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🍖 American BBQ
Loaded Potato Salad (Portion-Aware)
⏱ 20 min prep + 15 min boil + 30 min chill
🍞 ~14g (kid-default 3/4 cup, half-and-half potato + cauliflower base)
🍽 8 servings
⭐ 4/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Potato salad shows up at every Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day cookout — the side that families argue about (mustard or no mustard? sweet pickles or dill?). We split the base 50/50 with cauliflower so kids can still pile their plate without piling on the bolus.
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Replacing half the potato with cauliflower cuts net carbs by nearly half while keeping the look, the bite, and the dressing-soaked flavor kids expect.
- Adding bacon, hard-boiled egg, and a creamy dressing puts protein and fat alongside every carb bite, which slows absorption and reduces the post-meal spike.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1-inch pieces (90g total, 11g per serving)
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into 1-inch florets (15g)
- 6 strips bacon, cooked and chopped (1g)
- 4 large hard-boiled eggs, chopped (2g)
- 1/2 cup diced dill pickles — no sweet pickles! (2g)
- 1/4 cup diced red onion (3g)
- 2 tbsp chopped chives (1g)
- Dressing:
- 3/4 cup mayonnaise, full fat (2g)
- 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (1g)
- 2 tbsp pickle brine (0g)
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar (0g)
- 1 tsp kosher salt (0g)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper (0g)
- 1/4 tsp smoked paprika (0g)
Directions
- Add cubed potatoes to a big pot of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil.
- After 5 minutes, add the cauliflower florets to the SAME pot. They'll finish at about the same time.
- Cook another 8-10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender and cauliflower is just past al dente. Don't overcook — mushy potato salad is sad potato salad.
- Drain in a colander. Spread on a sheet pan to cool quickly (this also prevents waterlogging).
- While they cool, whisk all dressing ingredients in a big bowl.
- Once potatoes and cauliflower are room temp, add them to the dressing along with bacon, eggs, pickles, red onion, and chives.
- Fold gently — you want chunks, not mashed potato salad.
- Taste. Add salt, pepper, or a splash more vinegar to balance.
- Cover and chill at least 30 minutes (better: 2 hours) before serving.
- Stir gently and sprinkle a little extra paprika on top before bringing it to the table.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash the cheetah chef says: "Save a few crumbled bacon bits to sprinkle on top right before serving — looks fancy, makes kids excited to dig in."
- For kids who side-eye cauliflower, dice it the same size as the potato cubes so it visually disappears into the mix. They'll never know.