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Twice Baked Potatoes are a side dish made with baked potatoes that are stuffed with bacon, sour cream, cheese, and green onion and then baked a second time.
These potatoes are always a huge hit around here, and I know you’ll love them too. You can’t go wrong with hollowed-out potatoes refilled with the mashed potato, sour cream, bacon, cheese, and green onions. Bake it for a second time and you have the title of the recipe: twice-baked potatoes. I think you’ll find a reason to make them if you look hard enough. Heck, just make them for dinner tonight; your family will thank you.
Twice baked potatoes are great to make ahead and pull out when you are ready to bake! I’ve made these a whole 24 hours ahead of time and they were still perfect. Once the filled potatoes are topped with cheese and bacon, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. When baking the potatoes cold, cover the dish with tented foil (so the cheese doesn’t stick to it) for 30 minutes at 350 F. and then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- These are very versatile and customizable with easily adjustable ingredients to suit your tastebuds.
- This is a very family-friendly or party-sized twice-baked potato recipe. Don’t need 10-12 servings of this recipe? Feel free to cut the recipe in half.
- Perfect for busy schedules, these potatoes can be prepared in advance and simply baked when ready to serve, making them ideal for gatherings and weeknight dinners.
- Whether served as a side dish or a main course, these twice-baked potatoes are sure to impress guests and satisfy family members of all ages with their rich flavors and hearty texture.
Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes – I used medium ones, slightly larger than your fist
- Sour cream
- Milk
- Bacon drippings – or butter
- Bacon – cooked up crisp
- Cheese – I like to use shredded cheddar or colby
- Green onions
- Spices – salt and pepper
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
How to Make Twice-Baked Potatoes
Step 1. Wash and bake the potatoes until cooked through, then let them cool slightly.
Step 2. Cut off the top quarter of each potato and scoop out the insides into a bowl. Add sour cream, milk, butter (or bacon drippings), bacon, cheese, green onions, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Mash until well combined.
Step 3. Transfer the mashed potato mixture back into the potato shells, filling them completely.
Step 4. Top filled potatoes with remaining cheese and bacon. Bake until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve hot.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This is a great recipe to make ahead and pull out of the refrigerator when you are ready to bake! I’ve made these a whole 24 hours ahead of time and they were still perfect. Once the filled potatoes are topped with cheese and bacon, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. When baking the potatoes cold, cover the dish with tented foil (so the cheese doesn’t stick to it) for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. and then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Yes! Most potatoes get weird in the freezer and their texture is compromised, but these freeze great. Follow the recipe as directed but don’t bake them a second time. Wrap them up in foil individually and then stick them in a large zipper-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to two months. Unwrap and bake thawed potatoes for about 45 minutes and frozen potatoes for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Keep them covered lightly with foil until the last 15 minutes of baking so that the cheese doesn’t burn.
You can stick them in the microwave until heated through or reheat them in the oven for about 20 minutes.
The potatoes are done when they are tender and easily pierced with a fork. The skin should be crispy, and the flesh should be soft.
Yes, you can substitute dairy-free alternatives such as non-dairy sour cream, milk, and cheese to make the recipe dairy-free. Adjust the quantities to achieve the desired consistency and flavor.
Expert Tips
- Opt for medium-sized potatoes that are slightly larger than your fist. Russet potatoes work best for their fluffy texture when baked.
- Pierce the potatoes with a fork before baking to allow steam to escape and prevent them from bursting in the oven. Bake until they are tender all the way through.
- For extra crispy potato skins, rub the washed and dried potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before baking. This will result in a deliciously crunchy exterior.
- When mashing the potato insides with the other ingredients, be careful not to over-mix, as this can result in a gummy texture. Mash until just combined for fluffy mashed potatoes.
How to Serve and Store Twice-Baked Potatoes
Serve the twice-baked potatoes as a hearty side to meats such as steak, baked chicken legs, parmesan crusted chicken or crispy fried pork chops. Pair with a fresh green salad, sautéed broccoli, or roasted spring vegetables to add a lighter contrast. Offer sour cream, additional chopped green onions, jalapeños or a sprinkle of chives for extra flavor options.
