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.
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What are Twice Baked Potatoes?
Twice baked potatoes are potatoes that have been baked, then the potato 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 you can get really creative with the fillings. I’ve seen them with broccoli and cheese, shrimp and cream cheese, and buffalo chicken.
They 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 to heat up when you are ready to serve. You can even freeze them before baking so you can pull one or two out anytime you need something quick.
Why We Love This Recipe
It’s easy – This recipe is easy to put together. After baking the potatoes you just need to scoop them out, add a few extra ingredients and stuff it all back into the potato skin. Then you just air fry until the filling is hot and the skins are crispy.
Simple Ingredients – These twice baked potatoes are made with simple, inexpensive ingredients. You probably have most of the ingredients in the refrigerator already, and if you don’t it is easy to substitute most of them with something else.
It can be prepared ahead of time – One of the best things about these potatoes is that they can be made ahead of time. They can even be frozen. Then you just need to pop them in the air fryer when you are ready to serve them.
Ingredients
Ingredients you will need to make twice baked potatoes are:
- Russet potatoes
- Cooked bacon
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Sliced green onions
- Ranch seasoning
You can use store bought or make your own ranch seasoning. If you don’t like ranch you can substitute with any seasoning you prefer.
Instructions
Begin by baking the potatoes until they are soft. You can do this in the oven, or instant pot or use our air fryer baked potato recipe.
Once the potatoes are baked, let them cool slightly until you can handle them easily then cut them in half and carefully scoop out the flesh of the potato. You will want to leave a small amount on the skin of the potato to help it hold its shape.
Pro Tip – For every 3 full potatoes you want to serve, cook one extra potato. This will give you more filling so you can really stuff them full. And as a bonus it gives you a spare potato incase you tear the skin on one of them.
Place the scooped potato into a bowl along with the rest of the filling ingredients and mix until well mixed.
Scoop the filling into the potato skins then place the potato halves into the air fryer basket. You want to make sure there is some room for air circulation around the potatoes, but you don’t need to leave a lot of room between them.
Place the basket into the air fryer and set to 350°F for 12-15 minutes. The potatoes are done when the tops are bubbly and the skin feels crisp.
Remove from the air fryer and serve.
Freezing Twice Baked Potatoes
Twice baked potatoes can easily be frozen individually before you bake them the second time.
You can do this by simply wrapping 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 reheat 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.
In my family they are a staple at any large family dinner. They are always served with turkey or ham dinner at Christmas and Thanksgiving.
We always have a container full of stuffed potatoes in the freezer to pull out whenever we 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 anything else you like.
We like to 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.
You can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freezer. They will keep about 5 days in the fridge and several months in the freezer.
More Side Dishes
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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.
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