Twice Baked Potatoes

Prep 15 min
Total 1 hr 50 min
Servings 8

You don’t have to wait for dinner at a fancy steakhouse to enjoy cheesy, gooey twice baked potatoes. They’re surprisingly easy to make at home. Once assembled, the finished potatoes are super-easy to make ahead and store in the fridge or freezer. MORE+ LESS-

By Betty Crocker Kitchens

Updated June 12, 2019

Ingredients

large unpeeled Idaho or russet baking potatoes (8 to 10 oz each)

1/4

to 1/2 cup milk

1/4

cup butter, softened

1/4

teaspoon salt

Dash pepper

cup shredded Cheddar cheese (4 oz)

tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Steps

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1

Heat oven to 375°F. Gently scrub potatoes, but do not peel. Pierce potatoes several times with a fork to allow steam to escape while potatoes bake.
2

Bake 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender when pierced in center with a fork.
3

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut lengthwise in half; scoop out inside, leaving a thin shell. In medium bowl, mash potatoes with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed until no lumps remain. Add milk in small amounts, beating after each addition with potato masher or electric mixer on low speed (amount of milk needed to make potatoes smooth and fluffy depends on kind of potatoes used).
4

Add butter, salt and pepper; beat vigorously until potatoes are light and fluffy. Stir in cheese and chives. Fill potato shells with mashed potato mixture. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.
5

Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Bake about 20 minutes or until hot.

Make-Ahead Twice-Baked Potatoes: Make potatoes through Step 3. Wrap tightly and refrigerate up to 24 hours or freeze up to 1 month. Bake as directed in Step 4. Bake refrigerated potatoes 30 minutes, frozen potatoes about 40 minutes.
Choose russet potatoes because their flesh is starchy and will whip up to be nice and fluffy.
The skins of the potatoes will crisp up in the oven when they’re baked with the filling.
Short-cut your prep time by baking the potatoes in the microwave. Pierce the potatoes with the tip of a paring knife, then arrange them in a circle on a piece of double-folded paper toweling. Microwave on HIGH 8 to 12 minutes or until tender. Cover the potatoes in damp paper towels and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes before slicing them to scoop out the centers.
Stir in 1/2 cup crumbled crisply cooked bacon and 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper with the cheese and chives or replace Cheddar cheese with 1 cup Italian cheese blend and add 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning for an Italian flavor twist.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 Serving

Calories: 200
Calories from Fat: 100

% Daily Value

Total Fat: 11g; 16%
Saturated Fat 7g 34% Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol: 30mg; 10%
Sodium: 210mg; 9%
Potassium: 520mg; 15%
Total Carbohydrate: 20g; 7%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8% Sugars 2g
Protein: 6g

% Daily Value*:

Vitamin A: 8%; 8%
Vitamin C: 8%; 8%
Calcium: 10%; 10%
Iron: 6%; 6%

Exchanges:

1 Starch; 0 Fruit; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Skim Milk; 0 Low-Fat Milk; 0 Milk; 0 Vegetable; 0 Very Lean Meat; 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 High-Fat Meat; 1 1/2 Fat;

Carbohydrate Choice

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Next time you’re in the mood for comfort food, preheat your oven and reach for your bag of potatoes. While twice-baked potatoes aren’t exactly hands-off, they certainly are worth the effort. After all, what’s better than creamy, cheesy baked potatoes brightened up with a sprinkle of chives? This hearty side—or why not make it a main?—can be prepped up to 24 hours ahead. Just bake, stuff and store in the fridge until dinnertime. Or, you can get ahead of the game by freezing your twice-baked potatoes. They’ll keep for up to a month. Don’t forget there are plenty of ways to customize the flavor of your potatoes. So long as you follow the basic directions here, you’ll find that this dish is not hard to make. Just remember to use Russets, which are excellent baking potatoes with low moisture content. Need a few more ways to turn your potatoes into comfort food? Check out the rest of Betty’s best potato recipes.