This Loaded Potato Skins recipe is an easy appetizer made with the crispy skins of a baked potato and filled with bacon, cheese, sour cream, and chives!  

I love fun appetizers and this recipe is no exception. For more, check out Cowboy Caviar, a Charcuterie Board, or Artichoke Dip!

A close up image of the best loaded potato skins recipe topped with sour cream and chives.

Why I love this appetizer:

  • Simple – All you need are a handful of ingredients you probably already have on hand. These are simple and tasty.
  • Flavorful – The crispy potato with the cheddar cheese, bacon, sour cream, and chives is an explosion of flavor and texture.
  • Favorite – People of all ages love these, from little kids to grandparents, and they pair with many different meals.

What potato should I use?

Russet potatoes make the best crispy potato skins. For an appetizer, choose a smaller potato. For a more filling dish, use a large potato and use more filling.

How to Make Potato Skins:

Bake and Slice Potatoes: Bake in the oven at 400ºF for 1 hour. For large potatoes, cut each potato lengthwise, into three sections, creating three long slices. (So each potato should yield two skins, plus a middle section that you can discard or use to make baked potato salad :). For small potatoes, just cut in half.

A baking sheet with parchment paper and cooked baked potatoes sliced in half.

Scoop Out Some Potato Flesh: Use a small spoon to scoop out some of the potato flesh in the center, leaving a thick layer near the skin, but hollowing it out slightly to create a “boat”.

Baked potato skins with some of the potato scooped out and ready for the filling.

Brush and Broil: Brush the potatoes with butter on the inside and outside, place them on a baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, and broil.

Easy potato skins with some of the potato scooped out and a pastry brush putting butter on it to go in the oven.

Add Toppings:  Remove from the oven and add a generous amount of shredded cheese and bacon pieces into each potato skin.  Top with sour cream and chives or green onion. Serve warm.

Loaded baked potato skins being filled with cheese and ready to broil.

Broil: Place loaded potatoes back under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

The best potato skins recipe fresh out of the oven with cheese and bacon, and ready for toppings.

Serve: Remove from oven and top with sour cream and chives or green onion. Serve warm.

A white platter filled with loaded potato skins and topped with sour cream and chives, ready to serve.

More Filling and Topping Ideas:

For Air Fryer Potato Skins: Cook the potatoes in the air fryer using my air fryer potato instructions.

Storage and Freezing Instructions:

To Store: Keep leftover potato skins in the refrigerator. Rewarm them in the oven, air fryer, microwave.

To Freeze: Scoop the filling from the baked potato and allow the skins to cool.  Store them in a freezer safe container for 2-3 months.  Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then continue with broiling and filling the shells (step 5 of the recipe).

More Potato Recipes:

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Recipe

A close up image of Loaded Potato Skins topped with sour cream and chives, ready to serve.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 1 hour 10 minutes
Total 1 hour 30 minutes
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Ingredients
 
 

  • 6 small to medium sized Russet potatoes , washed and pat dry
  • 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
  • 8 slices bacon , cooked and crumbled
  • 1/4 cup unsalted butter (half of a stick), melted
  • sour cream , for topping
  • chives (or green onion), chopped, for topping
  • salt , to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper , to taste

Instructions
 

  • Bake Potatoes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Poke potatoes with a fork, place on a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour. Remove from the baking sheet, and allow to cool for about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
  • Cut Potatoes: For large potatoes, cut each potato lengthwise, into three sections, creating three long slices. (So each potato should yield two skins, plus a middle section that you can discard or use to make baked potato salad :). For small potatoes, just cut in half.
  • Hollow out: Use a small spoon to scoop out some of the potato flesh in the center, leaving a thick layer near the skin, but hollowing it out slightly to create a "boat".
  • Season: Turn your oven on to a high broil. Brush the potatoes with butter on the inside and outside and place them back onto the baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper. 
  • Broil for 7-8 minutes until the insides get a bit crispy from the melted butter. 
  • Add Cheese and bacon: Remove from the oven and add a generous amount of shredded cheese into each skin, topping with bacon pieces. 
  • Broil: Place back under the broiler for about 3-4 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
  • Serve: Remove from oven and top with sour cream, chives or green onion. Serve warm.
  • Store leftover potato skins in the refrigerator. Rewarm them in the oven or air fryer.

Notes

More Filling and Topping Ideas:
Storage and Freezing Instructions:
To Store: Keep leftover potato skins in the refrigerator. Rewarm them in the oven, air fryer, microwave.
To Freeze: Scoop the filling from the baked potato and allow the skins to cool.  Store them in a freezer safe container for 2-3 months.  Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and then continue with broiling and filling the shells (step 5 of the recipe).

Nutrition

Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 9gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.4gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 147mgPotassium: 785mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 309IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 159mgIron: 2mg

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Adapted from Simple Comfort Food

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I originally shared this recipe January 2015. Updated February 2019 and December 2022.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I made these with red potatoes and they tasted fantastic still with my limited ingredients. Added garlic powder and I’m glad I did. Simple recipe that leaves you room to add whatever you desire.

  2. 5 stars
    Love the simplicity of these. I’ve gotten in the habit of putting EVERYTHING on potato skins and all I taste is toppings. These let me enjoy the potato while still being plenty tasty! Very good recipe! Thank you!

  3. 5 stars
    Amazing! Even though my broiler is whacked and burnt the edges, they were a big hit with big picky skins fans. Will watch over next time put on low broil!
    Thanks!

  4. 4 stars
    My 13 year old daughter wanted to learn how to cook as she is doing a school project. We adapted this recipe with one of our own. See if you like our version 🙂 (measurements and temperature adjusted as we live in England)

    Loaded Potato Skins

    Preparation Time 30 mins. Cooking Time 1 hr 10 mins

    Ingredients

    6 Medium sized baking potatoes, rinsed clean and patted dry

    250g Grated Smoked Applewood Cheddar cheese

    8-10 Slices of smoked back bacon (or Pancetta if you prefer)

    Finely chopped spring onion

    50g Unsalted butter (melted)

    200g Sour cream

    30g Fresh chives

    Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (optional)

    Instructions

    Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Pierce the potatoes with a knife or fork and place on a baking sheet and cook for 1 hour.

    Whilst you are waiting for the potatoes to bake, finely chop the fresh chives and stir them into the sour cream to make your own sour cream and chive topping.

    Remove from the baking sheet, and allow to cool for about 15 minutes.

    Once your potatoes are cooled, use a sharp bread knife and cut each lengthwise in half.

    Once you’ve cut all the potatoes, use a small spoon to scoop out a hollow in the potato to make a little boat. You still want to have a thick layer of potato near the skin, but you want it to be slightly hollowed out in the middle so you can fit as much ingredients in as possible.

    Reduce the temperature of the oven to around 90 degrees Celsius. Brush the potatoes with butter on the inside and outside and place them back onto the baking sheet (Season with salt and pepper if you prefer for taste).

    Cook for a further 5 minutes until the insides get a bit crispy from the melted butter.

    Remove from the oven and add generous layers of cheese, bacon and spring onion into each skin, topping with a layer of cheese.

    Place back into the oven for another 3-4 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly.

    Remove from the oven and top with the sour cream and chives you made earlier. Serve warm. Yummy.

    1. 5 stars
      You can substitute either the meat or the dairy. The end result will be different, but perfectly palatable.
      Meat is simpler: just use extra cheese, or a full-fat cottage cheese.
      Substituting dairy is more problematic: You can replace butter with a kosher-certified margarine, but there’s no really good substitute for cheese,.