Combine your favorite baked potato toppings, like sour cream, crispy bacon slices, green onions, and shredded cheddar cheese, with the preparation of a classic potato salad. This loaded baked potato salad recipe is the perfect picnic food and will be a crowd-favorite at the next family reunion or neighborhood potluck. In addition to the baked potato ingredients, we used pantry staples like apple cider vinegar and olive oil to make your shopping list for this recipe a short one.

This perfect union is great to pair with grilled meats and vegetables for a meal that can be your new year-round staple. Try it with Ribeye Steaks & Peaches for some classic Southern fare or our All-American Chicken with Balsamic Barbecue sauce for the quintessential summer meal. For a meatless option, pair it with these tasty Vegetable Kabobs. If you're not looking for a starch overload, feel free to leave the potatoes off of that one! For a heartier pairing, try these Plank-Smoked Portobello Mushrooms and learn a fun new smoking technique along the way.

To go fully vegetarian with this loaded baked potato salad recipe, substitute the bacon slices with some fried shallots. You can keep the crunch without the meat! Dice them roughly and coat in salt and butter, then heat some olive oil in a pan. Fry them until they're a crispy golden brown, and they'll be just about indistinguishable from bacon bits. This is a great option if you're trying to incorporate new foods into your meals or exploring more meatless meals. They're not just for Mondays, anymore!

Tips for Making Baked Potatoes

Here are a few tips for making fluffy, light baked potatoes with golden skin. 

• Dry your potatoes before putting them into the oven. It’s important to wash your potatoes before cooking. However, don’t let any of that water linger on their skin. If it does, then it could seep into the potato while baking and turn it soggy. 
• Place the potatoes in the center of your baking sheet. That way, the hot air can reach all of the potatoes. If one side of the food is touching the pan, it could result in a hard spot because the potato won’t cook through evenly. 
• Cut your potatoes while they are still hot. While you don’t want to burn your hands by touching the potatoes immediately after they leave the oven, you don’t want to wait too long to slice into them either. Unlike meat, you should slice them open as quickly as you can so they don’t retain water, turning their insides gummy.