Quick and Easy Stuffed Potato Skins (2024)

Reminiscent of my favorite TGI Fridays potato skins, these easy oven baked potato skins are the ultimate game day appetizer. These homemade Quick and Easy Stuffed Potato Skins are baked crispy, loaded with cheese, bacon and green onions and the best part? .. they are ready to eat in under an hour!

My all-time favorite restaurant style appetizer has to be loaded potato skins and I blame TGI Fridays for this obsession.

As a kid, TGI Fridays loaded potato skins were literally the only thing I would order, the only thing I would eat when we walked though their door.

Deep fried crispy potato skins loaded with tons of melted cheese, bacon bits and green onions just begging to be dunked in a craft of sour cream.

What could possibly be better to stuff your face with than that?? Short answer? Nothing!!

Now, loving something in a restaurant and making them in your own kitchen are two different things.

Life is busy, no one has the three hours to make homemade loaded potato skins on a Saturday afternoon, right?

Wrong! Get your favorite football jersey on, a bowl of sour cream and let’s do this!!!!!

Serve these Crispy Loaded Potato Skins alongside Mini Crescent Dogs, Philly Cheesesteak Dip and a Pepperoni Stromboli Ring for the perfect party munchies.

THE BEST HOMEMADE LOADED POTATO SKINS

• This easy potato skin recipe is ready to eat in half the time of most loaded potato recipes. So you if you are looking for a fast way to make potato skins, this is YOUR recipe!
• These are crispy potato skins made easy right in your own oven. No deep fryer needed.
• There is absolutely no judgement on how much cheese you add to your own potato skins.
• If you have the extra time, bake your potatoes in the oven ahead of time. If not, use the instructions below for fast potato skins using your microwave.
• Perfect party appetizer or football food, these loaded potato skins are the ultimate comfort food.
• Make enough for one person or 20 people, this recipe is great to feed a crowd.

To make these loaded up stuffed potato skins, you will need:

• Russet potatoes
• Butter
• Shredded cheese
• Bacon pieces
• Green onion
• Salt / Pepper
• Sour cream (optional.. but highly recommended)

HOW TO MAKE LOADED POTATO SKINS

Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and lining a large baking pan with parchment paper. Scrub potatoes clean and dry with a paper towel. Move them to a microwave safe plate.

Cook your potatoes in the microwave on High for 10-12 minutes, turning your potatoes over once half way through cooking.

Remove the plate and allow potatoes to cool until you can handle them comfortably. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and run a knife along the inside of the potato, leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.

Using a spoon, scoop out the insides while disposing of the removed potato in a medium sized bowl. You are basically making a little boat.

Melt the butter then brush the outside of the potatoes and place potato halves face-down and return to the oven for 10 minutes.

Using a fork or tongs, turn the potatoes over and brush insides with remaining butter. Return to oven and continue to bake for another 10 minutes until the tops get crispy.

Remove from oven and sprinkle the insides of the potato skins with salt and pepper, cheese, bacon and green onions.

Return to the oven long enough for the cheese to melt, about 5 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

PRO TIPS FOR QUICK AND EASY STUFFED POTATO SKINS

• After removing from the microwave, slice all of your potatoes lengthwise before moving on to scooping them out. It helps them cool faster than slicing as you go.
• Russet potatoes are most often uses for homemade potato skins because they stand up to the task best.
• Be sure to leave about 1/4 inch of potato attached to the potato skins. You need that ‘layer’ of potato to keep your potato skins upright and intact.
• Save your leftover potato to use in Loaded Mashed PotatoCasserole, Homemade Potato and Cheese Pierogior in Turkey Shepherd’s Pie.
• Don’t skip the sprinkling of salt, if you don’t have to. Potatoes always need a bit of salt added to them.
• Make life easy and grab pre-cooked bacon pieces from your grocery store. You can usually find them in the salad dressing / topping aisle.

FREEZING AND STORING LOADED POTATOES

Store any leftover loaded potato skins in the refrigerator. Reheat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes on High or place on a baking tray and heat in the oven at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes or until warmed through.

To freeze these quick and easy potato skins, simply cook and scoop out your potatoes and before filling them, move the potato shells to a baking tray and move to the freezer. Once frozen, stack the shells and move to a large zip top bag.

To use, remove from the freezer and let come to room temperature before filling with toppings and baking.

You can also freeze constructed potato skins. Move your loaded potato skins (without sour cream) to a baking tray, freeze potato skins before moving to a large zip top bag and returning to freezer.

To reheat, bring to room temperature and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until warmed through.

POTATO SKINS FILLING

The possibilities are endless when it comes to loaded potato skins toppings.

• Cheese, bacon and green onions for the classic potato skin recipe
• Broccoli
• Pulled pork, garlic, corn and black beans
• Salsas
• Steak and cheese, green peppers
• Jalapeno popper potato skins with cream cheese, bacon and jalapenos
• Chicken enchilada potato skins

Go ahead, make these homemade loaded potato skins and then try to serve your husband imitation ones from the grocery store freezer case and you will be cursed with statements of blatant neglect, lack of marital love, physical torture.

All joking aside, these Crispy Baked Potato Skins rival any restaurant style potato skins and since you don’t even have to leave the house, you don’t even have to change out of your yoga pants. #winning

Enjoy!