I’ve always been a little wary of potato salads. First off, throw the word salad into something and I already have my guard up. But I think it mostly comes down to not knowing what exactly is in it. Then I had a delicious warm side potato salad at The Ranch at Las Colinas.

Theirs was a warm potato salad with whole grain mustard that I just found divine. Unfortunately, it appears to no longer be on the menu. So clearly, I had to make my own version.

This scrumptious potato salad is made with baby red potatoes, smoky bacon, chives, and a tasty, tangy dressing. It’s perfect for a summer BBQ, or as a side dish for any occasion.

Prepare to embark on a flavor-packed journey that marries the classic comfort of potato salad with the savory indulgence of crispy bacon and the vibrant freshness of chives. This delicious bacon chive potato salad recipe combines simple ingredients to create a dish that’s both satisfying and irresistible.

The best part? It’s incredibly easy to make, making it an ideal addition to your kitchen. So, let’s get cooking.

What Ingredients Are in Potato Salad?

As with all recipes, it all starts with the right ingredients. So, what do we need for this potato salad?

Creating the perfect potato salad is an art that involves the careful selection of ingredients, each contributing to the medley of flavors and textures. In our bacon chive potato salad recipe, the following key components join forces to craft a tantalizing dish:

• Baby Red Potatoes: These tender gems provide a creamy yet firm texture, an ideal base for the salad. Other potato types can be used, but these tend to work best here.
• Shallot and Garlic: Shallots lend a gentle onion-like sweetness, while garlic adds a savory depth that elevates the overall profile.
• Fresh Herbs: Aromatic chives, parsley, thyme, and dill infuse the salad with fresh herbaceous flavors.
• Lemon Juice and White Wine Vinegar: Zesty lemon juice adds brightness, and vinegar adds its signature tang.
• Crispy Bacon: It’s bacon. Delicious bacon. Crumbled bacon introduces smoky, savory richness.
• Creamy Dressing: A velvety combination of mayo, sour cream, and olive oil forms a luscious base.
• Whole Grain Mustard: Packed with flavor and texture from the whole grains.
• Seasonings: Black pepper and salt enhance the overall taste, ensuring a well-balanced flavor profile.

All of these ingredients combine to make a wonderfully creamy and flavorful potato salad that is sure to be a hit at any gathering. Each element has a role to play, resulting in a potato salad that’s more than just the sum of its parts.

Prep and Boil the Potatoes

To begin creating this delicious dish, we need some cooked potatoes.

Start by giving the small red potatoes a thorough wash, ensuring they are free from dirt and debris. A gentle scrub with a vegetable brush can help remove anything stubborn clinging to the skin.

Next, chop the small red potatoes into bite-sized pieces. If you have baby red potatoes you can usually just quarter them to get a decent size, otherwise, just chop the potato into 1/2 to 1-inch pieces. Consistency in size helps with even cooking.

Now it’s time to get them boiling! Place a large pot of water over high heat to get the water to a boil. Add in 2 tablespoons of salt to help season the potatoes as they boil.

When the water begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-high and carefully place the prepared potatoes into the pot. let the potatoes boil for about 10 to 15 minutes. The goal is fork-tenderness, where a fork can effortlessly pierce through the potato without much resistance.

With the potatoes cooked to perfection, transfer them to a colander to drain. Remember that overcooking the potatoes can lead to a loss of texture, so keep a watchful eye and aim for that ideal balance between tenderness and firmness.

Prep the Dressing

While the water heats up and the potatoes are boiling, it is time to prep the dressing. We need the dressing ready to go because it will go on the potatoes when they are still hot from the water. This is a warm potato salad recipe.

Get out a large mixing bowl in which we can mix together the whole potato salad.

Start chopping and mincing all of the fresh ingredients – shallot, chives, garlic, parsley, thyme, and dill. Cut and juice the lemon.

Now we’ll add all of our ingredients into the large mixing bowl (except for the potatoes… since they’re still cooking). Add in everything we just cut along with the mayo, sour cream, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, bacon, pepper, and remaining salt.

Stir everything together until well combined. Make sure to scrape the bottom and to ensure there are no pockets of unmixed ingredients. Hopefully, you’ll have this ready to go before the potatoes have finished cooking so that everything can come together quickly once the potatoes are drained.

