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Baked Potato Skins

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Do you love potato skins? Do you hate the idea of deep frying foods at home? I am trying very hard not to fry anything, but sometimes you start craving some of your favorite foods that just so happen to be deep fried! What’s a girl to do? Baked Potato Skins!!

potato skins topped with bacon and green onions spread out on a rectangle blue plate

Ummm, get creative! Let’s start by acknowledging the fact that potato skins are not health food! Okay, now that we have that out of the way, these Baked Potato Skins have to be healthier than deep fried…right!

How to make baked potato skins:

Let’s start by cleaning our potatoes. No one wants to eat dirt!

Baked Potato Skins clean cookingwithcurls.com

Just be careful not to scrub all of the skin off. If you have OCD, have someone else clean them for you. Now poke them with a fork 5 or 6 times so that the steam can escape as they cook, otherwise they will explode!

Baked Potato Skins stab cookingwithcurls.com

Rub them with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper, and place on a baking sheet…..

Baked Potato Skins bake cookingwithcurls.com

Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, turn them over, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes…..

Baked Potato Skins baked cookingwithcurls.com

Let them cool until you can hold them without burning your hands. Slice them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh…..

Baked Potato Skins scoop cookingwithcurls.com

If you scoop out too much, just fill it back in. They will be covered with cheese, no one will notice! Now you have a choice at this point – you can brush the tops with bacon grease (as I did) or you can brush them with olive oil. I wanted to make sure that these skins still had a lot of  flavor, and they were amazing! Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place back in the oven for about 20 minutes…..

Baked Potato Skins oil cookingwithcurls.com

This would also be a really good time to play with spices and flavor them with chili powder, garlic or onion powder…get creative. Remove them from the oven and sprinkle them with shredded cheese and bacon pieces…..

Baked Potato Skins cheese cookingwithcurls.com

Return to the oven to melt the cheese, which won’t take very long at all. You can see that the cheese is already melting from the hot skins. I served mine with Ranch Dressing, because it is my favorite, and a Chiptole Dip (Greek yogurt and adobo sauce)

 

Baked Potato Skins Chipotle Dip cookingwithcurls.com

Yum!!

holding a baked potato skin that was dipped in sour cream dip

more delicious appetizer recipes:

Irish Chili Nachos

Baked Parmesan-Bacon Garlic Potato Wedges

Irish Nachos

Pepperoni Pizza Muffins

Puff Pastry Sausage Rolls

CHEEZ-IT Baked Chicken Tenders

Enjoy!!

Baked Potato Skins on a long rectangle blue plate

Baked Potato Skins

Forget the deep fryer, these Baked Potato Skins appetizer have all the flavor without all of the hassle!
5 from 2 votes
Print Rate
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: American
Keyword: potato, cheese, ranch, dip, sauce, baked, recipe, party, game
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings: 20 Servings
Calories: 132kcal
Author: Lisa Johnson

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds small russet potatoes
  • 6 slices un-cured bacon cooked and cut into pieces
  • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
  • olive oil
  • sea salt & fresh ground pepper
  • chopped green onions to garnish
  • ranch dressing for dipping

Chipotle Dip

  • 1 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and scrub potatoes.
  • Piece with a fork 5 or 6 times.
  • Rub with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
  • Place on a foil lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour, until cooked through and soft.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool to the touch. Slice potatoes in half lengthwise.
  • Scoop out some of the potato and place back on baking sheet.
  • Brush with olive oil or bacon grease and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and sprinkle with grated cheese and bacon pieces. Return to oven and bake until cheese is melted.
  • Serve with ranch dressing or chipotle sour cream/Greek yogurt.

Notes

Chipotle Dip
  • 1 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream mixed with 1 teaspoon of adobo sauce.
  • If you like it spicy, use 1 Tablespoon of adobo sauce.

Nutrition

Calories: 132kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 412mg | Fiber: 2g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 10.3mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 3mg

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19 Comments

  1. These look great to me — and baking is just “neater” than deep frying anyway. You could add almost anything. I’m thinking this will be my Superbowl snack this year:)

  2. First off: These potato skins. Lisa, these look so good! Even though I just finished dinner, I wish I had a few right now!

    Thanks so much for the shout out about my comment plugin post. As for spam comments, are you using Akismet? I use that and get almost zero spam comments coming through. Good luck!

    1. Thank you Andi, and you’re welcome! No, I do not have Askimet. I have already spent so much money on this blog, I am trying not to spend anymore for a while!! 🙂

  3. This was EXACTLY the sort of thing I was looking for to make tonight as a side when I cook dinner for my parents. And they sound like they can carry their weight even without a dip of any sort.

    BTW, in defense of deep frying, I always use my fryer outside. No odors or mess. I can’t imagine life without frying. Just fried a dinner roll last night–incredibly good.

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