Crispy potato skins stuffed with fluffy mashed potato, bacon, and cheese. These air fryer twice-baked potatoes are a delicious take on a traditional baked potato. They can be prepared ahead of time and frozen to make a quick and easy side dish.
Crispy pototo skins filled with fluffy mashed pototo that has been mixed with bacon, cheese, and sour cream. These loaded baked potatoes are a great side dish with any meal.
We love them with Seared Flank Steak or Lemon Grilled Chicken.
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What are Twice Baked Potatoes?
Twice-baked potatoes are potatoes start with a simple baked potato that is scooped out and mixed with other ingredients before being stuffed back into the skin and baked again. Giving it the name twice baked potatoes, or often just stuffed potatoes.
The potato is mixed with ingredients such as butter, sour cream, cheese, and seasonings making the filling fluffy and creamy.
Often things like bacon or onion are added giving it the flavour of a fully loaded baked potato.
But it’s fun to get creative with the fillings. I’ve seen them with broccoli and cheese, shrimp and cream cheese, and buffalo chicken.
I always serve them with extra toppings, such as sour cream, chived, and diced bacon, just as I would baked potatoes. Then everyone can add as much as they want.
These potatoes make a great side dish and they can be prepared ahead of time so you just have to pop them in the the air fryer when you are ready to serve.
They also freeze really well. I love having a batch made and waiting in the freezer so I can just pull out one or two when I need a quick lunch or need to add a side to our dinner.
Ingredients & Substitutions
For a full list of ingredients and measurements, see the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Russet Potatoes – Russet potatoes are the best potatoes for this recipe as the skin is thick enough to hold up after scooping out the potato, plus the texture of the russet potato is nice and fluffy. You can use a white or yellow potato if you prefer, but you will need to be careful when scooping and leave more flesh attached to the skin so that it will hold its shape.
Cooked Bacon – Bacon is a delicious addition to stuffed potatoes. You must use cooked bacon for this recipe. If you don’t want to use pork bacon you can use turkey bacon, or to keep the potatoes vegetarian you can leave this out.
Sour Cream – Adding sour cream makes the potatoes creamy and adds a bit of tangy flavor. This can be replaced with plain Greek yogurt if you want to increase the protein and reduce the fat.
Butter – Always a must with potatoes, butter makes the filling of these potatoes, creamy and fluffy. While real butter tastes best, you can use margarine.
Shredded cheese – We use shredded sharp cheddar cheese in our potatoes, but this can easily be replaced with any type of cheese you prefer. Monterey Jack, Gouda, or Swiss would be great choices. For best results, shred the cheese yourself instead of using pre-shredded cheese.
Green onion – We always add green onion to our stuffed potatoes, it adds a nice flavor without being overpowering. Green onions can be replaced with fresh or dried chives.
Seasonings – Thes stuffed potatoes are seasoned with powdered ranch seasoning, but you can subsitiute this with any type of seasoning or spices you like. If you don’t have ranch, you can use garlic powder, onion powder, dried dill, or another spice blend.
Pro Tip – For every 3 full potatoes you want to serve, cook one extra potato. This will give you more filling so you can stuff them full. And as a bonus, it gives you a spare potato in case you tear the skin on one of them.
Freezing Stuffed Potatoes
Twice-baked potatoes can easily be frozen individually before you bake them the second time.
Simply wrap the stuffed potato halves tightly with plastic wrap or freeze them in layers in an airtight container. You will want to place a piece of wax or parchment paper between the layers so they don’t stick together.
When you want to serve the potatoes you can either take them out and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or you can cook them from frozen.
To heat the stuffed potatoes from frozen you will want to cook them at 350°F and they should take between 18-20 minutes.
Frozen potatoes will keep for several months.
Serving Suggestions
These delicious stuffed potatoes go well with almost any meal. They even make a great lunch or light dinner on their own.
In my family, these potatoes are a staple at any large family dinner. They are always served with turkey or ham dinner at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
I always have a container full of stuffed potatoes in the freezer to pull out whenever I need a quick side. We often like to serve them with pork chops, chicken drumsticks, or even instant pot whole chicken. But they go equally well with roast beef, pork roast, or ham.
I always serve them with a side of sour cream and sliced onions. But you can serve them with any additional toppings you like, or just leave them as is.
FAQS
You will want to use baking potatoes, or russet potatoes when making twice-baked potatoes. The skin holds up well when the potato is scooped and gets nice and crispy in the air fryer.
More Air Fryer Dishes
Printable Recipe
Air Fryer Twice Baked Potatoes
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 Medium russet potatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or course sea salt
- ⅓ Cup sour cream
- 3 Tbsps salted butter
- 1 tablespoon ranch seasoning mix
- ½ cup diced cooked bacon
- 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅓ cup sliced green onion
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 sour cream, butter and ranch seasoning and mix until well blended and fluffy. If the mixture feels dry you can add an extra tablespoon or two of sour cream.
- Add the cooked bacon, shredded cheese and sliced green onion and stir to combine.
- 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.
Video
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.
This post was originally published in 2021. It has been updated for content and clarity.