Store any leftover twice-baked potatoes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. These also freeze great. Follow the recipe as directed but don’t bake them a second time. Wrap them up in foil individually and then stick them in a large zipper-top freezer bag. Freeze for up to two months. Unwrap and bake thawed potatoes for about 45 minutes and frozen potatoes for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Keep them covered lightly with foil until the last 15 minutes of baking so that the cheese doesn’t burn.
More Sides Recipes to Consider
Recipe Collections
Zucchini Recipes
Side Dishes and Salads
Easy Creamy Cheesy Potatoes
Vegetable Sides
Glazed Honey Roasted Carrots
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Twice-Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 10-12 medium potatoes, slightly larger than your fist
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons butter or bacon drippings, (I'm on team bacon fat)
- 1 pound bacon, (cooked up crisp)
- 3 cups shredded cheddar or colby cheese
- 6 green onions, sliced thin
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- additional salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by washing all your potatoes and baking them. Bake them at 450 F. for about an hour (full post on how to bake a potato here if you need more directions).
- If you are in a time crunch, you can also wash and then stab the potatoes with a fork a few times and microwave on high for 12-15 minutes until the potatoes feel soft when pressed. I prefer the oven because the skin crisps up nicely. The initial baking method doesn’t really matter much here.
- When the potatoes are cooked through and cool enough to handle, cut off the top quarter of each potato.
- Use a spoon to hollow out the baked potato leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato near the skin.
- Put everything you scoop out of the potatoes into a large bowl.
- Once all of the potatoes are hollowed out transfer them to a large baking dish with sides.
- Add the sour cream, milk, and fat (bacon drippings or butter) to the bowl with the baked potato insides and mash them to make thick mashed potatoes. If they are too dry, add a bit more milk and mash some more.
- Add three-fourths of the bacon, 1 cup of shredded cheese, three-fourths of the green onions, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine. Taste the potato mixture and add additional salt and pepper as needed.
- Using a spoon, transfer the delicious potato mixture back into the potato shells. Be sure to press the filling in well with the spoon so that it fills the potato completely. You’ll have more than what you started with so just keep adding to the filled potatoes until all of the mixture is gone.
- Top filled potatoes with the remaining 2 cups of cheese and reserved bacon.
- Bake the filled potatoes for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree F. oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and garnish with the rest of the chopped green onion. Serve hot.
Notes
- This is a great thing to make ahead and pull out when you are ready to bake! I’ve made these a whole 24 hours ahead of time and they were still perfect. Once the filled potatoes are topped with cheese and bacon, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to bake. When baking the potatoes cold, cover the dish with tented foil (so the cheese doesn’t stick to it) for 30 minutes at 350 and then remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- This is a very family-friendly or party-sized twice-baked potato. If you are looking for huge, just switch out the medium potatoes for 5 or 6 of those larger-than-life baking potatoes, and proceed as directed. The big ones are practically a meal on their own!
I did this differently, I had some bad potatoes, so I had to peel all of them…used only good ones, pre-cutting the tops, wrapped them together in foil & baked for an hour on 350 degrees, while they were baking, I prepared the stuffing mix, using left over gravy, adding bacon, capsicum, cheese, onion salt, diced tomatoes & chopped chives. I mixed together & heated in the microwave. After both the potatoes & mix are ready, I add the sour cream with extra cheese. Then ready to eat. I have salad to serve it with if desired. A meal in itself.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing your tips!
These are soooo delicious. I still remember when you made these for Valentine’s Day 2003.
Just a thought. With the tops of the potatoes, you can do almost the same for a nice pub style snack called potato skins. Once you have the tops off the potatoes, set them aside in the fridge till in the mood for an evening snack.
Put the potatoes skin side down in a flat pan, put the same type cheese, bacon bits, and onions on the tops, put them in the oven to bake for a few minutes, then enjoy with the remainder of the tub of sour cream you did not use. You could do this after cooking the original potatoes to use the same pan, and just warm them up when you want them.
This way you don’t end up tossing the skins out, use up the leftover sour cream, and end up with no leftovers.
o/ (arms up cheering)
Those look amazing!
omgggg! these look sooooooo good!!!
-Abeer @ http://www.cakewhiz.com