Baked Potato Skins
Wed, Mar 10, 2010
Appetizers, Cooking Projects, Disguising Healthy Foods, Foodgawker, Fun Family Activities, Holidays, Itsy Bitsy Foodies Sightings, Quick n' Easy, Search by Course, Super Bowl
(+8 rating, 4 votes)
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My family was recently at one of our friend’s first birthday party. They served potato skins with bacon and cheese as an appetizer. They were a hit! It inspired us to make our own.
The following recipe is my family’s take on loaded baked potato skins. The beauty of this appetizer is that you can load them up with whatever you would like: cheese, bacon, sour cream, salsa, chili, guacamole, feta, you name it. It is also a meal where the whole family can get involved. Everyone can “load” their own potato skins.
You usually don’t have to work too hard to get kids (and adults, for that matter) to eat mashed potatoes or the inside of baked potatoes. However, the skin of the potato is generally a different story. The toppings on these baked potato skins help to disguise the skins of the potatoes which are actually the most nutrient-dense part of the potato. Make garlic mashers, hashbrowns or homemade tater tots with the potato flesh that you scoop out.
Especially because we are eating the skins, I use organic potatoes. Non-organic potato skins are home to many nutrients but they also suck in all of the fertilizers and chemicals used to grow the plants. Organic potato skins provide the nutrients and fiber without the chemicals.
- 3 organic Russet potatoes
- 3 slices of bacon
- Light sour cream
- Grated cheddar cheese
- Green onions, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Rinse and scrub the potatoes, removing any bad spots.
- Pat them dry.
- Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for an hour, or until the potatoes are tender.
- (You should be able to cut into the potatoes with a table knife.)
- Let the potatoes cool for 5-10 minutes so that you can handle them.
- Cut the potatoes in half and scoop out most of the flesh of the potatoes.
- Put the flesh of the potatoes in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it for another use.
- Cook the bacon on the stove top or in the microwave. We usually place ours on a plate covered with paper towels and cook it in the microwave for roughly two minutes on each side. The paper towels absorb the excess grease.
- Once the bacon is cooked, break it into small chunks.
- Brush each side of the potato skins with oil and lightly season the skins with salt and pepper (a pinch of salt and pepper for each potato skin).
- Place the potato skins flesh side down a baking sheet and bake them for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Flip the skins over and sprinkle the tops of the potato skins with grated cheese, feta cheese (if desired) and bacon chunks.
- Bake them at 400 degrees until the cheese is melted.
- Remove the potato skins from the oven and finish loading them with chopped green onions, sour cream, salsa, guacamole or any other toppings of your choice.
Tags: bacon, cheese, green onions, guacamole, loaded potato skins, potato skins, potatoes, sour cream
Love this so much!
These were delicious!!
I’m glad you liked them!
What a wonderful dish. We are adding this to our newly dinner appetizer night.