Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potato

No ratings yet

Twice baked potato loaded with cheddar, bacon, and sour cream. This is the ultimate comfort food side dish. Best of all, you can eat the entire potato, skin and all!

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 20

Total Time1 35

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Author: Maryanne Cabrera

Ingredients

3 pounds Russet potatoes, scrubbed and washed clean
2 Tablespoon olive oil
kosher salt, as needed to season potato skins
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 Tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup half & half
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 thick slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

Instructions

Preheat oven to 450℉. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
Scrub and rinse potatoes clean. Pat dry. Place potatoes on prepared baking sheet. Rub potatoes with olive oil. Season generously with kosher salt. Pierce potato with a fork, to allow steam to escape during cooking process. Bake for 50-60 minutes, until potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a knife.
While potatoes are baking, cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Crumble cooked bacon and set aside. Reserve 3 tablespoons of bacon fat. Discard remaining render bacon fat, or save for another recipe.
Remove potatoes from oven and allow to cool. Lower oven temperature to 350℉.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut a slit lengthwise on each potato. Be careful, as potatoes will steam. Spoon out contents of potato and place in a large bowl. Gently smash into smaller chunks, but no need to make mashed potatoes.
Add reserved bacon fat, butter, salt and pepper, half & half, ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, and half of bacon to potatoes. Fold to combine.
Spoon potato mixture back into empty potato skins. Sprinkle remaining shredded cheese over stuffed potatoes. Place stuffed potatoes back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes until potatoes are warm and cheese has melted on top. Remove from oven and garnish with sour cream, additional cheese, and remaining bacon. Serve warm.

Notes

3 pounds of Russet potatoes is roughly 6 medium sized potatoes or 10-12 small sized potatoes. Recommended using small or medium potatoes of similar sizes.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave in 45 second intervals until warmed throughout. Or, reheat in in a 400℉ oven for 15-20 minutes until heated throughout.
Once the potatoes are stuffed, they can be kept frozen for longer storage or kept in the fridge until ready to reheat to serve.

Nutrition