Twice-baked potatoes are BIG whole potatoes baked in their skins (or ‘jackets’) in a hot oven for about an hour. The skins become deeply tanned, crackly and crisp. The insides get soft and fluffy. We scoop out the flesh and combine with cheese, butter and seasoning. We return this deliciousness to the crisp shells. A short blast in a hot oven is the second bake. We top the potato with veggies. This balances out the ‘comfort’ with crunch, colour and freshness. We add ‘meaty’ baked beans and cool sour cream. Mindfully topped baked potatoes cover all the major food groups 😊
I classify comfort food as food that you eat with your fingers or at the most, with one utensil out of a bowl. Baked potatoes tick both those boxes. I like to eat the potato insides with a fork, then pick up the scooped-out shells and eat with my hands.
Twice-baked potatoes is such an easy meal to scale up or down. This is why I’ve given the topping quantities per potato. This is a great casual dinner for a crowd. It's even a hit with kids. I guarantee people will be wondering why they don’t eat baked potatoes more often. Have a baked potato party! Make lots of cheesy, buttery mothership potatoes. Have the toppings prepped in individual bowls. Let people go nuts and design their own potatoey adventure.
My husband is surprised I'm posting this recipe. He's like 'but everyone knows how to make baked potatoes?'. I disagree, because I thought I knew how to. And then I discovered baking them twice is so much better!
I used to cut a cross in the top of baked potatoes, then squeeze the potato so that the inside popped out a bit. Then I'd top with cheese and all the other good stuff. This is still pretty good. But, plain potato under a sheet of cheese is a bit boring. Taking the time to mix the potato with cheese and seasoning ensures that all the potato is delicious. Plus, we can brush the insides of the shells with melted butter and a touch of seasoning before we refill too. This makes the shell even more delicious too.
🥘 Ingredients
The recipe for twice-baked potatoes is very flexible. Add any cheese and other toppings you fancy. This is only a suggestion. Try to find similarly-sized potatoes for consistent results.
If you want to make this low FODMAP, leave out the baked beans and use lactose-free sour cream.
Be generous with the oil and salt on the skins before baking – it makes a big difference to how crispy and tasty they get.
🔪 Instructions
(Photo 1 above) Clean the potatoes thoroughly under running water. The skin is wonderful to eat…but not if it’s gritty. Dry the potatoes well. Stab them lightly all over with the point of a sharp knife (be careful!). I’ve never had a potato explode on me, but I don’t want to find out what that would be like 😉
Drizzle over some olive oil and use your hands to rub it all over. Sprinkle generously with salt.
Bake directly on an oven rack (not on a tray). No one wants a crispy flat bottom.
Make sure you don’t undercook the potatoes. The inside should be soft and yielding, the outside crunchy and crackly. Better to over than undercook. You can stick the blade of a thin sharp knife through. Once it pierces the skin, there should be little resistance inside the potato.
(Photo 2 above) You might need to wear oven gloves for this part. Cut the potatoes in half longwise – a flatter base will provide a more stable base; easier to empty and refill. With care, use a spoon to scoop out the potato flesh without tearing the skin. Put all the potato in a large bowl.
(Photo 1 above) Brush the insides of the potato shells with melted butter. Sprinkle with seasoning.
(Photo 2 above) Add plenty of grated cheese to the potato with some seasoning. Use a knife to cut the cheese into the potato and break it up into smallish chunks – we’re not aiming for mash here. Return the cheesy potato to the shells. Don’t press it down; some nooks and crannies are great for crispy parts.
(Photo 3 above) Sprinkle the tops with the remaining grated cheese.
These are great served in deep bowls so you can go to town with the toppings and dig in with a fork. If you're wondering why the photo doesn't show deep bowls, it only because it would be hard to take a photo of 😆
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large potato (weighing 300-400g)
- olive oil
- salt
Per Potato
- 30 g cheddar cheese (per potato)
- ½ medium carrot (per potato)
- 25 g purple cabbage (per potato)
- 150 g baked beans (per potato)
- small knob unsalted butter (about 10g, per potato)
- freshly ground black pepper
- sour cream (about 4 Tablespoons, per potato)
- Tabasco/dried chilli flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven - to 200°C
- Prep Potato - wash each potato under running water (don’t soak) and dry well. Cut away and discard any ‘eyes’ or bruised parts. Stab lightly (with care!) with a sharp knife all over. Place on a board and drizzle over plenty of olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt. Rub the oil and salt all over the potato.1 large potatoolive oilsalt
- Bake Once - place potato directly on an oven rack. Bake for around 1 ¼- ½ hours, until the potato skins are browned, crispy and puffy. Whilst they’re baking, you can prepare some of the toppings….
- Cheese, Carrot & Cabbage - coarsely grate the cheese and set aside. Coarsely grate the carrot and set aside. Finely shred the cabbage into short strands (using a mandoline or sharp knife) and set aside.30 g cheddar cheese (per potato)½ medium carrot (per potato)25 g purple cabbage (per potato)
- Empty Potato Skins - remove the potatoes from the oven. Keeping your oven gloves on, cut the potatoes in half lengthways to create two boat shapes that balance easily on their bases. Scoop out the insides with a spoon. Transfer the potato flesh to a large bowl. Arrange the potato halves in a baking sheet, open side up.
- Prepare Potato Skins – melt the butter. Brush the insides of the shells with this. Season with a sprinkle of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.saltsmall knob unsalted butter (about 10g, per potato)freshly ground black pepper
- Make Filling – add roughly ¾ of the grated cheese to the potato flesh. Add ⅛ teaspoon salt (per whole potato) and pepper to taste. Use the tip of a large knife to cut though and distribute the cheese and break up any large potato chunks.saltfreshly ground black pepper
- Fill Potatoes - return the cheesy potato to the skins (don’t flatten down). Sprinkle over the remaining grated cheese.
- Second Bake - put the potatoes back in the oven for around 15 minutes. We want the cheese to melt and the potato to reheat and gets some crispy browned edges and peaks.
- Baked Beans – microwave until hot.150 g baked beans (per potato)
- Assemble - arrange the potato halves in bowls, two per serve. Share out the baked beans, then the carrot and cabbage. Top with sour cream. Sprinkle with dried chilli flakes/tabasco sauce as you like.sour cream (about 4 Tablespoons, per potato)Tabasco/dried chilli flakes (optional)
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