The best Twice Baked Potatoes! With a creamy filling, bacon and plenty of cheese, these twice baked potatoes are sure to be a favorite.

Twice baked potatoes with bacon and green onions on a plate.

How can you make a classic Baked Potato even better? Turn it into a twice baked potato! These twice baked potatoes are creamy, cheesy and all-around irresistible. Enjoy them as a side dish or make them the main course with a salad on the side. They’re perfect for serving at Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter!

Why You’ll Love this Recipe

  • Comfort Food: The baked potato insides are mashed together with butter, sour cream, milk, cheese, bacon and green onions, put back in the potato skins, topped with more cheese and bacon, and baked in the oven a second time. This is comfort food at its best!
  • Feeds a Crowd: It’s easy to scale this recipe up to make more potatoes and it doesn’t take much longer to make a double batch.
  • Make Ahead Option: You can prep the potatoes up to one day ahead, refrigerate, and then do the second bake right before serving. This option is especially convenient for a holiday meal.

Prefer a casserole? Try this cheesy Twice Baked Potato Casserole.

Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe Ingredients

  • Russet Potatoes: Russets are the best potatoes to use for twice baked potatoes because their larger size can hold more of the creamy filling. Choose medium to large potatoes for this recipe.
  • Olive Oil & Salt: For rubbing on the potato skins before baking, to flavor the skins.
  • Bacon: We love adding crispy, salty bacon to our twice baked potatoes. For a vegetarian recipe, you can omit the bacon.
  • Butter: Adds richness and flavor.
  • Whole Milk: Makes the filling light and creamy.
  • Sour Cream: Adds creaminess and tanginess to the filling. For a lighter option, substitute plain Greek yogurt (low fat or full fat works best).
  • Salt & Pepper: For flavor.
  • Cheddar Cheese: I add shredded cheddar cheese to the potato filling and also top the potatoes with cheese, for plenty of cheesy flavor.
  • Green Onions: Their mild onion flavor works perfectly here.

How to Make Twice Baked Potatoes

There are a few components to prepare for this recipe, but each step is simple. Here’s an overview; find the full recipe with ingredient amounts and more detailed instructions in the recipe card below.

  1. First, bake the potatoes.
  2. Cook the bacon. My preferred method is to cook bacon in the oven.
  3. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in half lengthwise and scoop the baked potato out of the skins. Put the potato skins on a baking sheet or in a baking dish and the potato insides in a mixing bowl. Scooping baked potato out of skins.
  4. Add the butter to the bowl and use a potato masher (or hand mixer) to mash it into the potatoes.
  5. Mix in the milk, sour cream, salt, pepper and half of the shredded cheddar.
  6. Stir in half of the cooked bacon and green onions. Adding bacon and green onions to potato filling.
  7. Spoon the filling into the potato skins. Spooning filling into potato skins.
  8. Top with the remaining cheese and bacon.
  9. Bake at 350° F for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot throughout. Serve topped with the remaining chopped green onions.
Baked twice baked potatoes on baking sheet.

Serving Suggestions

Here are a few ideas for meals to serve with twice baked potatoes.

  • Ham: Whenever my family cooks a ham for Easter or Christmas, twice baked potatoes are always on the holiday menu as well.
  • Steak: Swap your usual baked potato for a twice baked potato to make the ultimate steak dinner, served alongside Air Fryer Steak or Grilled Steak.
  • Meatloaf: Try our best Meatloaf Recipe.
  • Baked Chicken: Enjoy your twice baked potatoes with Baked Chicken Breast or this Chicken Thigh Recipe.
  • Salad: For a simple dinner, a twice baked potato and crisp Green Salad always satisfies.

Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes

You can prepare the twice baked potatoes up to one day ahead of time, cover and refrigerate, and then bake them right before serving. You may need to add about 15 minutes to the baking time if baking potatoes that are cold from the refrigerator. If the tops are browning too much in the oven before the centers are hot, you can loosely cover the pan with foil.

  • To Store: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
  • To Reheat: Reheat leftover potatoes in the microwave or in a 350° F oven until hot.
Twice baked potatoes served on a plate with a bite on a fork.

More Best Potato Recipes

If you enjoyed this twice baked potatoes recipe, try one of these favorite potato recipes next:

Close up of twice baked potatoes on a plate.

Twice Baked Potatoes

Servings: 8 servings
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 5 minutes
These Twice Baked Potatoes are creamy, cheesy and so delicious! They're a perfect side dish for a holiday meal or dinner any night of the week.
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Ingredients

  • 4 medium/large russet potatoes
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • coarse kosher salt or flaked sea salt
  • 4 slices bacon
  • 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • ¾ cup whole milk
  • ¼ cup sour cream, or plain Greek yogurt
  • ¾ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  • 6 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, 1 ½ cups
  • 4 green onions, chopped

Instructions
 

Bake the Potatoes

  • Preheat oven to 425° F. Scrub the potatoes and pat them dry. Place them on a parchment-paper lined rimmed baking sheet. Prick each potato a few times with a fork, then rub skins with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt or sea salt.
  • Bake in the preheated oven for 50-70 minutes, until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.

Cook the Bacon

  • Reduce oven temperature to 400° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and fold the edges of the foil up a bit to contain the bacon grease.
  • Lay the bacon slices in a single layer on the foil. Bake for 12-20 minutes, until cooked through.
  • Transfer bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to soak up excess grease. Once cool, chop the bacon.

Fill and Bake

  • Reduce oven temperature to 350° F.
  • When potatoes are cool enough to handle but still warm, slice them in half. Use a spoon to scoop the baked potato out of the skins and into a large bowl, leaving a small amount of potato around the edges to support the skins and keep them from falling apart. Place the empty potato skins in a 13×9-inch baking dish.
  • Add the butter pieces to the bowl with the warm potato insides. Use a potato masher to mash until the butter melts into the potatoes.
  • Add the milk, sour cream, salt, pepper and half of the shredded cheese. Mash with a potato masher until well combined.
  • Add half of the chopped cooked bacon and half of the chopped green onions. Stir with a spoon to combine.
  • Spoon the filling into the potato skins in the baking dish. Top with the remaining shredded cheese and chopped bacon.
  • Bake, uncovered, at 350° F for 20-25 minutes, until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot throughout. Top with the remaining chopped green onions and serve.

Notes

  • You can prepare the twice baked potatoes up to one day ahead of time, cover and refrigerate, and then bake them right before serving. You may need to add about 15 minutes to the baking time if baking potatoes that are cold from the refrigerator. If the tops are browning too much in the oven before the centers are hot, you can loosely cover the pan with foil.
Calories: 312kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 10g, Fat: 21g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7g, Cholesterol: 51mg, Sodium: 448mg, Potassium: 545mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 535IU, Vitamin C: 7mg, Calcium: 207mg, Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is an estimate.
Cuisine: American
Course: Side Dish
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