This Loaded Baked Potato Skins Recipe is a classic appetizer that is perfect for game day, parties, or your next movie night. They’re crispy and fully loaded with just a hint of garlic, loaded with cheese, tasty bacon bits, and finished with chopped green onions.
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Easy Loaded Baked Potato Skins
This simple appetizer is always the very first to disappear whenever we serve it at a party or game day gathering. It’s easy to see why these Loaded Baked Potato Skins are virtually impossible to resist. They are twice-baked to perfection, packed full of cheddar cheese and bacon bits, topped with crunchy green onions and served with your favorite dipping sauce, we love homemade ranch!
The secret to making crispy baked potato skins is all about the preparation, so just follow our step-by-step instructions and you’ll be devouring these in no time!
What Goes Well With Baked Potato Skins?
Loaded Baked Potato Skins are almost like a blank slate just waiting to be topped with all sorts of delicious sauces, cheeses and other toppings. Here are a few more recommendations outside of what is already in this recipe:
Dipping Sauces
- BBQ Sauce
- Sour Cream
- Blue Cheese Dressing
- Homemade Guacamole
- Southwest Ranch Dressing
- Garlic Basil Hemp Aioli
- Fresh Salsa
Toppings
- Shredded Ranch Chicken
- Chili
- Sauteed Veggies (Bell Peppers or Broccoli)
- Ground Beef
- Refried Beans
- Slow Cooker Pork
- Slow Cooker Mississippi Chicken
Ingredients in Loaded Baked Potato Skins
- Potatoes - we almost always use Russet potatoes for potato skins because they are large and thick.
- Cooking Oil - avocado oil is great, or else any other cooking oil will work.
- Salt
- Butter - this should be melted as it will be brushed onto the skins.
- Garlic Salt - you can buy garlic salt, or make your own by mixing 50% garlic powder and 50% salt.
- Cheese - shredded cheddar cheese is the most common cheese to use for potato skins. Other yummy ones to use would be Pepper Jack or Parmesan.
- Bacon Bits - it is really simple to make your own bacon bits. Just slice bacon into ½” pieces and cook in a saute pan until crispy. Drain on a paper towel and voila - bacon bits!
- Green Onions - sliced green onions are optional but really tasty. You could also substitute chives if you’d like.
Cook The Potatoes
- Prep the potatoes. Start with the Best Baked Potatoes. Wash the potatoes, prick the skin on all sides with a fork then put the potatoes in a gallon freezer bag and add the avocado oil. Close the bag and roll the potatoes around until they're completely covered in oil. Remove potatoes from the bag, place in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt on all sides. (Trust me on this, it is the BEST way to make Baked Potatoes)
- Bake the potatoes. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 50-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork. Take the potatoes out of the oven and let them cool enough to handle.
Baked Potato Skins
- Scoop out the flesh and season. Once the potatoes have cooled, cut the potatoes into quarters lengthwise and scoop out the majority of the flesh, saving for another use. (save for mashed potatoes, or hashbrowns)
- Potato skins should be about ½" thick. Place the skins onto a baking sheet and brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic salt. Top with the shredded cheese and bacon bits and return to the oven.
- Bake again. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bacon is crispy.
- Garnish and serve. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then garnish with green onions and serve with ranch dressing, sour cream, or your favorite dip. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Make Loaded Potato Skins Ahead of Time?
If you want to get some of the prep out of the way ahead of time, we recommend baking the whole potatoes and letting them cool completely before storing in the fridge until you are ready to use them. You can store baked potatoes for up to 3 days in the fridge, or until you are ready to finish the potato skins.
We don’t recommend baking the actual Loaded Potato Skins ahead of time because they tend to dry out a bit in the fridge and lose their crispiness.
What Can I Do with Extra Potatoes from Potato Skins?
One of the best, and most obvious, use for the flesh is to make mashed potatoes. You could also add them to a salad, add them to a casserole, hashbrowns, or turn them into potato soup.
What are the Best Potatoes to Use for Potato Skins?
Russet potatoes are hands down the best to use because they have a thicker skin that can hold up to being baked twice.
What is the Best Temperature to Bake Potato Skins?
We like to bake at 400 degrees because it isn’t so hot that the potato skins burn on the outside, but hot enough that it doesn’t take forever to cook, drying them out completely.
Tips
- This is the perfect recipe to use up leftover baked potatoes.
- Russett potatoes make the best potato skins. Just be sure to use olive oil or avocado oil on the skin when cooking them the first time. The skins are so crispy.
- Pile them high with your favortie toppings such as bacon, green onions, pulled pork, nacho cheese, olives, cheddar cheese, garlic butter, salsa, and anything else you can think of.
- This is a super simple bar food, and so easy to make at home.
Loaded Baked Potato Skins Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 large Russet Potatoes
- 2 Tablespoons Avocado Oil or any other cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablespoons Butter melted
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
- ⅔ cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- ⅓ cup Bacon Bits pre-cooked or homemade
- 3 Tablespoons Green Onions chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash the potatoes, prick the skin on all sides with a fork then put the potatoes in a gallon freezer bag and add the avocado oil. Close the bag and roll the potatoes around until they're completely covered in oil.
- Remove potatoes from the bag, place in a baking dish and sprinkle with salt on all sides.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork. Take the potatoes out of the oven and let them cool enough to handle.
- Once cooled, cut the potatoes into quarters lengthwise and scoop out the majority of the flesh, saving for another use. Potato skins should be about ½" thick.
- Place the skins onto a baking sheet and brush with the melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic salt. Top with the shredded cheese and bacon bits and return to the oven.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the bacon is crispy.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then garnish with green onions and serve with ranch dressing or your favorite dip. Enjoy!
Nutrition
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This Loaded Baked Potato Skins recipe is so delicious and the perfect appetizer for game day or your next party. They are twice-baked to perfection, packed full of cheddar cheese and bacon bits, topped with crunchy green onions and served with your favorite dipping sauce.
Renee Goerger
I don't know anyone who can resist these amazing baked potato skins! This recipe is a real winner!!
Shadi Hasanzadenemati
This was such a hit! Thank you for this awesome recipe