Twice Baked Potatoes
Baked to golden perfection twice baked potatoes are the perfect party food! Filled with fluffy potato, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and savory bacon, these baked potatoes are always a crowd-pleaser.
I have been making my twice baked stuffed potatoes this way for over 2 decades!!
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What Is A Twice Baked Potato?
Exactly as they sound, this potato variation is baked twice. You initially make baked potatoes any way you prefer. You then scoop out the flesh and pair it with cheese and seasonings before restuffing the potato skins and baking them again.
The result is a fluffy, indulgent, side dish or appetizer that you can top with anything from sour cream to green onions. Always delicious, twice-baked potatoes are the appetizer you make when you want to win people over.
Ingredients
- Baking potatoes: you’ll want to scrub the potatoes clean as you’ll be eating the skins. Try to get potatoes roughly the same size if possible.
- Canola oil: used to initially bake the potatoes, any neutral oil should work.
- Cooked bacon: the crispier the better so it adds an extra crunch to the twice-baked potatoes.Â
- Butter: don’t skimp on this as it brings out a savory taste more than oil will.
- Sour cream: grab the full-fat version to make these baked potatoes have an ultra-rich taste.
- Milk: just like sour cream, regular milk will taste better than skim milk will.
- Cheddar cheese: this is a staple for twice-baked potatoes but know that other blends can be used to alter the classic flavor.
- Seasonings: you’ll want some green onions, seasoned salt, and black pepper on hand.
Tips For Success
Scooping The Flesh
To ensure that your potatoes don’t fall apart, when you’re scooping out the flesh make sure to leave a little bit of the flesh on the skin. Otherwise, the skins become too unstable and fall apart when stuffing.
Mixing The Potatoes
When you’re mixing the potato flesh with the sour cream and other ingredients, don’t overmix. You want the filling to remain light and fluffy. Overmixing will cause a thick, gooey texture.
Meal Prepping Them
Twice-baked potatoes can easily be meal-prepped and made 1-2 in advance of when you need them. To do this, make the stuffed potatoes completely filling each skin with the mashed potato mixture. Place them in a casserole dish covered in plastic wrap. When you need them, top the potatoes with additional cheddar cheese and bake them in the oven.
They will take longer to bake than normal as you’re starting from a chilled temperature. You want to bake them until the cheese is melted and the potatoes heated through.
Storing Leftovers
If you have leftovers, they will stay fresh in the fridge for up to four days and in the freezer for up to 6 months. Store them in an airtight container. You can reheat them from the fridge in the microwave or oven.
Freeze the twice-baked potatoes: make the potatoes but don’t add the green onion. If possible, vacuum seal them to keep them extra fresh but a freezer-safe container will work.
When you’re ready to enjoy them, let them thaw in the fridge overnight. Reheat them in the oven at 400F until warmed through and the cheese is starting to bubble.
Note: Twice-baked potatoes that have been frozen won’t be as delicious if thawed and then microwaved. Opt for reheating them in the oven for the best texture.
How To Serve Twice Baked Potatoes
The best part about this recipe is that it can be used as an appetizer for game days, a light lunch, or a tasty side dish for dinner.
Pair it along with your favorite chicken breast recipe, or cast-iron skillet steak along with a salad and you’ve got a complete meal.Â
If using them as an appetizer, below are a few things to add to the table if you want everyone to create their own best version. This is such a fun idea!
- Extra sour cream and green onions
- Red pepper flakes
- Taco beef
Russet potatoes make the best twice-baked potatoes. This is mainly because of their size but also because they have a higher starch content which makes their potato flesh extra fluffy.
When reheating twice-baked potatoes, place them in the oven on a lined baking sheet. Reheat them for roughly 20 minutes or until the flesh is warmed through and the cheese on top is beginning to bubble.
With overbaked potatoes, you’ll notice that the texture is very dry and a bit gummy. To prevent this, make sure when you’re initially baking them that you poke them with a fork prior to baking to release the steam and only bake them until tender.
Home-cooked bacon will always taste best as it’s crunchier and much more savory. However, you can use store-bought bits if you’re short on time.
Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 large baking potatoes scrubbed clean
- canola oil
- 10 slices bacon fried til crisp & diced
- 1/2 pound 2 sticks of butter, cut into slices
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt I like Lawry’s
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 heaping cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Rub the outside of the potatoes with canola oil. Place the potatoes in a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour. Remove the potatoes from the oven & reduce the oven’s heat to 300 degrees.
- Combine the butter, sour cream, 3/4 of the bacon, milk, seasoned salt, & pepper in a large bowl.
- While the potatoes are still warm, grip them with clean kitchen towel & slice in half lengthwise. Using a spoon, hollow out the potatoes. Repeat until all the potatoes have been hollowed out. Place the potato shells on a large baking sheet.
- Add the potatoes to the bowl with the sour cream mixture & combine using a potato masher. Stir in half of the cheddar cheese & 3/4 of the green onions to the mixture.
- Fill each potato with the mashed potato mixture, leaving a little room for the reserved cheddar cheese. Top with the shredded cheddar.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until the cheese is melted & the potatoes are hot. Sprinkle with the reserved bacon & green onions.
