Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes

Twice Baked Potatoes is a favorite family side dish that never goes out of style.

Once or Twice Baked?

Baked Potatoes are a popular favorite but Twice Baked Potatoes are even better! They are a classic side dish, but what sets this recipe apart from the rest is that it has the creamiest fluffiest potato filling ever. You’re going to love them.

How do the potatoes become fluffy and creamy? Well, the answer is in how the potato is mashed before adding all the yummy ingredients like bacon and cheese. The best way to mash the potatoes is to use a kitchen tool called a ricer. This tool makes the potatoes super light and fluffy and doesn’t over mix the potato filling. You’ll still get great results by mashing the potatoes by hand but the ricer will make it so much easier (and did we say fluffier?).

How to Make Twice Baked Potatoes

Making Twice Baked potatoes is super easy. Basically you start by baking the potatoes like normal. But then, you scoop out the insides, mash them, and mix them with your favorite ingredients. Then the filling goes back in the potato and into the oven for the second bake of about 15 minutes.

The hardest part is figuring out what mix-ins you want to use. My vote is always for cheese, bacon, and sour cream which is what we’re showing in the recipe below but the options are endless. Maybe you want to try broccoli and cheddar, or spinach and artichoke? How about bacon, jalapeno, and cream cheese? Feel free to get creative and share your best results with us in the comments below.

Ultimate Twice Baked Potatoes

Contributor: Michelle Ferrand

Twice Baked Potatoes is a favorite family side dish that never goes out of style.

• Author: Michelle Ferrand
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 8 servings 1x
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Baked
• Cuisine: American

Print Recipe

Ingredients

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• 4 medium russet potatoes
• 8 slices bacon
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup chopped chives, divided
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. black pepper

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF. Put potatoes on directly on the rack in the oven and bake until tender, 50-60 minutes.
2. While potatoes are baking, cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp over medium-low heat, about 8 minutes. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
3. Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut in half lengthwise. Scoop out potato flesh, leaving about a quarter-inch layer with the skins. Press the potato flesh through a ricer or mash thoroughly by hand. Mix in butter.
4. Add ½ cup of the cheese, sour cream, half of the crumbled bacon, 2 tablespoons of the chives, and the salt and pepper to the mashed potato and mix to combine. Scoop filling into the potato skins, top with remaining ½ cup of the cheese and bake until cheese has melted, about 15 minutes.
5. Top with remaining bacon and chives before serving.

This post originally appeared in December 2017 and was revised and republished in July 2020.