite.
• 💛 No mayo needed: The tangy mustard and red wine vinegar dressing is flavorful without feeling heavy.
• 🧺 It’s made for sharing: This simple potato salad is an easy addition to cookouts, picnics and potlucks.

Quick digression: Speaking of fresh parsley often reminds me that we once had a guinea pig named Wilbur who treated parsley and basil like his own personal salad bar.

Wilbur didn’t have a whole lot of personality—he was essentially a baked potato with fur—but he could always be counted on to help with an overenthusiastic herb garden. Good old Wilbur. We still miss that little parsley-loving guy.

🥔 Ingredients you need

📝 Ingredient notes

• Baby potatoes: Red, yellow or multicolored baby potatoes all work beautifully. Cut them into similarly sized halves or quarters so they cook evenly. There’s no need to peel them!
• Bacon: Thick-cut bacon gives you especially hearty, crispy pieces, but regular bacon works too. Be sure to save the drippings—they add smoky flavor to the dressing.
• Olive oil: Use a good-quality extra-virgin olive oil, since its flavor comes through in this simple dressing.
• Red wine vinegar: This gives the salad its bright, tangy flavor and balances the richness of the bacon and olive oil.
• Dijon mustard: Dijon adds a gentle sharpness and helps the oil, vinegar and bacon drippings blend into a smooth dressing.
• Fresh parsley: Use flat-leaf Italian parsley if possible; it has more flavor than curly parsley. One full cup may sound generous, but it keeps the salad tasting wonderfully fresh.
• Salt and pepper: Salt the potato cooking water as well as the finished salad. Potatoes love salt, so taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

💡 Ingredient substitution ideas

Missing something or want to swap in something different? Check out the links below to find more ingredient substitution ideas. 👇🏻

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.

👩🏻‍🍳 Here’s how you make potato salad with bacon and parsley!

You obviously need a nice big bowl of these…

…and you can use all red, all yellow or a mixture.  Just try for the smallest ones you can find, for nice bite-sized potato salad wonderfulness.

But I digress. Last but not least, this potato salad also includes bacon, and need I say more about THAT?

You start by cooking up the potatoes in salted water until they are just tender, and while that is happening you cook up some chopped bacon until it is crispy.  Then add the bacon drippings to some mustard, vinegar and a little olive oil to make a light, flavorful dressing.

Drizzle the dressing over the potatoes, add the bacon and the parsley…and you’re done!   The longest part of this is the 1o or so minutes you spend boiling the potatoes — it really couldn’t be easier.

So here you go, a recipe for a potato salad that I actually LIKE. (Because I know you were worrying about that).

🤔 Recipe FAQs

Let’s cook up some baby potatoes and bring on the bacon! 🥔🥓

👩🏻‍🍳 Variations on this recipe

😍 Other potato salad recipes we love!

⭐️ We want to know what you think!

If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below.

Looking for more side dish inspiration? We’ve got you covered! 🥳 Here is our complete collection of side dish recipes.

🥣 Come on into our kitchen!

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