Air fryer twice-baked potatoes stuffed with all the things you love about jalapeno poppers. These potatoes are baked, then the potato is mixed with diced jalapenos, salty bacon, cream cheese, garlic, and cheddar cheese before being stuffed into the potato skins and baked again. Using the air fryer these potatoes are quick and easy. Perfect for a meal or appetizer.
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Stuffed potatoes, or twice-baked potatoes, are one of our favourite sides to serve with meals such as roast beef or ham.
The fluffy mashed potato stuffed inside a crispy potato skin is a perfect combination. Especially when the mashed potato is mixed with things like cheese, bacon, and spices.
There are endless combinations of ingredients you can mix for the perfect twice-baked potato. But in this version, we used one of our favourite appetizers as inspiration. The jalapeno popper!
These stuffed potatoes are made by mixing the fluffy potato with cream cheese, shredded cheese, bacon and diced jalapeno for a spicy kick.
They make a great side dish, but also work as the feature dish of the meal when served alongside a simple salad. If you use smaller potatoes they make an excellent appetizer.
Twice-baked potatoes are easy to make ahead and freeze extremely well so you can always have a batch in the freezer for when you need a quick side or meal.
Ingredients
For a full list of ingredients and measurements, see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
You only need a few ingredients in order to make these delicious twice-baked potatoes.
- Russet potatoes – While you could use other varieties, such as yellow or white potatoes, the standard russet, or baking potato works the best. The flesh is nice and fluffy when mashed and the skins are substantial enough to hold all that delicious filling without falling apart.
- Cooked bacon – I use thick cut bacon, because that is what I prefer. But you can use anything you like. You will want 4-5 slices depending on what you are using, but I don’t think you can ever use too much bacon.
- Diced jalapeno peppers – You can leave the seeds in or remove them depending how much spice you want. Use your judgment on how many jalapenos you add. Generally 2-4 peppers depending how big they are.
- Butter – I use salted butter, you can use unsalted if you like. Margarine is fine too.
- Cream cheese – Regular spreadable or block style cream cheese is fine. For extra flavour you can even use herb and garlic.
- Cheddar cheese – Make sure to use freshly shredded for the best texture.
- Garlic powder
Step by Step Instructions
Begin by baking the potatoes. You can do this in the oven, microwave or air fryer.
After baking, allow the potatoes to cool a bit, just so they are easier to handle, then slice them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh leaving just a bit to help give the skins some structure.
Add the scooped potato, cream cheese, butter, diced bacon, diced jalapenos, shredded cheese and seasonings to a medium-size bowl and mix well.
Scoop the potato mixture into six of the potato skins, they should be nice and full and will mound out the top.
Pro Tip: If you want to make the potatoes really spicy, leave the seeds of the jalapenos in, or remove the seeds from only half of them.
Place the filled potatoes into the air fryer basket in a single layer.
Place the basket into the air fryer, set it to 350°F and cook the potatoes for 12-15 minutes until hot and lightly golden brown.
Pro Tip: Fresh jalapenos range in spice from mild to super spicy depending on how fresh they are, how mature they are, where they were grown and the season. You may only need 1 pepper or you may need 4 depending on how spicy you want your potatoes. Just taste the peppers and use your judgement.
Substitutions & Variations
The great thing about twice-baked potatoes is that you really don’t have to follow an exact recipe and you can make all kinds of substitutions depending on what you have on hand or what your family likes.
- If you don’t like cream cheese, you can subsitute sour cream or greek yogurt.
- Cheddar cheese can be replaced with any type of shredded cheese you like. Monterey Jack, pepper jack, and swiss are all great choices. You can even use parmesan, asiago or romano.
- Bacon can be substitued with diced ham.
- For a different flavour, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of ranch seasoning.
If you want to make these stuffed potatoes more appetizer size, you can do so by using smaller potatoes! Instead of 4 medium potatoes, use 8-10 small potatoes (3-4 oz each). Keep the quantities of the remaining ingredients the same. The cooking time will be reduced by a few minutes depending on how full the potato skins are.
Storing Leftovers
Stuffed potatoes can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer before or after cooking.
To freeze the stuffed potatoes before cooking, prepare the potatoes according to the recipe, but instead of baking them in the air fryer, you can freeze them in an air-tight container or you can wrap them individually.
To freeze the potatoes in a container place them in a single layer, cover and freeze. If the container is deep enough for several layers you can do so by placing a piece of wax or parchment paper between the layers.
Alternatively, you can wrap the potatoes individually in plastic wrap.
To cook after freezing you can allow them to thaw, or cook from frozen by adding a few minutes to the cooking time.
If you don’t plan on freezing the potatoes you can store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Top tip
My number one tip when making twice-baked potatoes is for every 6 potato halves you want to serve (3 whole potatoes), cook 4 potatoes.
The extra potato allows you to add more filling to each half and gives you a spare in case you tear the skin when scooping them out.
FAQS
I recommend using russet, or baking potatoes. The flesh is nice and fluffy and the skin is strong enough to hold all that delicious filling without tearing.
Yes, you can! You can make them a day or two ahead and keep them in the fridge until ready to bake or air fry or you can make a large batch and keep them in the freezer until ready. When it comes time to serve just remove them from the fridge or freezer, place them in the air fryer and cook as directed. From frozen they will take
More Air Fryer Potato Recipes
Printable Recipe
Air Fryer Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium baked potatoes approximately 8 oz each
- ½ cup cream cheese
- 3 tablespoon salted butter
- ½ cup diced cooked bacon 4-5 slices
- 2-3 jalapeno peppers seeded and diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Begin by baking the potatoes. Rub the potatoes with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place them in the air fryer basket and set the air fryer to 390°F and cook the potatoes for 35-40 minutes until they yeild a bit when given a gentle sqeeze. This can be done the day before if you prefer.
- Let the potatoes cool for a few minutes so they are easier to handle, then cut the potatoes in half lengthwise with a sharp knife and scoop the flesh of the potato out with a spoon leaving a small amount (¼ inch or less) on the skin.
- Place the scooped potato into a bowl then add the cream cheese, butter, bacon, diced jalapeños, shredded cheese and garlic powder and mix until well blended and fluffy. If the mixture feels dry you can add an extra tablespoon or two of cream cheese or butter.
- Scoop the filling into 6 of the potato halves mounding them nice and full.
- Place the filled potatoes into the air fryer basket leaving a bit of room around them for air circulation.
- Place the basket into the air fryer and set it to 350°F. Cook the potatoes for 12-15 mintues until the top is bubbly and lightly golden and the skin is crisp.
- Remove from the basket and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.