Loaded Potato Skins are easy, cheesy and my favorite appetizer recipe for parties and football food. These homemade potato skins are baked crispy, loaded with cheese, bacon and green onions and the best part? .. they are ready to eat in under an hour!
Serve these Crispy Loaded Potato Skins alongside Mini Crescent Dogs, Philly Cheesesteak Dip and a Pepperoni Stromboli Ring for the perfect party munchies.
My all-time favorite restaurant style appetizer has to be loaded potato skins.
Deep fried crispy potato skins loaded with tons of melted cheese, bacon bits and green onions just begging to be dunked in a craft of sour cream.
What could possibly be better to stuff your face with than that?? Short answer? Nothing!!
Now, loving something in a restaurant and making them in your own kitchen are two different things.
Life is busy, no one has the two hours to make homemade potato skins on a Saturday afternoon, right?
Wrong! Get your favorite football jersey on, a bowl of sour cream and let’s do this!!!!!
WHY THESE POTATO SKINS ARE THE BEST!
- This easy potato skin recipe is ready to eat in half the time of most loaded potato recipes.
- These are crispy potato skins made easy right in your own oven. No deep fryer needed.
- There is absolutely no judgement on how much cheese you add to your own potato skins.
- If you have the extra time, bake your potatoes in the oven ahead of time. If not, use the instructions below for fast potato skins using your microwave.
- Perfect party appetizer or football food, these loaded potato skins are the ultimate comfort food.
- Make enough for one person or 20 people, this recipe is great to feed a crowd.
To make these loaded potato skins, you will need:
- Russet potatoes
- Butter
- Shredded cheese
- Bacon pieces
- Green onion
- Salt / Pepper
- Sour cream (optional)
HOW TO MAKE QUICK AND EASY POTATO SKINS
Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and lining a large baking pan with parchment paper. Scrub potatoes clean and dry with a paper towel. Move them to a microwave safe plate.
Cook your potatoes in the microwave on High for 10-12 minutes, turning your potatoes over once half way through cooking.
Remove the plate and allow potatoes to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and run a knife along the inside of the potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.
Using a spoon, scoop out the insides while disposing of the removed potato in a medium sized bowl. You are basically making a little boat.
Melt the butter then brush the outside of the potatoes and place potato halves face-down and return to the oven for 10 minutes.
Using a fork or tongs, turn the potatoes over and brush insides with remaining butter. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes until the tops get crispy.
Remove from oven and sprinkle the insides of the potato skins with salt and pepper, cheese, bacon and green onions.
Return to the oven long enough for the cheese to melt, about 5 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
PRO TIPS FOR LOADED POTATOES
- After removing from the microwave, slice all of your potatoes lengthwise before moving on to scooping them out. It helps them cool faster than slicing as you go.
- Russet potatoes are most often uses for homemade potato skins because they stand up to the task best.
- Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch of potato attached to the potato skins. You need that ‘layer’ of potato to keep your potato skins upright and intact.
- Save your leftover potato to use in Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole, Homemade Potato and Cheese Pierogi or in Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.
- Don’t skip the sprinkling of salt, if you don’t have to. Potatoes always need a bit of salt added to them.
- Make life easy and grab pre-cooked bacon pieces from your grocery store. You can usually find them in the salad dressing / topping aisle.
FREEZING AND STORING LOADED POTATOES
Store any leftover loaded potato skins in the refrigerator. Reheat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes on High or place on a baking tray and heat in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.
To freeze these quick and easy potato skins, simply cook and scoop out your potatoes and before filling them, move the potato shells to a baking tray and move to the freezer. Once frozen, stack the shells and move to a large zip top bag.
To use, remove from the freezer and let come to room temperature before filling with toppings and baking.
You can also freeze constructed potato skins. Move your loaded potato skins (without sour cream) to a baking tray, freeze potato skins before moving to a large zip top bag and returning to freezer.
To reheat, bring to room temperature and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until warmed through.
POTATO TOPPINGS
The possibilities are endless when it comes to loaded potato skins toppings.
- Cheese, bacon and green onions for the classic potato skin recipe
- Broccoli
- Pulled pork, garlic, corn and black beans
- Salsas
- Steak and cheese, green peppers
- Jalapeno popper potato skins with cream cheese, bacon and jalapenos
- Chicken enchilada potato skins
Go ahead, make these homemade loaded potato skins and then try to serve your husband imitation ones from the grocery store freezer case and you will be cursed with statements of blatant neglect, lack of marital love, physical torture.
All joking aside, these Crispy Baked Potato Skins rival any restaurant style potato skins and since you don’t even have to leave the house, you don’t even have to change out of your yoga pants. #winning
Enjoy!
Share a photo of your creation on my Facebook page, Instagram or save it to Pinterest and tag #AWICKEDWHISK. I can’t wait to see your work!
