Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes are a delicious side dish that can be totally made ahead of time! Creamy, cheesy potato filling in a crispy baked skin!

Serve these cheesy potatoes with a steak dinner like our Famous Whiskey Steak or make a batch or two to serve with your Roasted Turkey on the holidays!

twice baked potatoes with bacon and cheese

How To Make The Best Twice Baked Potatoes

We love this potato recipe so much, we don’t just serve them on special dinners like holidays or for parties. I mean, yes, we do serve these potatoes on those nights, too. But we crave them too much to wait.

To make the best Twice Baked Potatoes, we’ve got a few tips for you, especially if you haven’t made them before! If you have, try this recipe too with one special kitchen tool that makes all the difference!

twice baked potato on a plate from the side
  • Russet Potatoes: Russet potatoes are the perfect potato for making twice baked, they are fluffy on the inside with a thicker skin that gets super crispy in the oven.
  • Potato Ricer: For an ultra smooth, creamy potato filling break out a potato ricer! We use this tool to make our Perfectly Smooth Mashed Potatoes, too. It’s an extra step but it’s totally worth it.
  • Use Full Fat Ingredients: Sorry, but this isn’t a “light” recipe. You can make them lighter, but you do you. For the best flavor in these potatoes, use regular butter, full fat cheese and full fat cream. The end.
  • Leave Enough Shell: Don’t scoop so much of the flesh out of the potatoes that the shell is too thin. Leave a thick enough boarder (about 1/2 inch thick) so that the filling won’t spill out.
A fork taking a bite of a twice baked potato

Can You Make Twice Baked Potatoes Ahead Of Time?

Twice Baked Potatoes are the perfect make ahead side dish! And I know we keep saying “side dish” but there’s many nights that one or two of these become our whole meal. Leftover potatoes are perfect for this!

Make the potatoes up until the point of cooking, then refrigerate until you’re ready. Remove the potatoes from the oven 30 minutes before baking, let sit at room temperature and then bake per the instructions in the recipe card.

Need to prep a ton of potatoes for a party or holiday? These potatoes can be frozen, too! Again, make them up until the point of cooking, freeze in a container (without stacking) or freezer bags until ready. Place frozen potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minute or until heated through. 

Twice Baked potatoes on a plate with checkered napkin

Additional Toppings For Baked Potatoes:

Our boys love to pile on all the toppings they can get their hands on!  While these Twice Baked Potatoes are delicious as is, there’s also just a few more toppings that can be added.

Try a dollop of sour cream on top! Go for a Tex-Mex potato and add salsa, guacamole and hot sauce. Scallions, beans or even a scoop of chili to make these potatoes a meal instead of just a side dish!

What Main Courses Go Best With Twice Baked Potatoes?

On their own or served with most any kind of protein will work!  Here are some of our favorite dinner and holiday recipes to serve these potatoes with:

For The Holidays:

For Everyday Dinners:

Print
twice baked potatoes with bacon and cheese

Twice Baked Potatoes

  • Author: Dan
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 65 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Servings 1x

Make these Twice Baked Potatoes with your dinner tonight! Perfect as a side dish for steak or chicken but also a great holiday side with your turkey or roast!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 6 large russet potatoes (about 3 1/2 pounds)
  • 5 tablespoons butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup bacon bits, plus more for topping (can also used cooked, crumbled bacon)
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 6 tablespoons sour cream
  • 1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Clean the potatoes and then rub with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Prick the potatoes several times with a fork. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45-55 minutes or until fork tender. Let the potatoes cool slightly and then cut the top third off of each potato. Scoop the flesh out of the potato into a large bowl, keeping a 1/2 inch border around the rim. Also scoop the flesh out of the top part of the potato that was trimmed off and add to the bowl.
  3. Using a potato ricer, rice the potatoes into another bowl and then add the butter, salt, pepper, garlic powder, bacon bits, cream, 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese and sour cream to the potato filling. Let the filling sit for 5 minutes to melt the butter (the hot potato filling will melt the butter) and then stir together to combine. (If you’re just using a potato masher, just add the ingredients to the bowl after you scoop the potatoes out)
  4. Divide the filling in between the potatoes, mounding the filling up. Divide the remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese between the tops of the potatoes and then top with extra bacon bits. Place the potatoes back into the oven for 7-8 minutes to melt the cheese and warm the filling though.

Recipe Notes

To Make Ahead: Make the potatoes up until the point of cooking, then refrigerate until you’re ready. Remove the potatoes from the oven 30 minutes before baking, let sit at room temperature and then bake per the instructions in the recipe card.

Store: Store leftover potatoes in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Reheat: Reheat leftover potatoes in the microwave until warmed though.

Freeze: Need to prep a lot of potatoes for a party or holiday? These potatoes can be frozen, too! Again, make them up until the point of cooking, right before adding the cheese and bacon. Freeze the potatoes in a container (without stacking) or freezer bags until ready. Place frozen potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove the potatoes from the oven, add the cheese and bacon bits and return to the oven for 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and the centers of the potatoes are warm.

Bake Thawed Potatoes: Thaw frozen twice baked potatoes in the refrigerator overnight. Add the cheese and bacon bits to the tops and bake per the instructions in the recipe card.

  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Oven
  • Cuisine: American

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