Fully loaded with sour cream, bacon, cheddar cheese and green onions, Twice Baked Potatoes are easy to make and absolutely delicious! These potatoes are a great side dish that pairs with tons of different dishes.
This is probably one of my husband’s favorite side dishes. They are super easy to make and a great dish to prep in advance for parties or holiday dinners.
Be sure to use a thick-skinned potato, like a russet, so that you can easily scoop out the cooked potato. Coating the potato with oil and salt before baking makes THE BEST potato skin to eat. I have even seen people just pick up the whole potato and eat it. They are that good!
Twice baked potatoes are a great side to pair with almost any cut of meat. Try them with this Roasted Chicken recipe or a simple seared chicken breast like in this Chicken in a White Wine Cream Sauce recipe.
Ingredients Needed
Russet Potatoes- Because they have a thick skin, it is easier to remove the potato without tearing the skin.
Oil- Any neutral tasting oil to coat the potatoes before baking them. I like using olive oil or avocado oil.
Sour Cream- For flavoring the mashed potatoes.
Milk- For flavor and to thin the mashed potatoes out a bit.
Butter- For flavor! I prefer to use unsalted butter so that I can control the amount of salt I use.
Bacon- Adds delicious flavor and some texture to the mashed potato filling.
Green Onions- Add delicious flavor to the mashed potato filling. Chives can also be used.
Cheddar Cheese- Shredded cheddar cheese for cheesy goodness!
Seasonings- Just salt and pepper are needed.
How to Make the Best Baked Potatoes
- Preheat an oven to 450° F.
- Wash and scrub the potato until clean of any dirt.
- Pat dry and place on a baking sheet.
- Pierce with a fork 5-6 times all over potato.
- Lightly cover in any neutral tasting oil like olive oil.
- Generously coat in kosher salt.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until the potato is soft, and a knife pierced through the middle of the potato comes out easily. The bigger the potato, the longer it will take.
Making Twice Baked Potatoes in Advance
This is a great recipe to prep a day or two ahead of time. They can be fully prepared, except baking them the second time. Just refrigerate them until needed. When you go to bake them the second time just preheat your oven to 350°F and bake for 20 minutes.
They also freeze very well this way. Thaw them completely in the refrigerator before baking them the second time.
What are the best potatoes to use?
Using Russet, also known as Idaho, potatoes for this recipe works best because their skins are a lot tougher, which makes scooping out the potato a lot easier. Using thinner skinned potatoes will result in broken skins that will not be able to hold the mashed potato filling.
If all you have are thinned skinned potatoes, you can make loaded mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes would be made same way leaving the skin on or off of the potatoes.
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Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review below, I would love to hear how it turned out! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Twice Baked Potatoes
Full loaded and baked with a crispy, salty skin. These are a family favorite. Perfect for any holiday or dinner side dish.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 450°F. Scrub the potatoes in water to clean them. Dry them, pierce all over with a fork (about 5-6 times) then cover them entirely with a little olive oil and kosher salt.
Place them on a baking sheet and into to the oven for about an hour, or until they are fully cooked.
You can check if they are done by gently squeezing the potato, it should give a little and not be hard.
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While the potatoes are baking, you can start cooking the bacon. You want fully cooked and crispy pieces of bacon. Either cook them in the oven with the potatoes for 20 minutes or fry them in a pan on the stove for about 10 minutes.
When they are done, set them on a paper towel to drain off the grease. Cut into small pieces and set aside.
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Once the potatoes are fully cooked, take them out of the oven. Allow the potatoes to cool for 10 minutes. Slice the potatoes length wise and scoop out the inside of the potato and place it into a bowl. Place the potato skin back onto the baking sheet.
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Add the milk, butter, and sour cream to a small saucepan, and heat up just until the butter is melted.
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Mash the potatoes and add in the milk mixture. Now fold in the bacon, green onions and shredded cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.
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Scoop the filling back into the potato skins and place in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes. Enjoy!
I agree, the skins are just as delicious as the filling. Nothing was leftover.
OMG! These were a huge hit at my Fourth of July party! Everyone was asking for the recipe. I had to come back to print a few copies off for friends. Thanks for the recipe!
That is wonderful to hear! Thanks for sharing!!