Crispy Loaded Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 6 Large Russet potatoes
- 3 tablespoons Butter melted
- 6 slices Crispy bacon, diced .. or pre-cooked bacon pieces
- 8 ounces Shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 Green onions diced
- Salt and Pepper
- Sour cream for serving - optional but recommended
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and lining a large baking pan with parchment paper. Scrub potatoes clean and dry with a paper towel. Move them to a microwave safe plate.
- Cook your potatoes in the microwave on High for 10-12 minutes, turning your potatoes over once half way through cooking.
- Remove the plate and allow potatoes to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and run a knife along the inside of the potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.
- Using a spoon, scoop out the insides while disposing of the removed potato in a medium sized bowl. You are basically making a little boat.
- Melt the butter then brush the outside of the potatoes and place potato halves face-down and return to the oven for 10 minutes.Using a fork or tongs, turn the potatoes over and brush insides with remaining butter. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes until the tops get crispy.
- Remove from oven and sprinkle the insides of the potato skins with salt and pepper, cheese, bacon and green onions.Return to the oven long enough for the cheese to melt, about 5 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
PRO TIPS FOR LOADED POTATOES
- After removing from the microwave, slice all of your potatoes lengthwise before moving on to scooping them out. It helps them cool faster than slicing as you go.
- Russet potatoes are most often uses for homemade potato skins because they stand up to the task best.
- Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch of potato attached to the potato skins. You need that 'layer' of potato to keep your potato skins upright and intact.
- Save your leftover potato to use in Loaded Mashed Potato Casserole, Homemade Potato and Cheese Pierogi or in Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.
- Don't skip the sprinkling of salt, if you don't have to. Potatoes always need a bit of salt added to them.
- Make life easy and grab pre-cooked bacon pieces from your grocery store. You can usually find them in the salad dressing / topping aisle.
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Update Notes: This post was originally published in May of 2018 but was republished with an updated recipe, new photos, step by step instructions and tips in January of 2020.
very easy and delicious
DPoll
Any suggestions on how to easily get them to a gathering with them still tasting okay?
Unfortunately Natasha, this is one of those dishes that is not really meant for transport. But if you do make sure you make them right before you are ready to leave and you are not going to far because you run the risk of the potatoes becoming soggy, you may have a chance.
I made these and they were gone before I even got one!! I am sooo making these on Super Bowl Sunday and putting back 2 for myself!! My husband raved about them and asked when I was making them again…..
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed them Connie, It is one of my favorite game day treats also.
Hi. If I make the potatoes ahead of time and take them without the cheese etc stuffing in them, to a get-together a couple-three hours away, would they have to be on ice?
Thank you.
J
I think as long as you aren’t leaving them roasting in a hot car, they should be fine and then top them off with your toppings before serving 🙂
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They look so delicious and you had a great childhood if you grew up eating these. I can eat this every day and love that they are so quick and simple to make.
Thanks Sandhya… this has to be one of my favorite recipes!!
These look fabulous and would be such a HIT for gameday parties or any other too. Potato is one vegetable that’s a house favorite and then you add bacon, cheese and sour cream – You are in snack heaven 😉
Loaded potato skins and mozzarella sticks – those were my favorite menu items that we didn’t have at home. I used to look for them first when we went out to eat to see if I could order them. Then, on to looking for regular food (main course).
Who doesn’t love loaded potato skins? Don’t trust them.
Heather!!! It’s before 9am and you’ve got me craving potato skins! Bad! I always imagine that potato skins are so 1990, but then whenever I make them, I feel so comforted and happy with everything in the world. LOL. And, of course, you can’t really have potato skins without bacon and cheese, now can you?
Potato skins are the best! These are definitely going onto my list of game day recipes for next fall!
That looks interesting, never heard of this before, but looks delicious. Potatoes are family favorites, as long as i serve them varieties in their plate, they are happy. Would love to try your version sometime!
These look so good!! I imagine these for a large sporting get together!! Cheesy goodness!!
I could eat about a million of these right now! Ok not really, but they seriously look amazing. Your photography is beautiful!
Potato skins are just awesome. I mean who doesn’t love a good tater skin. These look so yummy so I may need to make some soon.
Comfort foods from childhood definitely stick with us! I also have memories of eating potato skins (not loaded, though) at restaurants simply because I was not a so called foodie at all until much later into adulthood. I liked to stick with things I knew!
I am a potato gal and love classic like this potato skins. Yoru photography is so good just want to eat my screen now =)
These are the best. I have so many childhood memories of food. I think that is what makes me love food so much 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!!
My mouth is watering looking at these. A big dollop of sour cream, my couch, a good movie and I’d be in heaven!
You could fill those beauties with just about anything. They look amazing and comforting. around our house they wouldn’t last five minutes.
Those look so good. The kids had asked me to make potatoes for a side dish today. I wanted to try something different. I cant wait to try your recipe this evening!
I love potato skins and these look ssooooo good. I love that you baked them twice – must make them more crispy. So cool.