Twice Baked Potatoes are a special dish that’s easy to make. These crispy baked potatoes stuffed with sour cream, cheese, and bacon make the perfect side!
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The Ultimate Potato Side Dish – So Cheesy!
For a truly special meal, sometimes, all you need is a spectacular main course. But if you want to dress up any meal, add a festive side dish or two. These twice baked potatoes are a mouthwateringly yummy potato recipe that automatically upgrades any menu. They might just steal the show away from your main course!
That’s because these potatoes are the perfect combination of potato wedges, baked potatoes, and mashed potatoes. The outside of the potatoes gets crispy and tender when baked, just like a good potato wedge.
The inside is not only mashed into a creamy filling, it’s also mixed with all of your favorite loaded baked potato toppings! From there, the filling is added back to the crispy potato shell, topped with cheese, and baked one more time. They’re seriously delicious. If you love these twice baked potatoes, you should also check out my favorite Loaded Baked Potatoes!
(Looking for a more basic baked potato recipe? Try this recipe for The Best Baked Potato, these Air Fryer Baked Potatoes, or a super-simple Microwave Baked Potato!)
Are You Supposed to Eat the Skin of a Twice Baked Potato?
Yes! You can definitely eat the skin of a twice baked potato. In fact, the skin is some people’s favorite part of the whole dish. Plus, potato skins contain healthy vitamins, nutrients, and fiber. So give those spuds a good scrub, and enjoy.
Recipe Ingredients
Warning: just reading the following list of ingredients could make you hungry. Here’s the scoop o what you’ll need to make perfect twice baked potatoes:
- Potatoes: Large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean. A veggie scrubber is good for this.
- Olive Oil: For rubbing into the potato skin. This adds flavor and helps them crisp up in the oven.
- Salt and Pepper
- Sour Cream: You can substitute plain yogurt or Greek yogurt if you prefer.
- Butter: Cut into slices.
- Milk: You could also use half-and-half.
- Seasonings: Garlic powder and onion powder add an intense, savory flavor with ease.
- Cheddar Cheese: Freshly shredded.
- Bacon: Cooked and crumbled. (For easy, perfect bacon, try this tutorial on How to Cook Bacon in the Oven).
- Chives: Freshly minced.
How Do I Cook Twice Baked Potatoes?
This cooking method takes a bit of time, but it’s not difficult. You will essentially be baking the potatoes, scooping out the insides, and then making the insides into a filling mixture that goes back into the empty potato shells. It’s a lot like making deviled eggs.
- Bake the Potatoes. To get started, preheat your oven to 400°F and line a medium-sized baking pan with aluminum foil. Poke the potatoes several times with a fork, and then place them on the baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and rub the potatoes so that the oil and seasonings are evenly distributed. Finally, bake the potatoes for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife slides out smoothly when pierced in the center of a potato.
- Halve and Cool the Potatoes. Once the potatoes are baked, cut them in half, and let the halves cool until you can safely handle them. Meanwhile, turn the oven temperature down to 375°F.
- Make the Filling Mixture. Scoop most of the potato out into a large bowl, leaving a quarter inch of potato around the edges. Once all the potato halves have been scooped out, place the halves back on the pan. Whip the potato insides with an electric mixer until smooth, and then add the sour cream, butter, milk, garlic powder, and onion powder. Whip again until smooth.
- Stuff the Potatoes. Stir in ¾ of the cheddar cheese, the bacon, and the chives. Then divide the mix evenly between the potato skins. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
- Bake Again. Bake the stuffed potatoes for 20 – 25 minutes, or until the cheese is fully melted.
- Enjoy! Serve the twice baked potatoes with sour cream, crispy bacon, and freshly chopped chives, if desired.
Why Are My Twice Baked Potatoes Gummy?
Baked potatoes may turn out a bit gummy for several reasons, so keep these in mind while you’re whipping up this recipe.
- The Best Potatoes for Twice Baked: First, you need to choose the right potato. Starchy spuds like Idaho (or russet) potatoes are perfect. Waxy potatoes like red potatoes may become gummy, so avoid those.
- Don’t Under-Bake: Bake your potatoes until they’re somewhere between 205°F and 210°F, as measured by a meat thermometer. Or you can use my favorite baked potato doneness test: insert the tip of a knife, and when it slides back out smoothly, with no resistance, the potato is done. (Pro-tip: don’t overbake, either – the potatoes can get too firm if you do!)
