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Why You’ll Love My Recipe
This recipe blows the bland, greasy potato skins you get at restaurants out of the water! Properly seasoned, stuffed with fillings, and super creamy, you might just end up liking them more than the main dish!
A classic restaurant appetizer, potato skins are incredibly moreish and tasty. Not only are they easy to make, but they are also a perfect way to use up leftover baked potatoes from a big dinner!
For a quick and energy-efficient way to bake your potatoes, why not try Air Fryer Baked Potatoes rather than traditional oven cooking? To get the most out of your air fryer, you could also try using Air Fryer Turkey Bacon as a topping instead of regular bacon!
Karlynn’s Recipe Notes
- Skill Level: Potato skins are an easy to make side or appetizer! Feel free to get your kids involved in picking and adding fillings!
- Total Time: This recipe comes together in 30 minutes, perfect for a snack or side!
- Variations: Crispy potato skins make the perfect vessel for any number of flavor combinations! Try sautéed mushrooms, cooked sausage or ground beef, any combination of cheeses you like best, caramelized onions—the possibilities are endless!
- Tools For This Recipe: You will need a large baking pan and a cheese grater for this recipe.
What You’ll Need for Ingredients
Potatoes: When serving potato skins as part of a meal or as a starter, it’s best to use large potatoes. Not only are they easier to work with, they also provide a beautiful ratio of crispy skin to toppings! I suggest reaching for your favorite baking potatoes—Russets are a classic choice for good reason, they’re high in starch and low in moisture, and they have thick skins that crisp up excellently!
Cheese: I use a mix of shredded cheddar and grated Parmesan in this recipe! Make sure to use freshly shredded/grated cheeses for the best melty, gooey texture! The pre-shredded stuff you can get in the store might be convenient, but it’s got stabilizers in it that have an effect on how well it melts.
How To Make Potato Skins
This is a quick overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients & complete step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
- Preheat your oven to 475°F and lightly oil a baking pan. Then cut your baked potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/4 inch shell. Save the scooped out potato for another recipe!
- Combine your seasonings in a small mixing bowl.
- Add the oil to your seasoning mixture.
- Place your potato skins onto the prepared baking sheets and brush on both sides with your seasoned oil mixture. Bake about 7 minutes each side until crisp.
- Divide the bacon and cheddar cheese evenly between the skins.
- Return to the oven and bake until cheese is melted and browned (about 2 minutes), then remove from the oven and top with dollops of sour cream and a sprinkling of green onions right before serving!
Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Potato Skins
- Make-Ahead Makes Best: If you’re planning to serve baked potatoes for dinner, toss a few extra into the oven (or air fryer) so you can make potato skins later! Just scoop out the flesh (it’s perfect for making mashed potatoes with the addition of a little cream and butter), then freeze them on a baking sheet and store them in an airtight freezer bag for later! No need to defrost, just load them and bake!
- Mini Munchies: While it’s tempting to use smaller potatoes to make potato-skin appetizers, smaller potatoes tend to be waxier in texture and have thin skins—not the best for this recipe! Stick to using large, floury potatoes like Russets; you can always cut them into smaller wedges to make the final dish easier to eat as a finger food!
Storage Instructions
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. To reaheat, just toss them into a 400°F oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until everything starts browning and bubbling. If you’re worried about anything burning, just put a little tent of aluminum foil over the top to help protect the edges while the insides finish warming up.
Freezer: Freeze hollowed-out, unstuffed baked potato skins on a baking sheet so they don’t stick together, then toss them into a freezer bag and keep them on ice for up to 6 months! When you’re ready to eat them, just put them on a baking sheet straight from the freezer, load them up, and bake as instructed below!
More Delicious Side Dish Recipes
- Why turn on the oven when you’ve already started up the grill? Check out my recipe for Grilled Potatoes for all the details!
- The only thing better than a baked potato is a twice baked potato! Check out my recipe for The Absolute Best Ever Twice Baked Potatoes; I’m sure you’ll love them!
- For something a little fancier to plate up alongside a fancy main or holiday roast, give my Lip Smackin’ Best Ever Potatoes Au Gratin a try!
I love potatoes in almost any iteration, but there’s something really special about a potato skin! You never have to get bored, since there’s a nearly endless list of things you can add as toppings, and there’s literally nothing better than the contrast of crispy potato skin and melty cheese!
Try out this recipe and let me know what you stuffed your potato skins with in the comments below! I always love to hear about your creativity!
Happy Cooking!
Karlynn
Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 4 large baking potatoes, (baked)
- 3 Tablespoons canola oil
- 1 Tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- 8 bacon strips, (cooked and crumbled)
- 1-½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 green onions, (sliced)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°. Lightly oil a baking pan and set aside.
- Cut the baked potatoes in half lengthwise. Scoop out the interior, leaving a 1/4-in. shell. Save the scooped out potato for another recipe, simply place in a sealed bag and freeze for later!
- Place the potato skins on a greased baking sheet.
- Combine the oil with the Parmesan, salt, garlic powder,onion powder, paprika and pepper, then brush over both sides of the potato skins.
- Place the skins on a the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake the skins until crisp, about 7 minutes on each side.
- Divide the bacon and cheddar cheese between the skins.
- Bake until the cheese is melted, about 2 minutes longer.
- Top with sour cream and green onions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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