When I first saw this idea doing the rounds on social media, I wasn’t convinced. Surely, the lovely crispy potatoes you just spent time creating would immediately go soggy when mixed with a dressing? But surprisingly, they don’t.

This is my twist on the viral smashed potato salad recipe made famous on TikTok. Using tzatziki as the dressing is – in my humble opinion – an absolute game-changer and I am annoyed it’s taken me so long to try it! It’s the perfect light, zesty dressing here. You’ve got the freshness of the cucumber, zest of the lemon and creaminess of lovely Greek yogurt. It pairs PERFECTLY with the crispy potatoes and other ingredients in the salad.

While there’s an extra step here in comparison with your regular potato salad, it’s worth it. Smashing and roasting the potatoes give the salad a much-needed textural boost and it’s a lovely twist on the classic. It’s also lovely warm, cold or at room temperature, so it’s super versatile.

Ingredients

• Baby potatoes. You want them to be reasonably small and uniform if possible, but don’t worry too much.
• Tzatziki. Use store-bought for ease, but I promise it’s SUPER easy to make it yourself and it’ll taste so much better. You just need thick Greek yogurt, a cucumber, lemon, garlic and salt. Use coconut yogurt or another plant-based yogurt for a vegan version.
• Chives. Swap these for basil, flat-leaf parsley, cilantro or mint if you like.
• Scallions. You could use a finely diced red onion in place of the scallions, but I personally am not a raw onion fan so always use scallions instead. They’re not as harsh in flavour so I prefer them, but use onion if you prefer.
• Bacon. There’s nothing quite like crunchy, salty little bites of crispy bacon throughout a salad, but you can leave the bacon out for a vegetarian version.
• Pickled jalapenos. These bring a lovely spicy, vinegary flavor to the salad which helps to cut through the creamy yogurt. We’re not using a lot so it’s not too spicy, but you could swap in regular dill pickles instead for a similar flavour.

How to make it

Start by getting your potatoes boiling in a large pot of well-salted water. Once you can pierce your potatoes easily with a fork, drain them. Arrange the potatoes on a lined oven tray, then use the bottom of a glass to flatten – or smash – them into the tray.

Drizzle them with olive oil and a little salt, then transfer to the oven to get gorgeously crispy. While they’re cooking, you can prep all your salad ingredients so it’s quick and easy to assemble when they’re ready.

Mix your tzatziki dressing, chop the scallions, chives and jalapenos and cook the bacon until super crispy. Once the potatoes are golden and crispy, remove them from the oven. Add them into a large mixing bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients, apart from the tzatziki dressing.

PRO TIP: I like to tear the potatoes into smaller pieces as I add them to the bowl, just so they’re a little easier to eat with a fork.

Add a couple of heaped spoonfuls of the tzatziki and mix it through the potatoes. Add more dressing if you’d like your salad super coated, otherwise, I like to serve the rest of the tzatziki on the side for dipping. Enjoy right away, while crispy and crunchy.

Got a question?

Watch how to make it

Like this recipe? Here are more easy salads to try