- Mix Just Until Blended: Overmixing starchy stuff like mashed potatoes, rice, and wheat-based dough can cause the starches to become gummy. In this case, you’ll be whipping the potatoes until soft and then adding all of your toppings, as well. Be sure to only mix as much as you need to in order to blend everything up.
Cook’s Notes
Want to know more? Great! I do have some helpful recipe tips to share. Read on, and happy baking!
- Avoid Foil: Wrapping potatoes in foil used to be the method for baking potatoes, but while it can be helpful for keeping baked potatoes warm, it doesn’t create that crispy skin. Leave off the foil, and you’ll have a great crispy spud.
- Don’t Make the Shells Too Thin: When you scoop out the centers of the potatoes, make sure to leave the shells about ½ inch thick or so. You don’t want to scoop them too thin, or they’ll just fall apart when you fill them back up and serve them.
- Customize the Toppings: If you love other toppings on your potatoes, feel free to include them here! From chopped chicken breast to broccoli florets, you can make your twice baked potatoes with all of your favorites. I recommend chopping the ingredients fairly small so that they fit and blend in with the filling well.
Tasty Serving Suggestions
You can serve these as a simple, light lunch, or as a side dish for a larger meal. Some great main courses to go with twice baked potatoes include…
- Steak: Juicy Flank Steak is my go-to, but you could serve these potatoes with just about any type of steak dish.
- Chicken: Chicken goes so well with potatoes! I love the simple, balanced flavor of this Best Baked Chicken Recipe.
- Pulled Pork: We usually have pulled pork piled onto a bun for sandwiches, but it’s also wonderful as a main dish with twice baked potatoes. Try this Crock Pot Pulled Pork Recipe – it’s so good!
Storing, Reheating, and Making Ahead
One of the great things about this recipe is that you can easily store the finished potatoes and warm them up again. Here’s how to store, reheat, and make twice baked potatoes in advance.
- Storing: If you made the potatoes according to the recipe and have some leftovers, just cook them down, place them in an airtight container, and freeze them for up to four days.
- Reheating: My personal favorite way to reheat these is in the air fryer. Cook them at 400°F for 2 to 3 minutes. You can also bake them in a normal oven at 400°F for 5 – 10 minutes, or until hot all the way through.
- Making Ahead: Follow the recipe to bake and stuff the potatoes. Top with cheese, and allow the potatoes to cool. From there, you can store them in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or wrap them tightly and freeze them for up to three months. When you’re ready, just bake as directed, adding 5 – 15 extra minutes to make sure the potatoes heat through.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
- 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 2 tablespoons butter, sliced
- 3 to 4 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 6 ounces cheddar cheese, freshly shredded and divided
- 6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- ¼ cup freshly minced chives
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a medium size baking pan with aluminum foil.
- Poke the potatoes multiple times with a fork then place the potatoes on the pan and drizzle them evenly with the olive oil and sprinkle on the salt and pepper. Rub the potatoes so that the oil and seasonings are evenly distributed.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a knife slides out smoothly from a potato when pierced in the center.
- Slice them in half and let them cool until you can safely handle them.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 375°F.
- Scoop most of the potato out into a large bowl, leaving a quarter inch barrier around the edge.
- Once all the potato halves have been scooped out, place the halves back on the pan.
- Whip the potato with an electric mixer until smooth then add the sour cream, butter, milk, garlic powder and onion powder and whip again until smooth and the butter is melted.
- Stir in ¾ of the cheddar cheese, bacon and chives then scoop the mix evenly between the potato skins.
- Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top then bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted.
- Serve with sour cream, crispy bacon and freshly chopped chives, if desired.
Notes
- Storing: If you made the potatoes according to the recipe and have some leftovers, just cook them down, place them in an airtight container, and freeze for up to four days.
- Reheating: My personal favorite way to reheat these is in the air fryer. Cook them at 400°F for 2 to 3 minutes. You can also bake them in a normal oven at 400°F for 5 – 10 minutes, or until hot all the way through.
- Making Ahead: Follow the recipe to bake and stuff the potatoes. Top with cheese, and allow to cool. From there, you can store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 2 days, or wrap tightly and freeze for up to three months. When you’re ready, just bake as directed, adding 5 – 15 extra minutes to make sure the potatoes heat through.
Nutrition
Categories:
More Easy Potato Sides
- Air Fryer Potato Wedges
- Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Potato Casserole
- Crockpot Sweet Potatoes
- Crispy Baked Potato Wedges
- Pappas Rellenas (Stuffed Potatoes)
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