This post is in honor of my Daddy, who loves twice baked potatoes:). I've been missing him a lot lately, so I made something that I know he's especially partial to. I can see why, since I love potatoes prepared in any way.
Twice baked potatoes are sort of a combination of baked potatoes and mashed potatoes, with the awesome addition of yummy toppings. You can be as creative with the toppings/fillings as you liked. I used my favorites - cheese, bacon and scallions.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Wash the potatoes, scrubbing well. Dry. Poke each potato with a paring knife, about 3-4 holes per side. 
Rub each potato with about a Tablespoon of oil each. You can use any oil that you like. 
Sprinkle each potato liberally with salt. 
Place the potatoes on a rack and into the oven. Place a sheet of foil on the rack below the potatoes, to catch any drips.
Rubbing the potatoes with oil, giving it a coat of salt and baking them on a rack instead of on a baking sheet all helps to give the potato a nice and crisp skin. I love this method. I make baked potatoes like this all the time and then just load it up with all kinds of toppings or just a pat of butter, whatever my mood may be.
Bake the potatoes for about an hour, turning the potatoes over halfway through.
Meanwhile, slice the bacon into small pieces, lardons. Cook on medium heat in a skillet until golden and crisp. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel. 
When the potatoes are baked through, cut each potato in half. 
Scoop out the center, leaving a small border around the edges of the potato, just enough to give the potato stability to stand, without falling apart or folding on itself. 
Heat the milk to just about boiling. Mash up the potatoes with the milk, sour cream and butter, using a potato masher or even a fork. 
Season with salt and pepper. Add half of the bacon, half the scallions and half of the shredded cheese and mix to combine. 
Place ¼ of the potato mixture into each potato half. Top with the rest of the cheese. 
Bake for about 15 minutes, this time placing the potatoes on top of a rack over a baking sheet, until the cheese has melted. Garnish with the remaining scallions and bacon. 
Cheddar, Bacon and Scallion Twice Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 2 large potatoes Russet
- 2 Tablespoons oil
- salt pepper
- 4 oz cheddar monterey or coby jack cheese, shredded
- 3-5 scallions thinly sliced
- 2-3 slices of bacon
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- ⅛ cup milk scalded
- 2 Tablespoons butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Wash the potatoes, scrubbing well. Dry. Poke each potato with a paring knife, about 3-4 holes per side.
- Rub each potato with about a Tablespoon of oil each. You can use any oil that you like. Sprinkle each potato liberally with salt.
- Place the potatoes on a rack and into the oven. Place a sheet of foil on the rack below the potatoes, to catch any drips.
- Bake the potatoes for about an hour, turning the potatoes over halfway through.
- Meanwhile, slice the bacon into small pieces, lardons. Cook on medium heat in a skillet until golden and crisp. Scoop out with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.
- When the potatoes are baked through, cut each potato in half. Scoop out the center, leaving a small border around the edges of the potato, just enough to give the potato stability to stand up, without falling apart or folding on itself.
- Heat the milk to just about boiling.
- Mash up the potatoes with the milk, sour cream and butter, using a potato masher or even a fork. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add half of the bacon, half the scallions and half of the shredded cheese and mix to combine.
- Place ¼ of the potato mixture into each potato half. Top with the rest of the cheese.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, this time placing the potatoes on top of a rack over a baking sheet, until the cheese has melted.
- Garnish with the remaining scallions and bacon.
Yummmy! Made this today and it was delicious 😋 hubby approved too!
Wow omg love potatoes and cheese an wondering tho if mushrooms would be a really gr8 substitute in place of the bacon since unfortunately I cannot eat bacon for religious reasons these would be so yummmm for Passover
Bacon in most recipes just adds more flavor. You can almost always omit the bacon or substitute it with something else. You can completely omit it from this recipe. Mushrooms would be a great addition, or anything else you would want to add.
Hi Olga,
Can I use yellow potatoes? Or does this work recipe work better with russet potatoes?]
Yes, Leya, you can use yellow potatoes.
Hi Olga:) I was wondering do I have to place it on the oven rack just like that, or can I cook it on a tray in the oven? I never tried placing anything just on the rack in the oven wondering how that would work& if it might be to messy.
It's best to place the potatoes right on the baking rack. The oven shouldn't get messy at all. The potatoes will get the best circulation of heat all the way around the potato. You can use a baking sheet if you prefer. Once you place the toppings on the potato, bake them on a baking sheet.
These were soo good! Just made them today and loved them!! The only thing was I didn't have cheddar cheese so I just used the mix of mozzarella, provolone & parmesan, and it was still great! Thanks for another great recipe Olga!!
Good thinking! That's exactly what I do too.
I made this tonight! It was very good!!!!
thanks for posting! i was looking for recipe for these!
This recipe bring back memories for me as well...back to my freshmen year in high-school cooking 101. The ingredients were exactly the same...and these taste wonderful! I will have to make them once more! Olga you are just so creative in everything you do. Thanks for an awesome blog!
This is my favorite thing ever, will try you recipe. Thanks Olga
This recipe brings back memories. Twice baked potatoes were my very first "meal" I attempted to make when I was in my pre-teen years. Lets just say, my daddy ate them out of politeness, then they hung out in the fridge for about a week before they made me too upset to look at and into the trash can they went.
I have since learned a little something about cooking and gained some experience in the kitchen. I have also gained trust in your recipes: everything I have made using your recipes have turned out just right. With that being said, I will be making your version of twice baked potatoes and I know this time, they won't disappoint!;)
p.s. sorry for the long comment, I couldn't resist:)