Enjoy all the flavors of a loaded baked potato in a salad! This Air Fryer Potato Salad features tender air fried baby red potatoes, savory bacon, cheddar cheese and fresh chives tossed in a Greek yogurt ranch dressing! You can skip the hassle of boiling, smashing, or parboiling since the air fryer cooks the potatoes to perfect, creamy tenderness without making them mushy. Serve this salad warm or cold!
We're using my air fryer baby potatoes recipe as the base for this salad. They're lightly seasoned, easy to prep and roast up quickly in the air fryer!
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Quick Look: Air Fryer Potato Salad
- ⏱ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 👩🏻🍳 Air Frying Time: 25 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 40 minutes
- 🍽 Servings: 6 side salads
- ⚡ Calories: 346 per serving
- 🔥 Flavor/texture: tender potatoes and creamy dressing with a tangy and savory flavor. Tastes like a loaded baked potato.
- 👌 Difficulty: easy to make and assemble.
- ❤️ Why you'll love: air fried potatoes have superior flavor and texture compared to boiled potatoes and hold up well to the heavy ranch dressing and other mix ins.
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Air fried potatoes make the ultimate potato salad!
Since sharing my air fryer chicken caesar salad recipe, I've been obsessed with making other classic salads using the air fryer. Next on the menu is a crowd pleasing ranch potato salad made with air fried potatoes.
Here's why you need to air fry your potatoes for your next potato salad:
- Hands off cooking. No parboiling, no smashing and no boiling water. The air fryer does all the work. You just need to shake the basket a few times.
- Superior texture. Boiled potatoes, even with the skin on, have a soft and uniform texture. Air frying creates a texture contrast between the skin and fluffy interior.
- Holds up to dressing. Air fried potatoes won't stay crispy in the salad but they hold their shape better than boiled potatoes, even when tossed with heavy salad ingredients like ranch dressing, bacon and cheese.
- Better flavor. Seasoning the potatoes before air frying bakes the flavor right into the skin, creating an extra layer of flavor before they're even coated in dressing.
Table of Contents
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Baby potatoes: I prefer red potatoes for potato salad as they're high in moisture and low in starch. Since we're making a chunky potato salad, using baby potatoes is easy, as you just need to cut them in half to make them the perfect size. If you only have full size potatoes, just be sure to cut them into bite sized pieces.
- Bacon: You'll need ½ cup of cooked, crumbled bacon, or about 5-6 slices. You can use this air fryer turkey bacon recipe if you want to make this salad a little lighter.
- Cheese: For a loaded baked potato vibe, some grated sharp cheddar cheese is mixed into the salad and served on top. You can switch up the cheese for a different flavor profile. Other options incude parmesan, smoked gouda or even pepper jack.
- Greek yogurt: This is the base of the ranch dressing that coats the potatoes. Since we're not using buttermilk or sour cream, Greek yogurt provides the tangy flavor that these ingredients usually provide. You can use sour cream if you prefer.
- Mayo: Mayo is also needed for the dressing, to provide a creamy texture and to help the dressing emulsify. You can use traditional full fat or plant-based mayo. (I use plant-based mayo in my egg-free caesar dressing and it creates the same taste and texture).
- Lemon juice and vinegar: Both will add tang and help thin out the dressing. I used apple cider vinegar but white vinegar works too.
- Milk: 2 tablespoons also helps thin out the dressing. Feel free to use dairy or plant-based.
- Seasonings: The potatoes are seasoned with Italian seasoning before air frying, then all you need for the dressing is minced garlic, onion powder, salt and pepper.
- Fresh herbs: You'll need fresh chives, dill and parsley for the dressing and extra to garnish the salad.
How to make a potato salad using the air fryer
Step 1: Add all the dressing ingredients to a medium-sized bowl and whisk to combine. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
Step 2: Cut the baby potatoes in half and place in a large bowl.
Step 3: Add the oil and Italian seasoning to the potatoes and toss to combine.
