Loaded Baked Potatoes

Who doesn't love a good baked potato? There's just something about the crispy skin and fluffy, pillowy interior that I can't get enough of—it's one of my favorite ways to prepare the spud. When I'm in the mood to amp things up, I love to load up my baked potatoes with cheese, sour cream, bacon, and more and then give them a brief second turn in the oven, to get all creamy and melty. Whether you're looking for a hearty side to a weeknight dinner, an impressive accompaniment to a holiday meal, or simply an easy meal all on its own, these cheesy loaded baked potatoes are sure to please.

How To Make Loaded Baked Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• Potatoes: When it comes to loaded baked potatoes, russets are the way to go. Their high starch content means they bake up nice and fluffy, while their thick skin allows them to crisp up beautifully and resist tearing when you're scooping out the flesh.
• Butter: Potatoes are to butter like peaches to cream. Enough said.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream pulls off the neat trick of simultaneously enriching and brightening the filling.
• Chives & Scallions: Don't stress if you've just got one of these alliums, but if you can swing both, you'll find they complement each other nicely. The chives are milder and hint at garlic; the scallions are sharper, more oniony. If I had to pick just one, I'd go with the chives, which merge into the filling a little better.
• Cheddar: As nacho-lovers have long known, the trio of sour cream, green onions, and melted cheddar (or Monterey Jack) is powerfully delicious.
• Bacon: Okay, okay, I could have stopped at the cheddar, but I find that bacon adds salty-savory element that really completes the whole dish.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Our journey begins with some potato prep—well, right after you go and preheat your oven. All done? Great! So, first, prick the potatoes all over with a fork—this heads off any possibility of tuberous explosions. To help the skins crisp up during the second bake, I like to drizzle the potatoes with olive oil at this point. Now wrap the potatoes tightly in foil; the foil speeds up cooking and traps moisture, resulting in moister flesh. Bake the potatoes until tender throughout, about 1 hour. When done, be sure to leave the oven on; you'll be using it again.

Now that you've got yourself some baked potatoes, let's load them up. First step is cut a slit in the top—don't cut all the way to the ends or the potatoes are liable to break into halves. Using a spoon, carefully scoop the potato flesh into a bowl, taking pains to ensure the potatoes stay intact. This part can be little tricky, but there's no need to test your luck and scoop out every last bit of flesh. So long as you leave about 1/4" of flesh attached to the skins, your potatoes are likely to hold together.

Let's add some flavor! Sour cream, chives, white scallion parts (save the green parts for topping), and half of the cheddar and bacon—add them all to the potato flesh, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine.

Spoon the filling back into the potatoes, mounding it on top—be generous but be gentle!

Top the potatoes with the remaining cheddar.

Return the potatoes to the oven and bake until the cheddar has melted and the potatoes are heated through; should take about 5 minutes. Finally, top the potatoes with some scallion greens and the rest of the bacon, and serve them up.

Full list of ingredients and directions can be found in the recipe below.

Recipe Tips

• What are the best toppings for a baked potato? A classic is a classic for a reason. That's why I went the full loaded route with this recipe, stuffing these full of cheese, sour cream, and bacon. But if that's not your thing, no worries—your topping options are endless. Black beans, corn, sour cream, and salsa would make a filling vegetarian potato, or top with chili and cheese for a satisfyingly delicious (and messy) dinner. You can also always go plain with butter and green onions—really, you can't go wrong with these babies.
• How to cook the potatoes faster. Though it may take an hour to bake these potatoes, it's worth it for the perfectly crispy skin and fluffy inside. But if you don't have an hour to spare, you can steam your potatoes in the microwave—about 7 minutes is all it takes!—and then stuff and finish them off in the oven.

What To Serve With Loaded Baked Potatoes

These spuds, filled to the brim with your favorite potato toppings, can almost be a meal on their own, just like our BBQ chicken twice-baked potatoes or taco stuffed sweet potatoes. But, this is also a hearty side to your weeknight chicken dinner or steak meal, like our medium-rare steak. Serve this up with fresh roasted vegetables or a refreshing salad like our garlic herb wedge salad for irresistible contrasting bites.