Ultimate Bacon and Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes

Four twice baked potatoes on a serving platter.

4.75 from 4 votes

Ultimate Bacon and Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes

These make-ahead twice-baked potatoes are the perfect holiday side dish! Bacon, cheddar, chives, and even some added sweet potato (for color and added nutrition) come together to create the ULTIMATE stuffed potato.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 45

Total Time2

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Bacon and Cheddar Twice Bake Potatoes, the best twice baked potatoes, twice baked potatoes

Servings: servings

Calories: 493kcal

Author: Polly Conner

Equipment

Ingredients

4 large baking potatoes i.e. Russet
1 large sweet potato
1 pound bacon
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup softened butter
3/4 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Arrange both racks in the center, equidistant from the top and bottom.
Scrub the potatoes, poke a few holes in each one with a knife, and wrap only the sweet potato in foil (leave the russets unwrapped). Bake on the top rack for about 1 hour, or until soft in the middle when a knife is inserted.
While the potatoes cook, cover a rimmed sheet pan with foil (for easier clean up). Place a wire baking rack on top of the sheet pan. (The rack is optional, but allows for the bacon grease to drip below.) Squeeze the bacon slices side by side across the rack or pan. They may slightly overlap, but that’s ok. Bake on the bottom rack for 20-25 minutes, or until bacon is cooked to desired doneness. Let cool, and then chop or crumble into small pieces.
When the potatoes are done, let them cool enough to handle. Cut all of the potatoes in half completely. Carefully scoop out the flesh with a spoon and place in a large mixing bowl, making sure to leave a bit of the flesh around all sides to keep the potatoes intact. Discard the sweet potato skin but keep the others. Place potato skins in a greased 9x13 baking dish.
To the mixing bowl, add the chicken broth, butter, Greek yogurt, salt, pepper, and chives. Use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash and combine the mixture. Using a spoon, stir in the cheese and the chopped bacon. Scoop the mixture back in to the potato skins evenly. The stuffing will heap over the tops (yum!).
Increase the oven temperature to 425°F. Bake the potatoes, uncovered, for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and golden brown on top. Garnish with more minced chives.

Notes

If you don't want to use sweet potato, simply add in another regular baking potato in it's place.
Can I make this dairy-free? Many of our recipes work well with dairy-free substitutions but this one won't play as nicely. If you really want to give it a go, we'd suggest using Kite Hill Cream Cheese in place of the cheese and sour cream.

Nutrition