Mix Together the Potato Salad

With the perfectly boiled baby red potatoes and the creamy dressing ready, it’s time for the final step. Mixing everything together is a straightforward yet crucial step.

I highly recommend doing it while the potatoes are still hot. If you’re really not into that, then you can wait for the potatoes to cool off and you can also chill the salad before serving it. I just happen to think that it is great served warm. Possibly because that’s how the one from the restaurant this was based on was served.

Using a large spoon or spatula, gently mix the together the potatoes and the dressing. The goal is to evenly distribute the potatoes in the dressing without overmixing and breaking the potatoes. The result should be a salad that’s beautifully coated and inviting.

Taste a small portion of the salad and adjust the seasoning if needed. You can add a pinch more salt, pepper, or even a squeeze of lemon juice to enhance the flavors according to your preference. And you can get fancy with it and top it with some more crumbled bacon and chives

What to Serve with Potato Salad

Now that you know how to make the perfect potato salad, let’s talk about what to serve with it. Whether you’re enjoying a picnic at the beach or a backyard barbecue, there’s a variety of dishes you can pair with your potato salad to create a truly memorable meal.

When it comes to pairing other sides with our bacon chive potato salad, you have a world of options to choose from. Consider these delectable choices:

• Grilled Poblano Corn Salsa
• Watermelon Feta Mint Salad
• Frog Eye Fruit Salad
• Mom’s Homemade Dinner Rolls

Pairing the bacon chive potato salad with the right main entree can create a balanced and satisfying meal. It pairs will with most grilled items. Here are some main course options that harmonize wonderfully with the flavors of the potato salad:

• Grilled Steak with Gorgonzola Butter
• Buffalo Smoked Chicken Drumsticks
• Smoked Pulled Pork
• Chimichurri Steak Kabobs

So don’t be afraid to get creative with your potato salad side dishes! Whether you’re looking for something light and refreshing or something a little more indulgent, there’s something for everyone.

These thoughtful pairing options ensure that your meal is well-rounded, satisfying, and a delight for the senses. Experiment with different combinations to create a memorable dining experience for you and your guests.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try out this bacon chive potato salad! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Delicious and Easy Bacon Chive Potato Salad

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Sides, AppetizersDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

25

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

Creamy potatoes, crispy bacon, aromatic herbs, and a luscious dressing create a medley of flavors and textures that’s perfect as a side dish. Indulge in this easy-to-make culinary delight that’s bound to impress.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes

• 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

• 1 shallot

• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

• 4 cloves garlic

• 2 tablespoons parsley

• 1 tablespoon thyme

• 1 tablespoon dill

• 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/2 cup sour cream

• 1/3 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• 3 tablespoons whole-grain mustard

• 4 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

• 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Directions

• Scrub and rinse the potatoes, then cut them into about 1/2 to 1-inch pieces – even sizes will give a more even cook
• Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring it to a boil, adding in 2 tablespoons of salt
• Once the water is boiling, carefully add in the potatoes, turn the heat down to medium-high, then boil for 10 to 15 minutes
• While the potatoes are boiling, chop the shallot and chives, mince the garlic, parsley, thyme, and dill, and cut and juice the lemon
• In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dressing by combining everything except the potatoes (since they’re still cooking) – don’t forget the remaining teaspoon of salt
• When the potatoes are fork-tender, drain them in a colander and give them a shake to remove excess water
• Add the hot potatoes in with the mixed dressing and gently stir to evenly coat the potatoes

Notes

• Other potato varieties and sizes can be used if you don’t have baby red potatoes on hand, just be sure to cut them into bite-sized pieces

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This recipe is for when you can’t decide between a quesadilla and a burrito. Just have them both, together! And that’s how the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito recipe is born.

Though not invented by Taco Bell, the quesarito was certainly made famous when they released it back in 2014. And it really just makes sense. Instead of just making a burrito with a plain tortilla, make a burrito using a quesadilla as the delicious cheesy vessel to roll everything up.

This copycat Taco Bell recipe is surprisingly simple to make. There are a few ways you can customize the recipe. But it’s not as hard as you might think to recreate the meal you are used to getting from the drive-thru.

This is my recipe for the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito, which you can enjoy for dinner whenever you’d like. Here’s how to make it at home.

Prep the Quesarito Recipe Fillings

We’re going to make our copycat quesarito recipe using a few other recipes from the site to help us out. If you have another favorite recipe for some of these fillings, then feel free to make those instead.

