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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!!
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!
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!
Rub them with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and ground pepper, and place on a baking sheet.....
Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, turn them over, and continue cooking for another 30 minutes.....
Let them cool until you can hold them without burning your hands. Slice them in half lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh.....
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.....
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.....
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)
Yum!!
more delicious appetizer recipes:
Baked Parmesan-Bacon Garlic Potato Wedges
CHEEZ-IT Baked Chicken Tenders
Enjoy!!
Baked Potato Skins
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
- 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.
Seana Turner says
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:)
Lisa Johnson says
Thank you Seanna. I agree, I hate having grease splattered all over the kitchen. 🙂
Happy Valley Chow says
That is making me hunnggrryyyy!! I shouldn't be looking at this around dinner time 😛
Happy Blogging!
Lisa Johnson says
Ah ha, my evil plan is working! 😉
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
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!
Lisa Johnson says
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!! 🙂
Deb@ Cooking on the Front Burner says
Do I love potatoes - yes, I want to marry them LOL! These sound perfect for the upcoming game and would go perfect with those cocktails you made!!!
Lisa Johnson says
Thank you so much Deb! I will have to remake all of them for the big game. 🙂
Julie @ Julie's Eats & Treats says
These look like the perfect treat for the big game! YUM!
Nichi - The Mandatory Mooch says
Oh yummy!! My favorite appetizer!!
Chocolate Shavings says
These look yummy - and what a great excuse to make pot pie with the leftover potato flesh!
Lisa Johnson says
That's a brilliant idea! I made a bowl of stuffed potato filling and ate it with a fork. 😉 Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Elizabeth - Uncurly DIY Brazilian Keratin Straightener says
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.
Lisa Johnson says
I would love to use my deep fryer outside Elizabeth, but it is -10 degrees! 😉 Trust me, I am not anti-deep fried. Thanks so much for stopping by!!
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Oh goodness, these potato skins look crazy good! I need these in my mouth!
Laura@baking in pyjamas says
Hmmm they look good, a great little treat to nibble on. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sundays, stop by and link up again this weekend!
Lisa Johnson says
Thank you Laura!!
Crystal @ Sew Creative says
Thank you so much for linking up at Wonderfully Creative Wednesdays last week. You inspire me! I featured this post as one of my favorite posts in this weeks link party.
Best Wishes,
Crystal
Lisa Johnson says
Thank you so much for the feature Crystal!!