This Healthy Southwest Potato Salad is the perfect summer recipe for barbecue and party season. It’s a crowd-pleaser, is easy to whip up and can be made ahead of time.

What more could we ask for during these lazy, crazy days of summer?

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I love love love potato salad (hello – I have an ongoing love affair with mayo). But lately, I’m trying to eat a little healthier and lighter, preferably without sacrificing ANY flavor in the process.

When I was working on this southwest potato salad recipe, I knew that it would have a lot of bold flavors, and I figured I couldn’t go wrong by replacing most of the mayo with plain yogurt.

As you might know, plain yogurt is an amazing secret weapon to have in your fridge. It’s super healthy and adds a nice bright tang to this salad, which I think fits well with the lime-cilantro-chipotle flavours.

Don’t worry – there’s still a little bit of mayo. I think some yummy fat is important for satiety and enjoyment. But I honestly didn’t miss the rest. The sauce is so creamy and smoky – it’s just delicious.

A word of caution: I used chipotle powder for this recipe, which can vary in heat depending on the brand you use and how old it is.

Start with a little and add to it.

Tip: if you don’t want any spicy heat, use smoked paprika instead. It will give you that smoky southwest flavor without any risk of a burning mouth.

This recipe uses a few tricks to stay cheap – frozen corn (cheap any time of year), half a frozen red pepper (stock that freezer!), fresh cilantro (read up on why fresh herbs don’t have to be expensive) and potatoes – a super cheap pantry staple. You could even use frozen lime juice instead of buying a fresh lime!

So throw together this Healthy Southwest Potato Salad next time you’re barbecuing or on your way to a potluck. You’ll be glad you did! 🙂

Healthy Southwest Potato Salad – Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Healthy Southwest Potato Salad – Ingredients

Wash 3 lbs of potatoes, peel, if desired (mine were organic so I didn’t bother) chop into large pieces, and cook until fork-tender in a large pot of boiling salted water. Then drain and chop into smaller cubes.

In the meantime, cook 1/2 package of bacon using your method of choice (I like the microwave for smaller amounts of bacon – it’s very hands off – we use something similar to this but it’s ceramic), rinse and chop a handful of cilantro, dice 1/2 a red pepper, and cook (and drain very well) 2 cups of frozen corn.

Chives or green onions are also delicious (but optional).

Mix 1 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 cup mayo and 3 tbsp ranch dressing mix – click here for the recipe for our ranch mix [I think you should be able to substitute this with 1 -1.5 cups of ranch salad dressing, but I love having the dry mix on-hand – and it’s MUCH healthier!]. Add 1 teaspoon of salt, juice of 1/2 a lime (about 2 tablespoons) and 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle powder (or smoked paprika). Taste to see how spicy it is. If you’d like it stronger, keep adding more spice, a 1/4 teaspoon at a time. I ended up using 1/2 teaspoon in total.

(Like I said above, I used chipotle powder for this recipe, which can vary in heat depending on the brand you use and how old it is. It’s best to start with a little and add to it. Or, if you don’t want any spicy heat, use smoked paprika instead. It will give you that smoky southwest flavor without any risk of a burning mouth.)