Twice Baked Potatoes are a favorite side dish and great to make ahead.
A baked potato shell is stuffed with fully loaded cheesy mashed potatoes and baked until hot.
The can be prepared ahead of time, freeze well, and can even be baked from frozen.
Twice Baked Potatoes Are Doubly Delicious
- Baked potatoes are scooped, mashed and filled in this easy recipe.
- Twice Baked Potatoes are as easy to make as they are yummy!
- These can be prepared days ahead of time and baked from frozen.
- They’re an inexpensive way to feed a crowd, add anything you’d like to the mix!
The Best Potatoes for Stuffing
Russet or baking potatoes are the best potatoes for twice-baked potatoes. Their thick skins hold up well to stuffing, while the flesh is starchy and perfect for mashing.
While russet potatoes are my preference, this recipe will work with almost any variety of potatoes; however, the texture can vary with other types.
How to Make Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Bake the potatoes: Use the oven, microwave, or air fryer to bake potatoes until tender.
- Cut each potato in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides with a spoon.
- Mash the potatoes and stir in the add-ins, spoon it back into the skins and sprinkle with cheese.
- Bake until heated through.
Make it a Meal: Change up the mashed potato filling with some optional additions or leftovers. Stir in some ground beef (or leftover taco meat), cooked chicken, steamed vegetables or broccoli.
Prep Ahead or Freeze Twice-Baked Potatoes
Prepare the twice-baked potato recipe as directed below including filling the skins with the mashed potato mixture.
- Fridge: Place the prepared potatoes in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking. If they are cold from the fridge, they may need an extra 5-7 minutes of baking time.
- Freezer: Cool the prepared potatoes completely and freeze on a baking pan. Once frozen, the potatoes can be stored in a container or freezer bag.
- Bake From Frozen: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
Tips for Perfect Potatoes
- Starchy potatoes like russet or baking potatoes are best in this recipe.
- Leave at least 1/8 to ¼-inch of a shell so the skins don’t break or crack.
- Adding ¼ cup spreadable cream cheese (any flavor, herb, and garlic is a favorite) is optional but delicious.
- To make filling easy, place the prepared filling in a freezer bag, snip the corner off, and squeeze it into the skins.
More Potato Recipes You’ll Love
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Twice Baked Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 small russet potatoes or baking potatoes
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup salted butter
- ½ cup milk or buttermilk, if needed
- 1 tablespoon sliced fresh chives or green onions
- 6 slices bacon cooked crisp and chopped or 3 tablespoons bacon bits
- 1 ½ cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese divided
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 375°F. Scrub the skin of the potatoes and poke them all over with a fork. Bake the potatoes in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until tender. Allow them to cool until they're cool enough to handle.
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Slice each potato in ½ lengthwise. Scoop out the potato flesh leaving a ⅛-inch shell.
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In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, sour cream, butter, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Mash with a potato masher until smooth adding warm milk as needed to create a creamy fluffy texture. You may not need any or all of the milk.
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Fold in chives, bacon, and ¾ cup cheddar cheese.
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Spoon the filling into each skin and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
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Bake for 15-20 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Notes
- Potatoes can also be baked in the air fryer or microwave.
- Mash the potatoes while warm for the best consistency. Sour cream and butter may add just enough moisture; check the potatoes before adding extra liquid.
- Be sure to leave at least 1/8 to ¼-inch shell, so the skins don’t break or crack.
- Option: bake one extra potato in case one of the skins breaks. The shells can be filled more if you have extra filling.
- To make filling easy, place the prepared filling in a freezer bag and snip off the corner. Squeeze it into the shells.
- Prep Ahead: Prepare and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking. Chilled stuffed potatoes will need an extra 5-7 minutes of baking time.
- Freezer: Cool the prepared potatoes completely and freeze on a baking pan. Once frozen, the potatoes can be stored in a container or freezer bag.
- Bake From Frozen: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 35-40 minutes or until heated through.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
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This is the recipe I’ve been using for years and I’m just getting ready to put two big russet potatoes (four half’s) in the oven tonight for dinner served with a barbecue chicken and a green salad. I do omit the garlic powder as I’m allergic to artificial seasonings so I always only use real fresh spices from my garden. I also used pork belly instead of bacon I find it gives a lot more flavour but that is just my tastes I’m sure not for everyone. It gives the potato a bit of a crunch which I find really delicious. I also keep the left over fat from the pork belly in a cup in the fridge for other meals. Enjoy everyone this recipe is one of the best, Enjoy. Cheers.
