Grilled Foil Packet Jalapeno, Corn, and Bacon Potato Salad
This Jalapeno, Corn, and Bacon Potato Salad is a cinch to make using a foil packet and your grill. Tossed with a creamy cilantro dressing, this is sure to be a hit at summer BBQs.
I feel like there are two kinds of people in this world. There are people who LOVE summer camp and there are people who think those that love summer camp are crazy. I fall firmly in the love it camp. I started going to camp in 6th grade and went every summer after all the way through high school, even becoming a counselor so I could stay alllll summer long.
The crazy thing is, I don’t tolerate heat particularly well, bugs and I aren’t on speaking terms, and I’m one of the least athletic people on the planet. You wouldn’t think summer camp would be my scene, but it totally was. I loved bonding with cabin mates over humidity-induced hair issues, telling stories about what may lurk in the murky greenish-gray depths of the lake, and staying up late giggling about our camp crushes.
But most of all, I loved hobo dinners. One night during the week we always had hobo dinners, which consisted of a burger patty, potatoes, and carrots wrapped in foil and cooked on a campfire. Nothing tastes better than a meal cooked over an open flame, especially if you’re a hungry tween who’s waited 25 minutes for it to be done.
This Grilled Jalapeno, Corn, and Bacon Potato Salad is my gourmet take on those humble hobo dinners. I’ve never been a big fan of mayo-y potato salad, but this version cooked in a foil packet with jalapenos, corn, and onion is turning me into a convert. If you’ve never made a foil packet before, it’s super simple. Just make a giant T shape out of two pieces of foil, load it up with your ingredients, drizzle it with bacon grease (<<yes, you read that right), salt, and pepper then grill until the potatoes are tender and smoky.Put that pot of boiling water away and let the grill do the work for you!
The finished packets are tossed with a spicy cilantro honey lime dressing then generously sprinkled with crispy bacon. It’s amazing served warm or you can pop it in the fridge and serve it chilled whenever you’re ready.
The key to any great potato salad is to start with great potatoes. I love to use red skinned potatoes from Idaho because of their creamy texture and thin skin, which doesn’t need to be peeled. Look for the “Grown in Idaho” seal in your grocery store to make sure you get the very best.
To learn more about the Idaho Potato Commission and what makes them unique, check out their website, and follow them on Facebook, Pinterest, or Twitter.
Grilled Foil Packet Jalapeno, Corn, and Bacon Potato Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound bacon
- 2 pounds Idaho® red potatoes, cut into wedges or bite sized chunks
- 2 jalapenos, seeded and chopped
- 2 ears of corn, kernels sliced off the cob
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- Salt and pepper
For the dressing:
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- 1 jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Looking for more great foil packet recipes? Try these!
Grilled Banana S’more Foil Packets
Sweet Potato and Chicken Sausage Foil Packets
Grilled Lemon Tilapia and Vegetable Foil Packets
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by the Idaho Potato Commission. As always, all opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep NeighborFood running!
I went to camp too as a kid through a teen and then did the counselor thing too but my camp experience was day and local. I couldn’t handle sleep away, the bugs, the camping, the not sleeping in my own bed. However if I knew I could eat things like this, well maybe it would have changed my mind. . maybe or maybe I’ll just cook this at home now. 🙂
Ehhh…I say skip the bugs and cook this at home on the grill! Then you can still enjoy your comfy bed at night. 🙂
Me too! I loved camp so much I worked at one during a summer in college! And the hair struggle was a real thing. Okay, but onto this potato salad. Whoa–amazing!
Yes! The struggle is real! Humidity and I do not get along.
I think I’ve only ever been to summer camp twice with Girl Scouts. Maybe three times. We did mountain pies and of course s’mores but never hobo dinners. Smart to make potato salad on the grill. You’re at a picnic and grilling anyway – might as well through on the potato salad! Love all the flavors you have going on, esp that bacon grease.
Oh mountain pies!! I forgot about those. So good!
I’ve never been to summer camp- but those dinners sound fun!! And your foil packet creation looks amazing- so many awesome flavors!
Gah! I love the idea of foil wrapped potato salad! Plus who doesn’t love jalapeños and bacon….yum!
I never went to summer camp, but had I? I’m pretty sure I’d have been in the LOVE category. Now I just love the foil packet meals! Works for me!
I loved summer camp as a kid too, especially the food! There are so many possibilities for foods cooked in foil pouches. This potato salad is so fun, and I love all the sweet corn in it to balance the savory potatoes and bacon!
I’ve never been to a formal camp, but I grew up camping with my parents. We always made something in a foil packet. The flavor is unbeatable. Love these potato salad packets.
I love how you packed all this deliciousness in a foil packet and threw it on the grill. Genius! This sounds perfect for the 4th of july!
This recipe is such a GENIUS idea! Who would have though potato salad would work so well in a foil packet?! Love this!
Thanks Justine! I’m definitely in a foil packet phase, and I was so glad this potato salad worked!
I love that you call your campfire meal a Hobo Meal! Oh and this is definitely a potato dish I am going to make soon!
Put me down for no on the summer camp and yes on this salad! 🙂
I never went to camp as a kid, but I can totally on board for a hobo dinner, even now!
I loved camp, too! Which is funny because you’d never get me to go camping or hiking or anything remotely outdoorsy/woodsy now. I remember those foil packet dinners fondly though!
This potato salad is SO creative! I never would have thought to grill everything like that, and I’m loving that jalapeno-corn combo.
Haha…same here. Now I require at least four walls, and outlet, and running water for “camping.” I still love a good foil packet meal though!
I honestly don’t think I’ve ever seen a potato salad that looks as delicious as this one!!
Sues