Loaded Baked Potato Salad

Somewhere along the way, an ingenious American cook looked at a loaded baked potato and thought: why should I limit this perfection to a single serving? Why not make enough to feed the whole church picnic? That cook understood something fundamental about our culinary tradition. The best American food feeds communities, not just individuals.

This salad captures everything you love about a properly loaded baker: the crispy bacon that shatters between your teeth, the sharp bite of aged cheddar, the cooling richness of sour cream, and that bright onion flavor from fresh chives. But instead of disappearing in minutes, it fills a bowl that anchors your entire potluck spread.

The technique matters here. You'll bake your potatoes rather than boil them, which concentrates their flavor and keeps them from becoming waterlogged. Cut them into generous chunks while still warm so they absorb the dressing. And please, I beg you, use real bacon you've cooked yourself. Those jarred bacon bits have no place at any table I'd sit down to.