This is the recipe I’ve been using for years and I’m just getting ready to put two big russet potatoes (four half’s) in the oven tonight for dinner served with a barbecue chicken and a green salad. I do omit the garlic powder as I’m allergic to artificial seasonings so I always only use real fresh spices from my garden. I also used pork belly instead of bacon I find it gives a lot more flavour but that is just my tastes I’m sure not for everyone. It gives the potato a bit of a crunch which I find really delicious. I also keep the left over fat from the pork belly in a cup in the fridge for other
Hello
Please advise can the twice baked potato recipes be served cold?
Hi Sarita, they can be served cold but I find them best enjoyed warm.
These look like fun! I would like to add a bit of cream cheese to the mix….how much would you suggest? and do I need to replace anything for it?
Cream cheese is delicious in baked potatoes to add some richness! I’ve added 1/4 cup of spreadable cream cheese so I would start there. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out Cynthia!
Absolutely out of this world! I only had small potatoes and there was only two of us so I wasn’t sure. I halved the recipe and then didn’t get hardly any potatoes. It didn’t matter….I put what potatoes I could scrape out into the mixture and “smashed” them (I use the old hand held masher). I ended up with much more filling than I had potato skins to fill so I got a casserole dish out – put the skins in the bottom and basically poured the mix over everything. We thought we’d died and gone to heaven. Thanks so much for the recipe and the reviews. Otherwise, I would’ve never tried it. The only problem for me was trying to figure out the correct measurements for two.
These were awesome! I prepared them in the Air Fryer. Absolutely perfect. The skin didn’t tear while I dug out the potato and the potato was fluffy and soft.
OMG, the garlic and herb cream cheese was AWESOME in this recipe! It was sooooo good! Thanks for sharing :)
You are so very welcome Christina! So happy to hear that you loved these twice baked potatoes so much! They are a favorite of mine for sure.
I want to make these twice baked potatoes and freeze them for 30 men for our church’s men’s retreat. Do they need to be completely cooled before freezing? If so, do I cool them on my counter or do they need to be refrigerated to cool prior to freezing?
Thanks
Hi Lisa, yes they should be completely cooled before freezing. I would let them cool to room temperature on the counter then you can pop them into the fridge or freezer.
When I baked the potatoes, it took more than one hour. Maybe my potatoes were too big Other than that, everything was so easy and the ingredients are simple!
Hi Mary, we use small russet potatoes for this recipe. If using larger potatoes, it will definitely take longer to fully cook them.
I made the twice baked potato, it was excellent Thank you
When I use my mix master to fluff the insides of Twice Baked Potatoes, the mixture rides up the beaters toward the top. How can I change that outcome?
Sticky mixtures tend to do that. You can try beating at a lower speed or try using a hand mixer (as recommended) to have better control of that and the ability to lift the beaters up when it starts to rise and encourage it to go back down.
Hi Holly, love your recipes! Twice baked potatoes you say I can make ahead what would the temp be, and for how long and should I take them out of refrig. Get to room temp. Before baking
patsy
If frozen, we recommend defrosting before cooking but if just removed from the fridge I would let them sit out while the oven preheats to allow them to warm up slightly before popping in the oven.
Cooking times were off by over 30 min.
Did you use small potatoes? Perhaps your potatoes were larger so needed additional cooking time. We do find that most baked potatoes are ready within an hour or so. Hope you enjoyed them as much as we do Jimmy!
I have not tried this recipe, but I can tell I am really going to like them. How long will they last in the freezer.
Hi Gail, They should last in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Morning Holly! These potatoes look dee-licious. I’m not very good with “salt to taste”. Could you suggest how much salt to use? Thanks, Ally in NJ
I would start with a 1/4 teaspoon then taste the mixture before adding more. It’s easy to add more but hard to take it away!
Details on cooking them in air fryer please?
Hi Roxanne, I would follow this air fryer recipe to bake the potatoes in the air fryer.