Easy Twice Baked Potatoes are filled with mashed potatoes, sour cream, and cheese. The usual toppings are mixed in instead of spooned on top!

These Double Baked Potatoes have become one of the family’s favorite potato recipes. Can you blame them? Cheesy and comforting, they’re absolutely delicious!

Easy Twice Baked Potatoes on a round white plate garnished with paprika and chives.

Why You Must Make

  • These cheesy baked potatoes are easy to make but are elegant enough to serve to company.
  • The filling can be tweaked to include any toppings you like on your baked potatoes.
  • They can be made ahead, parked in the refrigerator, then baked.

I think these cheesy baked potatoes get nearly the same swoons as any one of the marvelous desserts I make. When Bill arrives home from work, it’s only a matter of minutes before he asks, “What’s for supper?”

If these potatoes are on the menu, invariably he’ll respond, “I love those.” And it’s my little secret how simple these are to throw together. Russet potatoes are baked, the insides removed and mixed with your favorite baked potato toppings, and then they’re rebaked or twice baked or double baked!

Ingredient Notes

  • Kitchen Staples – Milk, Seasoning Salt, Butter, Paprika
  • Russet Potatoes – Baked and cooled enough to handle
  • Sour cream – I use full-fat
  • Sharp Cheddar Cheese – Shredded
  • Fresh Chives – Chopped or thinly sliced green onions, to garnish, optional
Twice Baked Potatoes ingredients with labels on a sheetpan.

How to Make

  1. Lightly Coat your potatoes with olive oil and Bake at 400-425º for about an hour or until you can pierce them easily with a knife. PRO-Tip: Use russet potatoes instead of waxy potatoes.
  2. Once they’re cool enough to handle, slice them in half horizontally.
  3. Carefully remove most of the potato pulp, leaving enough next to the potato skin to make a nice stable vessel for your mashed potato filling. 
  4. Place the potato pulp in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher to your desired consistency. We like them slightly chunky.
  5. Mix in your favorite toppings. We use sharp cheddar cheese, some butter, sour cream, and just a drizzle of milk to loosen up the mixture. Fry up some bacon, crumble and mix some in, too, if you’d like.
  6. Any melty cheese will work, just add your favorite.
  7. Pop your prepared potatoes in the oven and bake to heat through and melt the cheese–it’s as easy as that!
  8. If you’d like a little color on the top of your potatoes, pop them under the broiler, but do not walk away because they can go from browned to burned in the blink of an eye!
  9. Feel free to sprinkle with some extra cheese when these are hot out of the oven.
  10. Bacon bits made from real bacon (not jarred bacon bits) are also a delicious addition.
  11. Garnish with chives or thinly sliced green onions for a pop of color before serving.

How to Make Ahead

It’s super easy to make and stuff these potatoes a day or two ahead of time. Just cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Bring them out of the fridge, while you preheat the oven. They may take an additional 10 or more minutes to heat through since they’ve been chilled.

How to Bake a Perfect Potato

When making this Twice Baked Potatoes recipe, you’ll want a perfectly baked potato!

  • Preheat your oven to 425º, prick the potato skin a few times with the point of a knife or fork, pop it right on the oven rack and bake for 45-60 minutes or until a knife can be inserted easily.
  • Microwaving works in a pinch, but there’s nothing better than the contrast between the skin and soft interior that comes from a longer baking time in the oven.
  • Choosing the right variety of potato is imperative, too.
  • PRO-Tip: A russet potato gives the proper texture, whereas a red potato has a denser, more waxy interior and won’t work as well as a baker/russet.
  • And make sure you look for the Idaho® Potatoes logo on your bag of potatoes. I didn’t think I could tell the difference, but the quality is obvious when tasting a potato grown in Idaho.
3 twice baked potatos on a white platter with 2 bamboo handled forks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Twice Baked Potato?

A twice-baked potato is a baked potato, that’s cut in half, hollowed out, then restuffed using the mashed potato pulp and other ingredients like sour cream, butter, cheese, bacon, etc. It’s baked again (thus “twice” baked) until hot.

How Do You Reheat Twice Baked Potatoes?

Leftovers can be stored, well-covered, in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. To reheat, place in a 375-degree oven for 20-30 minutes or until hot.

Can You Freeze Twice Baked Potatoes?

Yes, they freeze well but don’t add the cheese topping until you plan to reheat them. Place them on a sheet pan and freeze until solid, then wrap well in plastic wrap and then foil. They can be placed in a freezer Ziploc bag and kept for 2-3 months.

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Twice baked potato on a square white plate

Easy Twice Baked Potatoes

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Yield 4 servings

Easy twice-baked potatoes that will get rave reviews every time!

Ingredients

  • 2 medium russet potatoes, baked and cooled enough to handle
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • ¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar
  • 1 tablespoon butter, shredded
  • Milk, to help loosen up the potatoes as needed, 2-3 teaspoons
  • Seasoning salt, to taste*
  • Chopped fresh chives or thinly sliced green onions, to garnish, optional
  • Paprika, optional

Instructions

  1. Slice each baked potato in half horizontally. Remove potato pulp without cutting through the skin (you'll want sturdy sides so don't remove too much).
  2. Place the pulp in a bowl and mix with the other ingredients except for the chives.
  3. Taste for seasoning and add more seasoning salt and/or salt and pepper if needed.
  4. Bake at 350º until heated through, about 20 minutes.
  5. Sprinkle with chives, sliced scallions, and/or paprika if desired, and serve hot.

Notes

*I use Morton's Nature's Seasons Seasoning Blend; start with ½-1 teaspoon depending on the size of your potatoes.

If you bake your potatoes ahead of time and it will be longer than 2 hours before they go back into the oven, please refrigerate.

If you assemble your twice-baked potatoes ahead of time, you will need to extend your baking time since they've been refrigerated.

Feel free to add any favorite baked potato options, like crumbled bacon.

This recipe easily doubles or triples.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

½ potato

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 270Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 165mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 9g

Thatskinnychickcanbake.com occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although thatskinnychickcanbake.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased can change the nutritional information in any given recipe. Also, many recipes on thatskinnychickcanbake.com recommend toppings, which may or may not be listed as optional and nutritional information for these added toppings is not listed. Other factors may change the nutritional information such as when the salt amount is listed “to taste,” it is not calculated into the recipe as the amount will vary. Also, different online calculators can provide different results. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information obtained is accurate.

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