Ditch the restaurant and make your own Loaded Potato Skins at home. Crispy, tender and filled with cheese and bacon making a mouthwatering appetizer!
Everyone loves a good Loaded Potato Skins appetizer! When you hear potato skins, many people think of TGIFriday’s and their Potato Skins, at least that is what I have always thought of.
They’re so popular for them, but these homemade Loaded Potato Skins are the ultimate appetizer or side dish. They’re sooooo good, my family loves when we have these.
The seasoning that you brush on the really sets these bad boys off to a whole new level. Combined with the salty and the fillings, you really just cannot go wrong.
Anytime I make these, the family gathers around in the kitchen waiting for one or two. I can’t blame them, they’re incredible.
These are great for parties, game day, or just because you are wanting to make an appetizer to serve with one of your dinner time meal. There really needs to be an excuse to make these Loaded Potato Skins.
Some of our other favorite appetizer recipes we have on our site include: Steak Fingers, Taco Bell Nacho Fries and Southwest Egg Rolls.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Loved by both kids and adults.
- Better than the restaurant version.
- Made with minimal ingredients.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE AT BOTTOM)
Small russet potatoes
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Salted butter
Pepper
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Smoked paprika
Sharp cheddar cheese
Bacon
Sour cream, to serve
Green onions, optional
HOW TO MAKE LOADED POTATO SKINS, STEP BY STEP:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash the potatoes very well and pat them dry with a paper towel, place them on a sheet tray.
- Using a fork, pierce the potatoes all over so any excess steam can escape.
- Brush the outsides with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the salt all over.
- Bake for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes, until a knife inserted into the potatoes goes in smoothly. Let them cool completely, or until they are cool enough to handle on the sheet tray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides, leaving about ¼ inch of the potato attached to the skin.
- Place them cut side down onto the sheet tray and brush the outside with half of the butter mixture.
- Bake for 8 minutes, turn them over, and brush the inside of the potatoes with the remaining butter mixture. Bake an additional 8 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
- Add the cheese and bacon evenly to the inside cup of the potato skins.
- Bake an additional 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with sour cream and scallions.
WHAT OTHER SEASONINGS CAN I USE?
We love these potatoes just the way we make them, but if you want to jazz them up some more, try adding any of these: ground cumin, blackening seasoning, creole seasoning, bbq seasoning, lemon pepper, Montreal steak seasoning, or taco seasoning.
If you want to change the seasonings, make sure to use unsalted butter because if you use salted butter they may end up too salty.
WHAT DIPPING SAUCES CAN I USE?
Dip your potato skins in sour cream, ranch, garlic aioli, bbq sauce, or honey mustard. Honestly, they are so good they do not even need a dipping sauce but I’m particular to them.
So use whatever you have on hand, or your favorite dipping sauce, we all know everyone has one!
CAN I ADD ANYTHING ELSE?
I like to use this Potato Skin Recipe as a base recipe and if I want more to it, I can easily add other stuff. Trust me, there are so many different types these days that they are endless.
I think diced ham, shredded chicken, pulled pork, or even taco meat would all be delicious things to add to these skins. Just use your best judgement and add what you like best.
HOW TO STORE:
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator where they will keep for up to 5 days. I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Reheat leftovers in the oven to keep them crispy, the microwave will just make them soggy.
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- Use a serrated knife to slice the potatoes. It doesn’t tear the potatoes as easily as a regular knife does.
- Smaller russet potatoes are easier to handle and bake faster than the larger ones. I recommend using smaller ones when you can, be sure to start checking on them after 30 minutes of bake time.
- You can add any tasty meat combo to these, see some ideas above.
- This recipe can be doubled easily to make more.
- Feel free to serve any dipping sauce with these, see some of my favorites above.
- Jazz these potatoes up even more with some other seasonings, above you’ll find more ideas to try.
- I used regular cut bacon, but you can use thick cut if desired.
- I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Tired of having to leave the house for some one of the best appetizers of all time? Then you have to make these easy homemade Loaded Potato Skins, delicious for the whole family!
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If you’ve tried these LOADED POTATO SKINS or any other recipe on my site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and what shenanigans I’m getting into!
Loaded Potato Skins
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 8 small russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
For the potato skins:
- 3 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
For the filling:
- 8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 8 slices bacon cooked crispy and crumbled
- Sour cream to serve
- Thinly sliced green onions to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash the potatoes very well and pat them dry with a paper towel, place them on a sheet tray.
- Using a fork, pierce the potatoes all over so any excess steam can escape.
- Brush the outsides with the olive oil, then sprinkle with the salt all over.
- Bake for 30-60 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes, until a knife inserted into the potatoes goes in smoothly. Let them cool completely, or until they are cool enough to handle on the sheet tray.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika.
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out the insides, leaving about ¼ inch of the potato attached to the skin.
- Place them cut side down onto the sheet tray and brush the outside with half of the butter mixture.
- Bake for 8 minutes, turn them over, and brush the inside of the potatoes with the remaining butter mixture. Bake an additional 8 minutes until the edges are golden brown and crispy.
- Add the cheese and bacon evenly to the inside cup of the potato skins.
- Bake an additional 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve immediately with sour cream and scallions.
Notes
- Use a serrated knife to slice the potatoes. It doesn't tear the potatoes as easily as a regular knife does.
- Smaller russet potatoes are easier to handle and bake faster than the larger ones. I recommend using smaller ones when you can, be sure to start checking on them after 30 minutes of bake time.
- You can add any tasty meat combo to these, see some ideas above.
- This recipe can be doubled easily to make more.
- Feel free to serve any dipping sauce with these, see some of my favorites above.
- Jazz these potatoes up even more with some other seasonings, above you'll find more ideas to try.
- I used regular cut bacon, but you can use thick cut if desired.
- I do not recommend freezing this recipe.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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