Awesome Cheesy Twice Baked Potato Boats are cheesy, creamy, filled with bacon or ground sausage and diced onions. And that's just the start. With the option of adding more delicious ingredients, you can create the perfect stuffed potato just for you!
We are a potato family. And we can't seem to get enough of these Awesome Cheesy Twice Baked Potato Boats. This is our original stuffed potato. Not the original recipe. My goodness, there was a time I used to boil the potatoes instead of baking them. After this recipe, boiling potatoes became a thing of the past. The cheesy, creamy potato filling with bacon or ground sausage tastes amazing. I have never encountered anyone who didn't like them. All the ingredients can be adjusted according to taste.
Use Flavored Sour Cream or Cream Cheese
Use Different Cheeses
Try Coating Outside of Potato
Use egg whites or vegetable oil to coat potato and then coat outside with sea salt, cracked pepper and some dried rosemary and/or thyme leaves.
Awesome Cheesy Twice Baked Potato Boats
Ingredients
- russet potatoes
- bacon or ground sausage, cooked, crumbled or 8 slices
- melted butter
- shredded cheddar or jack cheeses
- parmesan cheese
Option 1
- cream cheese or flavored cream cheese
Option 2
- sour cream or flavored sour cream
- milk, as needed
Options
- diced onions
- minced garlic
- salt
- pepper
Outside of Potato (Optional)
- egg whites or vegetable oil
- sea salt
- pepper
- rosemary
- thyme
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash potatoes and pat dry. Using a knife, carefully stab each potato 2-3 times on face up and face down.
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If desired whisk an egg white until frothy or use olive oil and brush the potatoes. Then roll the potato in a combination of kosher salt, ground black pepper, rosemary and thyme. I usually sprinkle the spices on a cutting board and roll the potato around on it.
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Bake potatoes on the upper middle rack for about 60 minutes, or until tender.
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Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle. I find an oven mitt works great to hold the potato if it is too hot to handle. After removing the potatoes from the oven the first time, you should be able to easily stab them with a fork and knife. If they are too firm, return them to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until desired.
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While potatoes cool sauté onions until translucent and make sure bacon is cooked. I love to cook the onions in a little bacon grease.
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Adjust oven temperature to 350 degrees.
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Using a knife, carefully slice the potatoes in half long ways, creating 8 individual boats.
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Use a small spoon to scrape out the inside of each potato into a mixing bowl, leaving a thin edge for support (less than ½ inch). When scoping the potatoes out into a mixing bowl, take your time! You don't want to be too rough and damage the potato skin boat. It will need to stay sturdy to hold a ton of yummy goodness!
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Scoop out the potato from each boat into a large mixing bowl. You will have 8, hollow potato skin boats left on the baking pan.
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In the large bowl, combine the bacon bits, cream cheese or sour cream and milk, butter, onions, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan and ½ to 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Use a handheld mixer if possible. Mix thoroughly until the ingredients are well combined. Add extra ingredients to taste if desired.
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Arrange hollowed potatoes in a large baking dish. Carefully spoon potato mixture into potatoes or place mashed potatoes into a resealable bag and push them to the bottom. Cut one corner off and squeeze out mashed potato into the potato. Use all of the potato mixture. Press down with spoon if necessary to get potato into every corner.
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Sprinkle with remaining shredded cheese. Approximately ¼ cup per potato.
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Heat in oven for about 15 minutes. Then turn oven up to broil until cheese is nicely browned. About 5 minutes.
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Serve immediately and enjoy every bite.
Tips
- After removing the potatoes from the oven the first time, you should be able to easily stab them with a fork and knife. If they are too firm, return them to the oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until desired.
- When scoping the potatoes out into a mixing bowl, take your time! You don't want to be too rough and damage the potato skin boat. It will need to stay sturdy to hold a ton of yummy goodness!
- The potatoes will cool evenly if you place them on a cooling rack. It's not necessary but very helpful!
- These potatoes are cheesy!!
- This dish pairs wonderfully with steak and veggies.
- You can also substitute or add in a cheddar jack cheese blend!
Awesome Cheesy Twice Baked Potato Boats
Awesome Cheesy Twice Baked Potato Boats are cheesy, creamy, filled with bacon or ground sausage and diced onions. And that's just the start. With the option of adding more delicious ingredients, you can create the perfect stuffed potato just for you!
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes
- ¾ cup bacon or, ground sausage, cooked and crumbled or 12 slices, divided
- ¼ cup butter melted
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
- ½ cup parmesan cheese grated
- ½ brick (8 oz) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup sour cream or flavored sour cream
- ¼ cup milk or cream, until reach desired consistency
- 1 small onion chopped fine
- 2 tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Outside of Potato (Optional)
- 5-6 tablespoons olive oil 2 large egg whites
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons rosemary optional
- 2 tablespoons thyme optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Wash and dry the potatoes, then pierce each potato 2 to 3 times with a knife or fork on all sides.
- If desired, Combine salt, pepper, rosemary, and/or thyme in a small bowl and sprinkle all over a cutting board. Brush the potatoes with olive oil and then roll each potato on different sections on cutting board. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack or a baking sheet and bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until fork tender.
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool until they are safe to handle.
- Meanwhile, cook the bacon until crisp and crumble it. Reserve ¼ cup for top. Sauté the chopped onion in a tablespoon or two of bacon grease until softened and translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant. Set aside and allow to cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F.
- Slice each potato in half lengthwise to create 8 potato boats. Using a spoon, carefully scoop the flesh into a large mixing bowl, leaving about ¼ to ½ inch of potato around the edges so the skins remain sturdy enough to hold the filling.
- Add the scooped potato, cooked bacon, sautéed onion, garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, milk or cream, remaining melted butter, salt, pepper, Parmesan cheese, and ½ cup of the shredded cheddar cheese to the bowl. Beat with a hand mixer or mash and stir until smooth and creamy. Taste and add remaining ½ cup cheddar cheese, if desired. Add a little more milk if needed to reach your desired consistency.
- Arrange the potato skins in a large baking dish. Spoon or pipe the mashed potato mixture evenly into each potato shell, pressing gently to fill every corner. Sprinkle the tops with the remaining cheddar cheese and additional bacon crumbles.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the filling is hot and the cheese has melted. If desired, switch the oven to broil for 2 to 5 minutes until the cheese is golden brown and bubbly, if desired. Let the potato boats cool for a few minutes before serving, then enjoy!
Notes
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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