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Loaded Baked Potato Recipes – perfect baked potatoes that are topped with cheese, bacon, sour cream and chives! A great side dish or even dinner idea!
When you go out for a steak dinner, what do you get for your side dish? Baked potatoes are a pretty classic choice. And then you are always asked do you want butter, sour cream, and chives? But for some reason I never think to make them at home.
The best thing is these loaded baked potatoes can totally work for a baked potato meal as well!
The first step to making the perfect baked potato is knowing how long to bake a potato! That is subject to change depending on how big your potatoes are. And lately, when you go to the grocery store, the potatoes are huge! Those will take 60-75 minutes in a 375 degree oven. If you can find smaller ones, they will take 45-60 minutes.
How to Cook a Baked Potato
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. You do not want too hot or the skin will get extra crispy before the inside cooks.
- Use a fork to poke holes all over the potato. There is a lot of moisture in a potato, you want the steam to escape as you are cooking or it will be soggy. Or even worse it could explode and make a huge mess in your oven.
- Brush the outside with oil. This helps the skin be extra tasty. There are lots of nutrients in the skin, so you want to eat it!
- Season the outside with salt and pepper. Again, you want the skin to taste good, so you can get all the benefits that potatoes have to offer.
How To Make A Loaded Baked Potato
- Once the potatoes are fully cooked, I like to cut open the baked potatoes and then top with cheese immediately. You can even then pop them back in the oven for a couple minutes to help melt the cheese. But usually the heat of the potato does a great job of melting the cheese, depends on how much you add!
- Next you load it up with your favorite toppings! Loaded potatoes can make such a great dinner. Top with cheese and crispy bacon for protein. Then you can add sour cream and chives as well. Easy, delicious, and the whole family will love them.
What To Put On Loaded Baked Potato
So many different ideas! You can turn a baked potato into a full dinner depending on how you top it. Here are some great potato dinner ideas.
- Turn it into a taco – taco meat, cheese, salsa, guacamole, tomatoes, jalapenos
- Use leftover chicken or pork coated in barbecue sauce and top with cheddar cheese
- Mix chicken with buffalo sauce and ranch dressing
- Leftover Crock Pot Chili with cheese and sour cream
- Chicken, broccoli and cheese
- Your favorite pizza toppings with pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese
What Goes with Loaded Baked Potatoes
- Best Meatloaf Recipe
- Sous Vide Chicken Breasts
- Oven Baked Pork Chops
- Smoked Pork Loin
You really can serve a small loaded potato with just about any meat for dinner. And then make a salad or your favorite vegetable if serving as a meal. You really just want to avoid pasta or rice to go with it.
More Potato Side Dish Recipes You Will Love
- Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Loaded Twice Baked Potato Casserole
- Oven Roasted Potato Wedges
- Pan Seared Mojo Potatoes
- Garlicky Crock Pot Mashed Potatoes
- Scalloped Potatoes
- Best Potato Salad
- Baked Potato Casserole
Yield: 4
Loaded Baked Potato
Loaded Baked Potato Recipes - perfect baked potatoes that are topped with cheese, bacon, sour cream and chives! A great side dish or even dinner idea!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
- 4 large russet potatoes
- 1 Tbls olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- chives or green onions, finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Using a fork prick holes around the entire potato.
- Rub each potato with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on a baking tray and bake for 60-75 minutes. Baking time will depend on how big the potatoes are.
- Slice the top of the baked potatoes open. Sprinkle each potato with 1/4 cup of cheese. Place back in the oven if you would like to completely melt the cheese.
- Sprinkle each potato even with the crumbled bacon, spoon on a dallop of sour cream, and sprinkle with chives.
- Serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition information is an estimate depending on the ingredients and amounts you use.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1
Amount Per ServingCalories 659Saturated Fat 14gCholesterol 68mgSodium 1081mgCarbohydrates 68gFiber 4gSugar 2gProtein 20g
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Erin S
Welcome to Dinners, Dishes, & Desserts where my love of food meets my busy life. My name is Erin and I’m a casual home cook who loves to feed people. On this blog, you’ll find hundreds of quick and easy recipes made mostly from scratch. My days are spent in the kitchen, creating new recipes to share with family and friends.
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