Looking for the PERFECT easy and delicious appetizer? Look no further! These baked potato skins come out so crispy and flavorful. I used to eat these all the time from restaurants as a kid. When I got into cooking as I got older, I knew they would be so good homemade, and I was right! Make these for the Super Bowl or any other occasion and you are sure to impress your family and friends. This recipe is also naturally gluten free and can easily be made dairy free with the substitutions below!
Ingredients:
5 (smallish) russet potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
4 pieces Applewood smoked bacon
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese (for a DF option, I used miyoko's vegan cheddar cheese)
4 green onions, thinly chopped
optional flaky salt, black pepper, and hot sauce for topping
sour cream for dipping (for a DF option, I used Kite Hill vegan sour cream)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with tinfoil.
Thoroughly rinse and scrub the potatoes. Place them evenly on the baking sheet.
Drizzle the olive oil over the potatoes, and sprinkle with the garlic powder and salt. Thoroughly mix and rub the potatoes so they are evenly coated with the olive oil, garlic powder, and salt. Bake in the 400 degree for about 55 minutes until the potato skin is crispy and you can easily puncture the potatoes with a fork.
While you wait for the potatoes to cook, fry the bacon in a large pan over medium heat until it becomes crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan, but make sure to SAVE the bacon grease! Once the bacon is cool enough to handle, chop it into small pieces.
Remove the potatoes from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Turn the oven to the broil setting. Using oven mitts or a towel (they will still be hot), cut the potatoes in half, length wise. Use a spoon to scoop out the cooked potato, so approximately 1/4 of potato remains along with the skin. You can save the potato you removed for mashed potatoes or a soup. Return the potato skins to the same pan.
Using a pastry brush, lightly coat the inside of all the potatoes with the reserved bacon grease. You can also just drizzle and rub in if you don't have a brush. This makes them SO tasty!
Sprinkle the cheddar cheese or DF substitute evenly amongst all of the potatoes. Top evenly with the chopped bacon bits. Broil the potatoes in the oven until the cheese starts to bubble. This should take less than 5 minutes.
Remove the potato skins from the oven, and top with the green onions, flaky salt, black peppers and hot sauce if you would like. Serve with sour cream or DF sour cream substitute and enjoy!
Comments