I love growing potatoes. They are such a hearty food that fills tummies at any meal of the day. But what happens when you have too many in storage (is that a thing?)? Or if they are starting to go soft or wrinkled. What then? Make twice baked potatoes!
Got ham on hand instead of bacon? I got you covered too - just add cream cheese and ham to your potato skins!
Why You Need This Recipe
- Kids can help make these up. If they aren't old enough to cook the bacon, they can definitely help mash up the filling and then plop it back in.
- Make ahead and freeze! That's one of the best things about this recipe, is you can make it for dinner and freeze half for another time. Your future self will thank you.
- Speaking of the freezer - these can be baked straight from frozen. Perfect for after being in the garden all day, just throw them in the oven while you hop in the shower. (If you're not wanting to heat up the house by turning on the oven, we often cook these in the toaster oven and grill meat to go alongside!)
Key Ingredients
Potatoes - Whatever you have, will work. Wrinkled, with eyes, starting to go soft, different colors. Doesn't matter - as long as they aren't rotten they will work here.
Cheese - What sort of cheese you use is up to you...this is a great opportunity to clean out the cheese drawer of odds and ends. Pretty much any cheese you enjoy eating is going to work in here! From cheddar to blue cheese...all will give a good outcome!
Bacon - Just like the potatoes, use what you have. Some from the store, from the freezer, it's all fair game. We do want to start with raw bacon to amp up the flavor.
How to Make Cheddar Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes
Step 1
Bake your potatoes until they pierce easily with a fork. Let cool just until you can safely handle them. Then scoop out the insides, leaving just enough flesh to keep them standing up.
Step 2
Brown the bacon and onion together - you can't beat that flavour!
Step 3
Mix all the filling together and salt to taste.
Step 4
Add the filling back in and smooth the tops.
Step 5
Bake and enjoy! Or freeze for later.
Tips and Tricks
- Slice open and scoop the potatoes while still warm. If you let them cool, they will be difficult to scoop and mash.
- Don’t overfill the skins or you’ll run out of filling. But that’s ok – add butter and salt and enjoy those crispy skins!
- Double or triple this recipe and load up your freezer.
Substitutions
Not a fan of bacon or fresh out? Use any meat, really. This just adds some flavour and a fun texture in your creamy filling. Think about swapping out the seasoning to match the meat, such as poultry seasoning with turkey.
We love the make our own mushroom seasoning salt to use on pretty much everything. If that's not your thing, then use any sort of seasoning salt you have on hand.
FAQs
The key here is starting with raw bacon. That will give you some nice fat to sauté your onion in. There's not much that can't be improved with bacon and onion!
I like to set them on a parchment lined sheet pan and pop that into the freezer. Wait a good 4-6 hours and see if the filling is pretty firm to touch. That way you can put them in a bag or container and they won't stick together.
While these are baking in the oven, think about throwing some Venison Steaks on the grill and have someone else make up some Creamy Caesar Dressing and you'll feel like you're at a fancy steakhouse.
Hey friends, don't forget to follow me over on Instagram, cause if you like me here, I post there a LOT! I'm also on YouTube with tutorials and Facebook for all sorts of things.
If you like this recipe, I’d love if you reviewed it so others can find it easier. Sharing this recipe on Facebook or Pinterest is another way you can help us out at no cost to you. Thanks, xo Kate
Bacon Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 8 medium sized potatoes baked until well done
- 4 oz chopped bacon
- ½ large onion diced
- 1 cup shredded cheese or use crumbled
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon mushroom salt
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bake potatoes at 400 °F until a fork easily pierces, about 45-60 minutes.
- While the potatoes cook, throw the bacon in a small pan and cook, stirring often. When it's nearly done, add the onion to sauté until translucent. Drain and set aside.
- Let the potatoes cool to a handle-able temp, but you do want to do this while they're warm. Once they get cold they are harder to scoop and mash.
- Cut the potatoes into halves lengthwise, and scoop all the insides into a medium sized bowl. Add in the bacon mixture, cheese, milk, and mushroom salt and mash well. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Fill each potato level with the filling.
- You can immediately bake them until browned on top (450 °F for 15 minutes) OR we like to freeze and use on busy days.
- To bake from frozen, bake at 400 °F until browned on top.
Notes
- *Amount of milk used depends on how dry your potatoes are. Go slow and don't add it all right away.
- Fill the potato skins level so that you have enough filling for all. Or you can mound them for a fancier presentation, and enjoy the leftover skins by brushing with butter before baking to a crisp.
Nutrition
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