But, of course, I feel like mine are pretty darn good.

Starting with the ground beef. This was my sort of copycat recipe of Taco Bell’s ground beef. Though it is very much a homemade version. So what better recipe to use than this simple ground beef taco meat?

Next, make some Mexican rice. I made this recipe for Mexican rice in the rice cooker. That way it is very simple to prepare and takes a little less babysitting than traditional rice cooking. But it still packs a ton of flavor.

For a bit of sauce and flavor, prepare some chipotle crema using mostly sour cream and canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.

I’ve not included them in my recipe, but pan-fried potato bites could also make a wonderful addition. Just chop, parboil, and then pan-fry them up with some seasonings for another tasty filling.

So, once you’ve got the beef, rice, and sauce ready to go, it’s time to make the quesadilla. 

Build the Quesadilla Shell

Now, we’re going to build our quesadilla.

Start with a large, hot skillet and the biggest tortillas you can get your hands on. The huge tortillas will make a large quesadilla that will be easier to roll and fold up all your fillings.

Toss one tortilla into the pan. Then add an even layer of shredded cheese and a layer of nacho cheese. Note that I just kind of plopped the nacho cheese around. Then when I put the other tortilla on top, I figured that would spread things around evenly.

For the cheese, I suggest choosing one of the following high-moisture melting cheeses: Oaxaca, asadero, queso quesadilla, Monterey Jack, and Colby Jack. However, you can use whatever cheese you prefer to make this. You can even use a mix of different cheeses. I used a mix of Monterey Jack, cheddar, asadero, and queso quesadilla cheese.

Also, know that shredding your own cheese straight off the block is better than pre-shredded cheese in most cases. Pre-shredded stuff usually has added anti-caking things in it that make it a little more difficult to get that perfect melt. But, it definitely isn’t a make-or-break, especially for this recipe. It is more important for cheese sauces like making homemade mac and cheese.

But, perfectly melting cheese is what we aim for in a quesadilla.

Assemble Your Quesarito Recipe

Once the quesadilla is made, gather all of the other ingredients around so we can get to assembling our copycat recipe.

With the quesadilla laid out flat on a plate, start filling it with meat, beans, rice, sour cream, nacho cheese, and chipotle crema. I just kind of randomly piled the fillings in and tried to mix them around a bit so that I don’t get one pocket of a single filling.

Place the ingredients a few inches in from the outer edge. And group the filling on one side of an imaginary diameter of the quesadilla. This will all make it easier to fold and roll the burrito.

Do not overfill the tortilla! That is typically the biggest issue when it gets time to fold it all up. I know all of the ingredients are delicious and so it can be hard to use restraint. But fight the urge to overfill and it will be better in the end. In my opinion, the tortilla looks a little bit empty still when there’s enough room to properly fold it.

Once filled, it’s time to actually roll up your quesarito properly to make sure nothing falls out. Use this guide on how to fold your burrito. It’s one of my most popular pages on the site because it really is a pretty simple step-by-step guide.

Garnish and Serve Your Quesarito

You don’t have to limit yourself just to what goes inside the copycat quesarito recipe. Add some toppings or garnishes to lend even more flavor to this dish.

Use lettuce, sour cream, crema, guacamole, salsa, hot sauce, cilantro, and fresh lime wedges to top it off. You can also drizzle the chipotle crema over top, or try adding some pickled red onions to the mix for a bright, vinegary flavor. Have some beans, rice, street corn, or frijoles charros on the side to complete the meal.

In the end, it’s really about making this your own and deciding what you’d love most inside, on top, and on the side.

And there you have it! You’ve just made the ultimate meat and cheese quesarito recipe.

If you’re feeling like it, try making some Mexican desserts for when you’ve finished your meal. Fried ice cream, churros with dipping sauces, homemade flan, or tres leches cake would each make a delicious dessert.

