The Southern Way To Make Cheesy 'Baked' Potatoes 10x Better

Baked potatoes are great dishes for combining many complementary flavors to make a delicious and filling meal. However, while there are many excellent variations of the classic baked potato recipe that celebrity chefs and home cooks alike love to make, there's a Southern recipe that manages to do things radically differently while still retaining the remarkable taste of the classic side dish.

Mississippi Mud Potatoes — not to be confused with the chocolate lovers' dream dessert, the Mississippi Mud Cake — is a recipe that brings together all the things you know and love about loaded baked potatoes and serves them in a different form. While a standard rendition of the dish would see you bake the potato whole and introduce all the delicious add-ons after the fact, Mississippi Mud Potatoes combines ingredients like mayonnaise — which essentially takes the place of sour cream -– cheese, bacon, onion, green onions, and some seasonings with diced potatoes before you cook it. This version of a baked potato casserole is perfect for several people to enjoy, and is often used for events like Thanksgiving and Super Bowl parties.

Now, the first thing that loaded baked potato purists might take umbrage with in the traditional Mississippi Mud Potatoes recipe is the aforementioned use of mayonnaise rather than sour cream. However, you can substitute some or all of the mayonnaise in the recipe with sour cream or Greek yogurt if you feel the need to do so. Fair warning, though — this casserole is known to thrive best with mayonnaise involved, so completely removing it from the recipe is seen by some to be detrimental to its taste and texture.

Beyond that, there are many areas where you can better suit this classic Southern dish to your tastes. For example, given that there are many different varieties of potatoes, straying away from the typical Russet or Yukon Gold and instead dicing up a lesser-used type of potato could be the key to making the casserole your own.  The King Edward potato, for example, can provide a creamier, softer texture with a hint of sweetness that can really elevate your meal. Furthermore, adding more toppings like diced peppers before baking it or salsa after the fact can similarly enhance the dish's flavor in small yet meaningful ways.