Cheesy twice baked potatoes are a favorite side dish. Perfect for BBQs, Father’s Day, or any grilled meat. Since you can prep these potatoes ahead of time and heat them up when it is time for dinner, they are great for entertaining. Just add a salad and they make a great vegetarian meal.
What Kind of Potatoes Should You Use
You want russets for these twice-baked potatoes. See this post for a primer on the different types of tubers. The dark skin and fluffy insides are what make these potatoes great. While you may be tempted to wrap the potatoes in foil when you bake them, resist the urge and just clean, lightly oil, and sprinkle with salt the skin of the potatoes before popping them in the oven to create a crispy outside of the potatoes. Since you want to use the potato skin as the holder for all the yummy goodness, don’t poke holes before you bake them as well.
Tips for Awesome Cheesy Twice Bake Potatoes
- Chose potatoes that are roughly the same size so all the potatoes cook at the same rate. I like to use potatoes that are medium-large in size and fairly oval in shape. Don’t use potatoes that have spots cuts or bruises that you have to cut off before baking since you want the skin intact.
- Oil and salt the potato skins before you bake them (the first time) to get a crispy shell.
- Once the potatoes have baked, choose the side that is flat to be the base of the potato shell.
- Let the baked potatoes cool until you can handle them, but they are still warm since cold potato flesh can become gummy when mashed.
- Use a sharp knife to cut off the top third of the potato. With the edge of a large metal spoon, carefully scoop out the potato flesh leaving a scant 1/8” of pulp with the skin to provide stability to the potato boats.
- Don’t use a mixer to mash the potato flesh since overmixing also produce gummy mashed potatoes. You can easily make the filling with a potato masher or even a fork.
- Hold off adding all the cream to make sure the filling doesn’t become too soupy to fill.
Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: side
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American, Southern
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Cheesy twice-baked potatoes are a favorite side dish. Perfect for BBQs and Father’s Day.
Ingredients
- 6 russet potatoes, similar in size and shape
- Oil and salt to coat the potatoes
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1–1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
- 3 green onions, thinly chopped (both white and green parts)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Wash potatoes, oil, and salt the skins.
- Bake the potatoes in oven for 1 hour until baked and soft. Remove and allow the potatoes to cool until you can handle them.
- Slice off the top 1/3 of each potato.
- Carefully scoop out the flesh of the potato leaving a ⅛” shell. Being careful not to break the skin sides or bottom.
- In a medium bowl, add the potato flesh, butter, sour cream.
- Add half of heavy cream, adding more as needed to create a creamy filling.
- Season with kosher slat and pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- Stir in 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese and the green onions.
- Use a spoon to fill each skin with seasoned potato filling until heaped above the top of the potato and top with remaining cheese.
- Arrange on a baking sheet and bake a second time for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
You can prepare the cheesy twice-baked potatoes through step 10 ahead of time. Refrigerate for a up to a day or freeze each stuffed potato on a baking sheet until solid and firm. Remove each frozen potato and store them in a zip close bag. Add an extra 10-15 to the second baking time to bake the frozen potatoes.
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