Step 4: Place the seasoned potatoes in the air fryer basket.
Step 5: Air fry at 400F for 20-25 minutes, stopping to shake the basket a few times. The potatoes are done when they're fork tender and crispy on the outside.
Step 6: Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Step 7: Add most of the bacon, cheese and chives to the bowl and drizzle with some dressing.
Step 8: Toss to combine, adding more dressing as desired. Serve with remaining bacon, cheese and chives on top.
Expert tips
- Add as much dressing as you like. The recipe makes a lot of dressing, so I recommend starting with a little, and then adding more to suit your taste.
- Using dried herbs. If you don't have fresh herbs, it's totally fine to substitute with dried herbs. Just reduce the amount by â…“ as dried herbs are more potent than fresh. (1 tablespoon of fresh equals 1 teaspoon of dried).
- Bacon and cheese. You can toss it all into the salad at once, but I like to reserve some to serve on top for a loaded baked potato presentation.
- To serve cold. Let the potatoes come to room temperature before dressing them.
- If serving warm. The cheese will melt a little in the salad. I usually serve this one warm when I know we're not going to have leftovers!
Air fryer potato salad FAQs
Absolutely! You can use baby gold potatoes if you prefer. You can also use full size red or gold potatoes and cut them into smaller pieces, like I do with these air fryer home fries. While I haven't tested it, I think these air fryer fingerling potatoes and air fryer potato slices would work well in this salad too.
There is no need to peel the potatoes. Red potatoes have such a thin skin, it's really not necessary. Plus, not peeling them saves time!
Yes, you can prep this salad a day in advance. Just make the dressing, air fry the potatoes, shred the cheese and cook the bacon, and store separately in the fridge. Then, the day of, just assemble the salad a few hours before serving and store in the fridge.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within 2-3 days.
If it's summer BBQ season, we love to serve this potato salad with these jalapeno turkey burgers and my Italian bow tie pasta salad. Year round, it's a delicious option to serve with these air fryer chicken cutlets and a green salad!
More air fryer potato recipes
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📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Potato Salad
Ingredients
For the dressing:
- ½ cup (120 g) Greek yogurt, I prefer 5% milk fat
- â…“ cup (90 g) full fat mayo
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives, (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill, (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar, (or white vinegar)
- 2 garlic cloves, minced or chopped
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons milk (plant-based or dairy)
For the salad:
- 2 pounds (908 g) baby red potatoes, (or baby gold)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup cooked, crumbled bacon, (about 5-6 slices)
- ½ cup (55 g) grated sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
Instructions
- Add all of the dressing ingredients to a bowl and whisk until combined. Cover and store in the fridge until ready to use.
- Cut the potatoes in half and add them to a large bowl. Add oil and Italian seasoning and toss together until well coated.
- Place the potatoes in the air fryer basket.
- Air fry on 400F for 20-25 minutes, or until fork tender. Stop to shake the basket a few times to rotate the potatoes around.
- Transfer the potatoes to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature. (You can also serve the salad warm, if you prefer).
- Add the bacon, cheese and chives (reserving some to garnish). Pour on some of the dressing, toss to combine and add more if desired.
- Serve immediately with remaining bacon, cheese and chives, or cover and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
Notes
- Add as much dressing as you like. The recipe makes a lot of dressing, so I recommend starting with a little, and then adding more to suit your taste.
- Using dried herbs. If you don't have fresh herbs, it's totally fine to substitute with dried herbs. Just reduce the amount by â…“ as dried herbs are more potent than fresh.
- Bacon and cheese. You can toss it all into the salad at once, but I like to reserve some to serve on top for a loaded baked potato presentation.
- If serving cold. Let the potatoes come to room temperature before dressing them.
- If serving warm. The cheese will melt a little in the salad. I usually serve this one warm when I know we're not going to have leftovers!
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Nutrition Facts per Serving
Disclaimer
Nutrition information is an estimate only and will vary depending on the substitutions made and the brands used.
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