Twice Baked Potatoes

by Sabrina Snyder

Published on Last updated

15 Comments

5 from 10 votes
16 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
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Twice Baked Potatoes made with russet potatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon are creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and incredibly EASY to prepare!

We love entertaining over here, and these baked potatoes pair perfectly with our Perfect Easy Ribeye Steak, Ultimate Slow Cooker Pot Roast and Slow Cooker Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken.

Twice Baked PotatoesTWICE BAKED POTATOES

Twice Baked Potatoes are basically the perfect party food. You can serve them as appetizers or as a side dish with dinner. They can be made earlier in the day, or the day before. I haven’t met anyone yet who doesn’t like a crispy potato skin filled with a buttery, creamy, cheesy mashed potato filling and bacon. Not to mention they are incredibly kid-friendly. My youngest LOVES helping me put them together, especially sprinkling the cheese and green onions (you can also use chives) on the top at the end.

If you don’t have sour cream, you can make an extra creamy potato filling by substituting it with cream cheese. I’ve also added gruyere and mozzarella instead of shredded cheddar, basically use whatever you have in your pantry. These are a step up from baked potatoes, so there’s a lot of flavor combos you can try. This is also hands down one of my favorite side dish potato recipes of ALL time.

WHAT POTATOES SHOULD YOU USE FOR TWICE BAKED POTATOES?

Twice baked potatoes are usually made with russet potatoes. Russets have a hard enough skin to hold up to the scooping and baking, plus they get nice and crispy in the oven which is the perfect texture against the creamy filling. You can also make Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes.

CAN YOU MAKE TWICE BAKED POTATOES AHEAD?

Twice baked potatoes are perfect to make ahead. Bake the potatoes according to the recipe up until the filling is prepared and they’re ready to bake again. Instead, place them in a baking dish and wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. This means you can prep them 1-2 days beforehand and bake when you’re ready to serve.

I’ve also set up baked potato bars where I mash together the filling with the milk, sour cream and spices, but let guests choose their cheese and toppings like bacon or veggies, then bake them all together.

Twice Baked Potatoes with Cheddar and Bacon

CAN YOU FREEZE TWICE BAKED POTATOES?

Another option is to freeze the potatoes instead of putting them in the refrigerator. Just prep them up until the second bake, then instead of baking them wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.

You can take them straight from the freezer to the oven, just add a few extra minutes of cook time. Twice baked potatoes will last about 3 months in the freezer.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO REHEAT TWICE BAKED POTATOES?

Twice baked potatoes are really easy to reheat. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Then line a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the potatoes evenly spaced on the sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until they are warmed through and the cheese has melted.

You can also reheat these in the microwave for 2-3 minutes. I recommend using the oven, especially if you’re serving these as a side dish, because it will ensure that your potato skins stay crispy instead of being too soft.

HOW LONG WILL TWICE BAKED POTATOES KEEP?

These will keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 days tightly wrapped in plastic wrap, so you can prep this side dish ahead of time and pull them out when you’re ready to put them in the oven.

FAVORITE SIDE DISH POTATO RECIPES

TIPS FOR MAKING TWICE BAKED POTATOES

  • Twice baked potatoes are perfect to make as an appetizer for a party, or if you’re just in the mood for some homemade pub food.
  • Make these with pepper jack cheese and top with salsa for a Tex-Mex version!
  • If your potatoes aren’t crispy on the top after the total time is up, turn on the broiler for 2-3 minutes, but watch them really closely so they don’t burn.
  • Chive and sour cream is a classic combo, but potatoes are bland to start with so don’t feel limited to one type of cheese or filling. Try cheddar and broccoli, grated parmesan and sun dried tomatoes, or mushroom and Swiss.
  • The filling is a lot like making mashed potatoes. Get the texture extra smooth and creamy with a potato masher, or by pureeing in a food processor.
  • Wash the potatoes and rub them with coarse salt and a teaspoon of olive oil (or olive oil cooking spray) before baking. This is a restaurant trick that adds extra flavor to baked potatoes. Then when you half lengthwise, fill the potato shells and bake, they’ll be extra crispy!

Loaded Twice Baked Potato

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Dinner, then Dessert

Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes made with russet potatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and bacon are creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside, and incredibly EASY to prepare!
Yield 16 servings
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
Cuisine American
Author Sabrina Snyder
Twice Baked Potatoes
PrintRate

Ingredients
 

  • 8 russet potatoes washed, scrubbed and dried
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 cup unsalted butter
  • 6 slices bacon cooked and crumbled
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese divided
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup green onions sliced thinly

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and rub the canola oil over the potatoes, place them on a baking sheet and bake for 60 minutes.
  • Cut the potatoes in half horizontally and scoop out all but ½ inch of the wall of the potatoes and place into a large bowl with the butter, bacon, sour cream, 1 cup of cheddar cheese, milk, salt, pepper and most of the green onions and mix well together.
  • Scoop the mixture back into the potato halves, top with remaining cheddar cheese and bake for 18-20 minutes before garnishing with remaining green onions.

Notes

Note: click on times in the instructions to start a kitchen timer while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 23g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 436mg | Potassium: 523mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 605IU | Vitamin C: 6.8mg | Calcium: 129mg | Iron: 1.1mg

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About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Sabrina Snyder is a professionally trained personal and private chef of over 10 years who is the creator and developer of all the recipes on Dinner, then Dessert.

She is also the author of the cookbook Dinner, then Dessert – Satisfying Meals Using Only 3, 5 or 7 Ingredients, published by Harper Collins.

She started Dinner, then Dessert as a business in her office as a lunch service for her coworkers who admired her lunches before going to culinary school and becoming a full time personal chef and private chef.

As a personal chef Sabrina would cook for families one day a week and cook their entire week of dinners. All grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning was done along with instructions on reheating. As a private chef she cooked for private parties and cooked in family homes in the evenings for families on a nightly basis after working as a personal chef during the day.

Sabrina has been certified as a ServSafe Manager since 2007 and was a longstanding member of the USPCA Personal Chef Association including being on the board of the Washington DC Chapter of Chefs in the US Personal Chef Association when they won Chapter of the year.

As a member of the community of food website creators Sabrina Snyder has spoken at many conferences regarding her experiences as a food writer including the Indulge Food Conference, Everything Food Conference, Haven Food Conference and IACP Annual Food Professionals Conference.

Sabrina lives with her family in sunny California.

See more posts by Sabrina

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  3. Amazing potato mix. I think I’ll use this to make mash potato mix next time it’s Soo delicious. I used only 1/2 cup milk didn’t need anymore. Very very yummy

    Reply

  9. Sorry couldn’t wait for a response lol. I made it with yukon golds, and even though skin didn’t crisp up, they were delicious none the less. It took about 1 1/2 hours in oven. Also I used extra sharp cheddar and extra green onions, just my preference. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply