Classic Twice Baked Potato || The Best Side Dish You’ll Ever Make And Easy Too

Make a classic twice baked potato to sit on the side of your favorite main dish tonight, and you’ll have a meal fit to serve a king. Not even kidding.

This easy to prepare side dish features a crisp salty skin and a cheesy potato filling to die for. It’s a prime example of some good old fashioned comfort food. And it’s easy to make and versatile too.

It’s recommended that you use either russet or baking potatoes for this dish, as they are quite a bit starchier and fluffier than other potatoes.

Using potatoes that have a creamier texture will result in a mushy, possibly even gummy, texture in your dish.

So, grab a few russet potatoes and let’s get on with making this delicious side dish …

Ingredients List For Classic Twice Baked Potato Recipe

Putting the filling for this dish together goes rather quickly. So, it will work to your advantage to have all of your ingredients prepped, measured, and ready to throw in.

Here’s what you’ll need to gather to get the job done …

• Russet Potatoes – Russet potatoes have more starch than other potatoes, and they are fluffier. They are the perfect choice for this recipe. A large baking potato also works very nicely. Avoid other varieties such as, white, gold, or red, as they will give your dish a gummy texture.
• Olive Oil – Extra virgin olive oil is preferred for this recipe.
• Salt, Pepper, & Granulated Garlic – Salt, ground black pepper, and granulated garlic are the seasonings used in this recipe, and they are the perfect blend for it.

Use Farm Fresh Dairy If Possible

• Sour Cream – Using a high quality organic sour cream for this classic twice baked potato recipe will enhance the flavor exponentially. Although any sour cream can be used in a pinch.
• Butter – See the information for sour cream above.
• Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Sharp cheddar cheese is one of my favorite cheeses to use in this recipe. You can choose your favorite cheese.
• Parmesan Cheese – Shredded parmesan cheese is the perfect compliment to the sharp cheddar cheese used in this recipe. Again, you can use your own choice of cheeses.
• Heavy Cream – Rich and creamy organic heavy cream gives this recipe a depth of flavor that really pushes it to the next level of comfort food. Although just about any dairy liquid can be used to make this recipe. So, if milk is all you’ve got in the house, go for it. You can also use buttermilk or half and half if you like.
• Egg Yolk – Farm fresh eggs are always the way to go when cooking. And the yolks in particular are much more flavorful. Use farm fresh eggs if you can.

For Topping

• Bacon – Organic, farm fresh, grain fed bacon is the preferred choice for making this recipe. Obviously any bacon can be used. I mean … BACON!
• Scallions – Garden fresh scallions are perfect for this recipe.
• Smoked Paprika – This seasoning is used primarily for color. It does add some flavor, but it’s minimal.

How To Make This Recipe

The first step to making a classic twice baked potato is to bake the potato, of course!

There are detailed instructions in the recipe, provided below, on how to do exactly that. But do take note that one of the most important steps for this recipe is to oil and salt the skin of the potato before baking it.

The crisp, salty skin adds a very desirable element to the final dish. And the little bit of extra time that it takes to make that happen is well worth the effort.

Once the potatoes are baked, you will slice them in half and hollow them out, placing all of the potato filling you scoop out in a medium mixing bowl.

You’ll then add most all of the other ingredients to the bowl and blend them until they are well mixed.

This mixture gets loaded back into the empty potato skins, topped with some shredded sharp cheddar cheese, and baked just until it is completely warmed through.

Then they are removed from the oven, sprinkled with a bit of smoked paprika, some chopped bacon, and sliced, garden fresh scallions.

So simple. So delicious.

Tips And Tricks For This Recipe

There are a few simple things that you can do to ensure success when making a classic twice baked potato.

Here’s a list for you …

• Dry your baked potatoes after you wash them. This encourages the oil to stick to the skin of the potato. And it will be crispier as a result.
• Be generous when salting the skin of your potatoes. Crisp, salty skin is one of the premiere features of this dish.
• Don’t wrap your potatoes in tinfoil before you bake them. Wrapping them in foil causes all of the moisture to stay trapped in the potato as it bakes. This will make your potato filling gummy in texture.
• Place your potatoes on a baking sheet or simply a piece of aluminum foil to bake them.

How To Serve Classic Twice Baked Potatoes

There is no doubt that serving a classic twice baked potato on the side of a tender, juicy steak is one way to fully immerse yourself in some serious comfort food indulgence. And I highly recommend it. Particularly, if you are preparing a special meal for someone.

It is a meal that simply screams, ‘I want to spoil you!’.

Really serving it on the side of any meat based main dish is a great way to go.

But there’s no doubt that this dish will shine very brightly when made the star of the dinner table as well. So, don’t hesitate to make it the main course. It’s plenty filling enough to satisfy an end of the day type hunger.

If you want to have a little something else with it, try a small dinner salad or a dish of farmhouse coleslaw.

And don’t be afraid to make a few extra classic twice baked potatoes while you’re cooking. They’re really a great choice for a work day lunch. Just grab one and head out the door for the day.

No stressing over what’s for lunch when there’s leftover twice baked potatoes in the fridge, that’s for sure.

Substitutions For This Recipe

The substitutions that can be made for this classic twice baked potato recipe are really pretty endless. They are limited only by your imagination.

Here is a short list to get your creative juices flowing …

• Switch out the bacon for sausage, ham, or chicken.
• Add other toppings to your potato; try sauteed mushrooms, red bell peppers, jalapenos, or onions.
• Switch out the cheeses in this recipe for your favorites. It is important that you choose at least one cheese that has a strong flavor though. Things like mozzarella, muenster, or monterey jack don’t do well in this recipe. Think more like gouda, blue cheese, swiss, and cream cheese.

So go ahead and put your imagination to work. Make this classic dish your very own. I’ve even been known to top my twice baked potato with chicken, corn, bacon, scallions, and gravy.

It’s pretty fabulous that way, much like a Kentucky fried chicken bowl.

How To Store Classic Twice Baked Potatoes

Classic twice baked potatoes will store in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for 4-7 days.

They are also very freezer friendly. Just place cooled twiced baked potatoes on a parchment lined sheet pan and put them in the freezer.

The potatoes will freeze individually, and then they can be put in containers and returned to the freezer.

When you want to reheat them simply take them out of the freezer, allow them to thaw, and then reheat them in the oven.

Be sure to allow them to thaw before you reheat them, as not doing so will make them mushy.

And avoid reheating them in the microwave as parts of the potato will become rubber-like in texture.

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