If you’re looking for something similar to this recipe, check out these other burritos:

• Fully Loaded Breakfast Burrito
• Fried Baja Shrimp Burrito

Whatever you make, enjoy your next meal and let me know how it went.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try making a quesarito at home! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Ultimate Meat and Cheese Quesarito (Taco Bell Copycat)

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Lunch, DinnerDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

Burrito or quesadilla? Don’t make a decision, just have both with this ultimate quesarito recipe. It’s a Taco Bell copycat recipe that’s easy to make and tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• 10 large flour tortillas

• 3 cups shredded cheese (see above for best varieties)

• 15 ounce can nacho cheese

• 2 pounds ground beef taco meat

• 2 cups Mexican rice

• 16 ounce can refried beans

• 1 cup sour cream

• 1 cup chipotle crema

Directions

• Add a tortilla to a large frying pan over medium heat
• Spread a layer of shredded cheese and nacho cheese onto the tortilla
• Place another tortilla on top of the layer of cheeses and let it heat until the cheese has nearly melted then flip it over to finish cooking until everything is melted
• Repeat steps 1-3 to prep all of the quesadillas
• With the quesadillas done, add layers of beef, beans, rice, nacho cheese, sour cream, and chipotle crema to the lower half of the quesadilla
• Fold in the sides, fold up the bottom and then roll the burrito up, see burrito folding instructions if needed
• Garnish and serve as desired

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The post The Ultimate Meat and Cheese Quesarito Recipe (Taco Bell Copycat) appeared first on Do You Roux?.

This one comes to you courtesy of my wife. She loves cream cheese dill dip and it is one of the few things that she has made so many times that she is comfortable doing it without any recipe. That is typically how I operate, but she tends to go with cooking and baking to exact recipes.

So I asked if she would make it while measuring ingredients, letting me photograph it, and giving me the steps. And she so kindly obliged. It helps that she is always looking for an excuse to whip together some dill dip.

The dip comes out any time we are having a get-together. So we’ve had it far less in 2020 than we normally would have because of social distancing efforts. But we still brought it out for our own family holiday meals and so we’ve had it 3 or 4 times in the last month or so.

Tips for Making Dip

You will want to soften the cream cheese before making this recipe. To accomplish this, you can remove the cream cheese from the fridge about 30-45 minutes beforehand, or put it into the microwave in a bowl for 30 seconds. One requires more forethought, the other can heat it up too much or cause hot spots within the cream cheese if not heated evenly.

The dill should be chopped finely and evenly. You can do this with a knife or use a pair of herb scissors to help speed up the process. A lot of the smaller herbs can be a little frustrating to chop with a knife, and I really like how easy the herb scissors are to use. Plus it gets everything into relatively similar sizes because the blades are spaced evenly.

Include the leafy greens of the dill, but do not chop up the thicker stems into the dip. The more delicate and flavorful greens are much better than the chewier stems.

If you’d like to, you can reserve some chopped dill for garnishing the dip. This won’t affect the flavor much and is all about appearances. It can be really useful when setting the dip out for a party.

You can serve the dip immediately, but you can also make ahead and let the flavors meld together. The extra time gives the ingredients a chance to mingle and become even more flavorful. It seems like the sour cream and cream cheese have more of a chance to take on the flavors when you make it ahead.

Use fresh dill. Dried dill just doesn’t cut it in this recipe.

What to Pair With Dill Dip

What can’t you dip in this? I don’t know, but there are some things that pair extremely well with the dip:

Chips – Our house’s gold standard for cream cheese dill dip is a large bag of Ruffles Orignal. Any potato chips will work. Plain or original flavor chips will let the flavor of the dip stay at the forefront, but don’t be afraid to experiment and try some radical flavors. Jalapeno, dill pickle, BBQ, or salt and vinegar chips will all work.

Vegetables – Carrots and celery are the usual vegetable pairings for dill dip. But we’ve also branched out and tried bell peppers, broccoli, and cucumbers. Slice everything into 3 to 4 inch long pieces that would make it easy to hold and dip. Make sure to wash any vegetables before slicing.

Cream Cheese Dill Dip

Course: AppetizersDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

15

minutes

Bright, fresh dill lifts up this homemade dip that you can use with chips, vegetables, and more.

Ingredients

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

• 3/4 cup sour cream

• 2 tablespoons diced dill pickle

• 1/4 cup dill pickle juice (from the jar)

• 1 small clove of garlic, minced

• 5 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Gather, prep, and chop up all ingredients as needed
• Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly
• Add more salt and/or pepper to taste as needed – take into account what you will be dipping since chips tend to have a lot of added salt already
• Garnish with chopped fresh dill and serve immediately or reserve in the refrigerator for up to 4 days

Notes

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