I tried every premium side dish at Cracker Barrel and ranked them from worst to best

A loaded baked potato is a pretty standard side, and I found this one to be, well, pretty standard.

When it was brought to my table, my server realized it wasn't "fully loaded," so they took it back to the kitchen to have sour cream added to the top. That turned out to be my favorite topping — it had a great flavor.

But in general, this was just a baked potato.

The chives, bacon, cheese, and sour cream made for a fine combination, but it didn't wow me the way the other sides on the list did.

Though the base was goopy and cheesy (and frankly, delightful), the cheese flavor got lost a bit in the onslaught of bacon — which was, of course, also quite tasty.

If you're looking for bacon in every bite, this dish came with a generous portion of it. But if you're hoping to counterbalance the meaty flavor with some cheese, this might not be the way to go.

The mashed potatoes were topped with colby cheese, bacon, and green onions.

Surprisingly, the green onions were the standout ingredient, competing with the bacon for the strongest flavor profile.

To that end, these aren't the kind of mashed potatoes that are going to act as a muted accompaniment to the meat and gravy on your plate. They're more of a standalone experience, but one that would certainly complement all sorts of main dishes.

The loaded hash-brown casserole has a lot going for it.

Its base is delicious, crunchy (but still soft) grilled hash browns piled with colby cheese and bacon. I think my favorite thing here was the textural mashup of the crisp hash browns with the toppings.

With plenty of cheese and bacon, it shared some DNA with the other sides, but the texture set it apart.

Pancakes weren't listed as a premium side online, but they were on the menu in the restaurant, so of course, I went for it. And I'm glad I did.

The stack of two pancakes didn't come with syrup — I imagine I could've requested if I wanted — but that was just fine. They were buttery, crispy, and light.

Amid a table populated with a lot of potatoes smothered in bacon and cheese, they were a welcome break. Plus, they were just really delicious.

Full disclosure: My husband and I each stole a tot from the bowl before I snapped the photo of this one.

These tots were made out of Cracker Barrel's signature hash-brown casserole. It's a very simple concept, and I can't quite put my finger on why, but I just loved them.

I think they'd go well with any dish.

My favorite side was a total surprise to me. The loaded baked sweet potato was the one I was most dubious of during my research — mostly because it sounded like it was going to be overwhelming.

But I thought it had a really good balance of sweet and salty. The sweet potato itself was a good foil to the very sweet marshmallow topping and butter-pecan sauce, and the candied pecans added some textural intrigue.

I couldn't stop coming back to this one, and a few days out from my dining experience, it's the one I've thought about the most.

It's definitely on the sweet side — almost more like a dessert. But hey, there's nothing wrong with that every now and then.