If you’re looking for the perfect potluck side dish, choose this Loaded Potato Salad recipe. It’s filled with bacon, cheese, chives, and more.

This recipe won’t use an entire bag of potatoes. So, if you’re looking for ways to finish that bag, check out our list of Budget Potato Recipes for more ideas.

We’ve been going to a lot of potlucks lately. Every two weeks, there is an event at the clubhouse at our community, so we are asked to bring a snack to share.

I usually bring something with chocolate and it’s always a big hit. But, when we had a luau party potluck recently, it was too hot to bring chocolate. So I went completely different and brought Loaded Potato Salad.

We had the farmers market in the morning, and had about 90 minutes from when we got home to when the potluck started.

I needed something I could make quickly — and something that went as a side to fried chicken (since that was the main dish of the potluck).

The Loaded Potato Salad was a big hit. It’s definitely one of my top potluck side dishes.

Loaded Potato Salad Recipe

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Loaded Potato Salad Ingredients:

• 6 potatoes
• 2 tablespoons salt
• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 sprigs fresh chives

How To Make Loaded Potato Salad:

Peel and chop your potatoes. The thinner you can cut your potatoes, the quicker they’ll cook (which helps if you’re on a time crunch).

Boil enough water to cover the potatoes. Add half the salt to the water.

Boil the potatoes at a rapid boil for 5 minutes, then a low boil for 20 minutes. They’ll be ready when they’re fork tender.

Drain them in a strainer, then put them into a large bowl.

While the potatoes are boiling, cook your bacon.

When the bacon is done, chop it into small pieces.

Add the bacon, most of the cheese, the rest of the salt, and the garlic powder, to the potatoes — while the potatoes are still warm.

Gently stir until the cheese starts to melt slightly.

Add the sour cream and stir gently until everything is combined.

Put the entire bowl, uncovered, into the fridge. I’d say refrigerate at least 20 minutes, but if you’re in a rush, do what you can. If you’re not in a rush, you can leave this in the fridge a couple hours.

Take the Loaded Potato Salad out of the fridge and top it with the reserved cheese and the fresh herbs.

This makes a pretty soft and creamy loaded potato salad. It basically tastes like the inside of a baked potato. And that’s amazing.

Have you tried this Loaded Potato Salad recipe? Let us know in the comments.