When a knife slides easily into the center of a russet, the potato is ready for its first trip out of the oven. The skin is sturdy enough to hold its shape, and the inside scoops out in a soft, fluffy mound. That’s the starting point for these loaded twice baked potatoes: bake the potatoes whole, then turn the centers into a creamy filling and return them to their skins.
I like the way the sharp cheddar is split between the filling and the top. Some melts into the potato with sour cream and butter, while the rest turns glossy on the second bake. Bacon and green onions go into the filling, too, with more saved for the finish. You get a warm, savory center beneath melted cheese, with fresh onion and crumbled bacon on top.
Kitchen Note
Give the baked potatoes their full 10-minute rest before cutting into them. They’re still warm enough to scoop, but easier to handle, and the skins are less likely to collapse while you work.
Save these loaded twice baked potatoes for a cozy dinner: fluffy cheddar filling, melted cheese, bacon, and green onions tucked into baked russet skins.
Why a Thin Layer of Potato Keeps the Skins From Falling Apart
Once you cut the potatoes lengthwise, it’s tempting to scrape each skin clean. Leave about a quarter inch of potato inside instead. That thin lining gives the shell enough structure to hold the filling when you lift it from the baking sheet, and it keeps the skin from becoming a flimsy wrapper around a mound of mash.
The other reason to scoop carefully is that the potato flesh is the base of the filling, not just a place to hide the toppings. Too much flesh left behind means less room for the butter, sour cream, milk, cheddar, bacon, and green onions to get folded through. Too little leaves you with fragile shells. A little potato against the skin, with most of the center in the bowl, gives you a sturdy boat and a generous amount of filling in every half.
What the Russets, Dairy, and Sharp Cheddar Each Bring
- Large russet potatoes — Their fluffy centers mash readily, and their skins give you room to scoop and refill. Choose potatoes that feel firm and have enough size to make useful halves; there isn’t a close swap that gives the same filling-to-skin balance.
- Olive oil and kosher salt — The oil coats the scrubbed, dried skins, while the salt seasons the outside as the potatoes bake. Drying the potatoes first helps the oil cling instead of sliding off a damp surface.
- Softened butter, sour cream, and milk — Butter brings richness, sour cream adds tang, and milk loosens the mashed potato so it can be spooned into the skins. They do different jobs, so don’t treat milk as a replacement for sour cream or leave the butter hard and expect it to blend evenly.
- Sharp cheddar — Its stronger taste stands up to the potato and bacon. Divide it between the filling and the tops so you get cheese throughout, not only across the surface.
- Cooked bacon and green onions — Crumbled bacon adds smoky, salty bites, while the thinly sliced onions bring a fresh contrast. Save some of each for the topping; the final sprinkle gives each potato a distinct finish.
- Black pepper — It seasons the filling without competing with the cheddar. Add it while mashing so it’s distributed through the potato instead of landing in a few concentrated spots.
The Three Stages That Give These Potatoes Their Loaded Center
Bake the Russets Until a Knife Slides In Easily
Heat the oven to 400°F and set out a rimmed baking sheet. Pierce each scrubbed, dried potato several times with a fork, rub it with olive oil, and sprinkle it with kosher salt before arranging it on the sheet. Bake for 50–65 minutes, checking for a knife that slides easily into the center. If the center still resists, the potato needs more time before it can be scooped cleanly.
Scoop the Centers and Mash While Warm
Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes, then cut each one in half lengthwise. Scoop the flesh into a large bowl and leave about a quarter inch inside each skin. Mash the potato with softened butter, sour cream, milk, and black pepper until the dairy is worked through. Fold in the cheddar, bacon, and green onions reserved for the filling so those additions stay distributed rather than crushed into the mash.
Fill the Skins Without Overpacking Them
Spoon the mixture back into the potato halves and arrange them on the baking sheet. Divide the filling among the skins instead of pressing it down hard; the goal is a full, even mound that stays inside each shell. Sprinkle the reserved cheddar over the top. Keeping the filling contained makes it easier to lift the halves once the cheese has melted.
Bake Until the Cheese Melts, Then Add the Fresh Topping
Return the potatoes to the 400°F oven for 15–20 minutes, until they’re heated through and the cheese is melted. The tops should look glossy and settled rather than like a loose pile of unmelted shreds. Scatter the remaining bacon and green onions over the potatoes after they come out of the oven. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving so the hot filling can settle into the skins.
Three Easy Ways to Change the Loaded Toppings
Make a Vegetarian Batch
Leave out the bacon and keep the cheddar and green onions. The potatoes will lose the smoky, salty bacon bites, but the sour cream and sharp cheddar still make a rich, savory filling.
Put All the Cheddar Inside
Fold all of the shredded cheddar into the potato mixture and skip the cheese sprinkled on top. The cheese flavor will run through the filling, but you won’t get the separate melted layer across the skins.
Keep All the Bacon for the Finish
Instead of folding bacon into the mash, reserve all of it for the topping. That gives you more pronounced bacon texture in each bite and a milder filling underneath.
Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 3–4 days. The potato filling will firm up as it chills.
- Freezer: Freeze the cooled potato halves in an airtight container for up to 1 month. Thaw them in the refrigerator; the filling may be a little less fluffy after freezing.
- Reheating: Reheat in a 400°F oven until the centers reach 165°F. The microwave is faster, but it softens the skins, so use the oven when you want them to hold their shape.
Questions That Come Up While Making Twice Baked Potatoes
Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Set a rimmed baking sheet aside.
- Pierce each potato several times with a fork.
- Rub the potatoes with the olive oil.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with the kosher salt.
- Bake the potatoes on the sheet for 50–65 minutes, until a knife slides easily into the center.
- Let the potatoes cool for 10 minutes.
- Cut each potato in half lengthwise.
- Scoop the flesh into a large bowl, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato inside each skin.
- Mash the potato flesh with the softened butter, sour cream, milk, and black pepper.
- Fold in 1 cup of the shredded sharp cheddar cheese, 4 slices’ worth of the cooked and crumbled bacon, and 2 of the green onions.
- Spoon the filling into the potato skins.
- Arrange the filled potato skins on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup cheddar.
- Bake at 400°F for 15–20 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted.
- Top with the remaining bacon and green onions.
- Rest for 5 minutes before serving.
