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These twice baked potatoes, or double baked potatoes, are a fun side dish! Extra cheesy and creamy mashed potatoes are loaded into crispy potato skins. Top it all of with more cheese and bacon for a truly comforting dish. This potato recipe is great for serving as a holiday side dish, or as a side dish at a BBQ.
All about these Twice Baked Potatoes…
- Easily flexible: not a fan of classic sour cream, cheese and bacon? Switch it up and do some fun filling options such as blue cheese and pulled pork. Or ground beef and salsa.
- Make Ahead Options: while this is a simple dish, it can be time consuming to scoop, mash and stuff the potatoes again. If you know you want to serve these do some of the prep work ahead of time! Roast, scoop, mash and stuff the potatoes up to 3 days in advance! Just keep them in a covered container in the refrigerator and then remove to bake when needed.
- Inexpensive: thanks to the size of russet potatoes these are a great filling side dish you can serve to a large crowd or your family.
Ingredients Needed:
Notes on some ingredients:
- Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the best choice for this recipe due to their size and the consistency of the mashed potato on the inside. They are also a nice sturdy option that holds up well to the scooping out of the centers.
- Salt: both coarse and regular salt are used in this recipe. Coarse salt is used to season the skin of the potatoes before baking. Then use a finer salt when making the mashed potato portion.
- Milk: use more or less depending on how creamy you want to make your mashed potatoes.
How to make (step-by-step):
- Step 1&2: Bake the Potatoes, coat the potatoes in the oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. To cook these potatoes in the oven, so they’re soft enough, it will take about 45-60 minutes. Again, a large potato could take up to 1 and 1/2 hours to completely cook.
- Step 3&4: Scoop out the inside, once the potatoes have baked, let them sit for a few minutes, so you don’t burn your hands when you touch them. Cut the top off the potato and carefully scoop out the softened potato in the center. Be sure to leave 1/8-1/4 of an inch along the skin to give some support and the skins don’t crack or break.
- Step 5&6: Mash the potato: with the butter, sour cream, milk, bacon bits, cheese, and green onion. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Always taste the potato to make sure it’s flavorful. Add more seasonings as needed. You can also add more milk or butter to get the desired consistency.
- Step 7: Stuff the potatoes: After the potatoes are stuffed, add some more of the filling to the top of the potato, and add a small slice of butter before doing the second bake time.
Expert Tips:
- Freezing: Prepare the potatoes as directed in the recipe until the skins have been filled with the creamy filling. Then cool completely and freeze on a baking sheet. Let freeze overnight, then store in a freezer safe container or bag. To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the potatoes on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes until heated through. Then add any toppings desired.
- Scooping: be sure to leave enough stability to the skins to hold up to the scooping and stuffing. Leave 1/8 to 1/4 inch of a shell. This will help to prevent your potato skins from cracking or breaking. You could also always bake an extra potato in case one breaks, and then you will have extra filling to overstuff your potatoes in that case!
- Moisture: if the potatoes are seeming dry, feel free to add more butter or sour cream as needed to ensure a nice creamy center to the potatoes.
Twice Baked Potatoes: FAQS
Why are my twice baked potatoes gummy?
Gummy potatoes can occur when they are over mixed. If you are removing the potatoes and using a hand mashing method you will not get a gummy texture. But if you are using a hand mixer or other electronic method, this can cause an over mixing of the potato which causes too much starch to be released, and gives a gummy, gluey texture.
Should twice baked potatoes be covered when reheating?
To reheat a twice baked potato, first remove any toppings you are able to (sour cream, green onion, etc). Spread butter over the top of the potato, and if using the microwave then cover with a damp paper towel. This will help keep moisture in. If using the oven, spread with butter and bake on a baking sheet.
Do you eat the skin of twice baked potatoes?
Yes, you can eat the skins of baked russet potatoes. This is actually a very nutritious part of the potato.
More Potato Recipes:
- Southern Potato Salad
- Mashed Potato Casserole
- Creamy Potato Soup
- Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes
- Leftover Mashed Potato Cakes
Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
These Twice Baked Potatoes are stuffed with creamy mashed potatoes loaded up with butter, cheese, bacon, green onion and seasonings! This easy to make side dish is perfect for entertaining! In fact it can be made ahead of time or even frozen to make things even easier.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs russet potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp coarse salt
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 4 tbsp butter
- 3/4 cup milk
- slices bacon cooked and chopped
- 3 green onions diced
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
Instructions
- Clean the potatoes and scrub them to ensure that all dirt is removed. Dry with a towel.
- Poke a fork into each potato 3-4 times on the top to make enough holes for moisture to escape the potato while baking.
- Coat with oil and sprinkle with coarse salt. Lay on large baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 for 45-60 mins until softened, a fork inserted in the potato should go in smoothly.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool for about 10 minutes, or until you can handle them safely.
- Cut the very top off the potato and using a spoon scrape out the potato, leave about a 1/8 inch layer in the potato skin to help it hold it’s shape.
- Place the potato that is scooped out into a large bowl. Continue until all the potatoes are done.
- Add the chopped up bacon, shredded cheese, diced green onion, sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder to the bowl with the potatoes. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes and mix together all of the ingredients. Add in the milk. Mix together. Mash to desired consistency. Taste the potatoes and adjust flavors and seasonings as needed. Add milk as needed to get desired texture.
- Spoon the mashed potato mixture into the potato skins. I always fill the potatoes full, then add a scoop of mixture on top of each potato so that it is overflowing
- Sprinkle the tops with remaining shredded cheese, bacon bits, and chopped green onion. Place a small slice of butter on top of each potato.
- Broil for 5-10 minutes. Keep an eye on the potatoes, the cheese will melt, start to bubble and will start to brown. That is when you want to remove them.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool for a couple minutes. Serve warm and enjoy!
Equipment
Notes
- Cooking time can vary based on the size of the potatoes you’re cooking. If you are using large potatoes, they can take a bit longer. Always make sure you check that the potatoes have baked long enough; a fork should easily slide in and out showing that the potatoes will be easily mashed
- You can also bake the potatoes to soften them in the microwave, if you’re looking for a quicker method, and are only making 1-2 potatoes. To bake the potato in the microwave, follow the first steps to prepare the potato, but instead of putting in the oven, put into the microwave, cook on high heat for about 5 minutes, turn the potato and continue cooking for another 5. Check the consistency of the potato to determine if longer is needed.
- Freezing: Prepare the potatoes as directed in the recipe until the skins have been filled with the creamy filling. Then cool completely and freeze on a baking sheet. Let freeze overnight, then store in a freezer safe container or bag. To bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, place the potatoes on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes until heated through. Then add any toppings desired.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 452kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 21g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 920mg | Sugar: 3g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Recipe first published November 9, 2018. Updated June 7, 2022 with new images and information. Recipe is unchanged.
Photography done by the talented @KJandCompany.co
