Smoked Potato Salad

wooden spoon in a bowl of potato salad in front of Traeger pellet smoker

Pellet smoked potatoes and garlic with a southern style creamy sauce with bacon.

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 2

Total Time 2 30

Servings Servings

Calories 321kcal

Author Mason Woodruff

Ingredients

2 pounds Red or Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into bite size pieces
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
1 bulb of Garlic + 1 teaspoon Olive Oil

For the Sauce

8 slices Bacon cooked and chopped
1 cup Sour Cream
½ cup Mayo
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
Greens of 2 Scallions minced
2 Tablespoons Minced Chives
1 Tablespoon Ranch Seasoning

Instructions

Place a cast iron grill pan or wire rack on your smoker and preheat to 250ºF with the lid closed.
Wash and dry the potatoes before cutting into small pieces and tossing with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Slice the top of the bulb of garlic and drizzle with a bit of olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Tightly wrap in foil.
Place the potatoes on the grill pan or wire rack and the garlic anywhere on the grill. Cook the garlic for 60-90 minutes until the bulb is soft to the touch and the cloves are golden. Cook the potatoes for 2-3 hours until fork tender.
While the potatoes and garlic are on the smoker, mix the remaining ingredients together in a large bowl and refrigerate. Once the smoked garlic is ready, squeeze the bulb to remove the cloves and smash with a fork before adding to the bowl.
Once the potatoes are fork tender, remove from the smoker and rest for 5-10 minutes to slightly cool before adding to the remaining ingredients. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve the potato salad warm or refrigerate to serve chilled.

Notes

I used a Traeger Pro 575 with the PRO blend pellets for recipe testing.

For a lighter potato salad, you can use light sour cream or nonfat Greek yogurt, light mayo, and center cut bacon like in our smoked chicken salad.

If you have the time, you can make extra smoky garlic by starting the garlic unwrapped at 165ºF for an hour or two before wrapping to finish roasting.

Nutrition