When was the last time you had Twice Baked Potatoes?! Here are two variations on a classic recipe: one with cheddar cheese and bacon, the other with blue cheese and chives. These are such a good accompaniment to a holiday dinner or Sunday lunch.
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Sometimes deciding what to make for dinner starts with inspiration from just one ingredient. A friend of mine sent us some wonderful blue cheese this week and my dad decided he wanted to make baked potatoes with it twice.
None of us have made stuffed potatoes for a long time, so we ended up experimenting with different combinations for several days.
We chose two – a classic double baked potato mashed with a combination of sour cream, milk and butter and tossed with crumbled bacon, scallions and shredded cheddar cheese.
The other combo uses our blue cheese with some chopped chives.
Infinitely adaptable twice baked potatoes
The best thing about this recipe is that it’s wonderfully flexible. The amounts given are guidelines, but it really depends on your own imagination and taste.
We like a creamy and fluffy potato filling, so we add cream and whip up the potatoes with a hand mixer.
Any combination of topping ingredients will do. You can even stir in leftover meats like ground beef or chicken for a more filling meal.
To use the best potatoes
Russet Potatoes are the best choice for preparing twice baked potatoes. Their shape and size lend themselves well to this purpose, and half of a stuffed russet is a perfect single-serving size (or eat two halves if you’re really hungry!).
Russet potatoes also have slightly firmer skins than red or Yukon gold potatoes, making them easier to hollow out and stuff.
How to Make Twice Baked Potatoes
The name says it all, but just so it’s clear, here’s what they do:
- Fry the potatoes whole until they can be easily pierced with a fork, as if you were making regular baked potatoes.
- Cut them in half and scoop out the insideleaving a thin rind of potato skins.
- Puree the insideas if you were making mashed potatoes, and add the other ingredients for the filling (cheese, cream, bacon, etc.).
- Spread the mashed potatoes over the potato skins and bake in the oven until hot.
Make-ahead twice baked potatoes
Although most of the work to make these Twice Baked Potatoes is hands off, it ends up being quite time-consuming for a weeknight.
To break up the work, you can roast, mash, and stuff your potatoes up to three days ahead of time and store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Then simply reheat the stuffed potatoes in the oven when ready to serve.
Think about doing this on a Sunday afternoon and then reheating your twice baked potatoes for a quick weeknight meal.
What to serve with twice baked potatoes
Twice Baked Potatoes are a classic accompaniment to a succulent steak dinner or meatloaf. With some wilted vegetables or a side salad on your plate, you have a complete meal.
More ways to have potatoes for dinner
- Baked Potato Soup
- Pressure Cooker BBQ Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Baked potatoes stuffed with curry chickpeas
- Sweet potatoes stuffed with chorizo
- Baked potatoes with caramelized onions and Gruyere
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Check out this delicious Twice Baked Potatoes recipe
Potatoes baked twice
Choose either the cheddar and bacon filling or the blue cheese and chives filling; Quantities are for a full batch of baked potatoes.
ingredients
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4 big red potatoes, about 1 pound each
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Extra virgin olive oil
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1/2 Cup sour cream
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1/2 Cup milk
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2 tablespoon Butter, softened
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1 tablespoon cream
Filling Option 1: Cheddar and Bacon:
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1 Cup grated cheddar cheese
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4 stripes bacon
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1/4 Cup chopped green onion
Filling Option 2: Blue Cheese and Chives:
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1 Cup crumbles blue cheese
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1/4 Cup freshly chopped chives
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1/2 teaspoon Salt
method
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Bake Potatoes:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Scrub the potatoes clean under running water. Prick each potato in several places with the tines of a fork to prevent the potatoes from exploding while cooking.
Rub the potatoes all over with a little olive oil. Place directly on the middle or top shelf of the oven.
Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. They should give a little when pressed.
If time is short, you can microwave the potatoes, 10 minutes on high heat for 2 potatoes, 15 minutes for 4 potatoes. The skins of microwave baked potatoes aren’t nearly as crispy, so you might want to rub them with a little olive oil and cook them in a conventional oven at 200°F for 10 minutes.
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Cook the bacon if using:
If you’re adding bacon as one of your mixes while the potatoes are cooking, sauté the bacon strips in a skillet over medium-high heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on kitchen paper. Let cool down. Crumble.
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Make Potato Boats:
Allow the potatoes to cool to the touch. Cut the top third of the potato lengthways.
Use a spoon to scoop out the insides and form a potato “canoe,” leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.
Alternatively, you can halve the potatoes lengthwise. In this case, you may want to bake an extra potato so you have more potato filling to stuff into the potato boats.
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Mashed potatoes with sour cream, milk, butter:
In a large bowl, place the hollowed-out potatoes, sour cream, milk, heavy cream, and butter.
Mash with a potato masher. If you want a creamy texture, beat with an electric whisk until desired consistency. Don’t skip the potatoes! You may get sticky if you do this.
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Fill potato skins with filling:
Mix the extras into the potato filling. Reserve some of the extras to sprinkle over the potatoes. Spoon fillings into the potato skins. Sprinkle with additional toppings.
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Bake:
Reduce oven temperature to 350°F. Place potatoes on skillet or baking sheet and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until warmed through.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 417 | calories |
| 20g | Fat |
| 46g | carbohydrates |
| 13g | protein |
