Just the right amount of potato with your choice of melty cheese, crispy bacon bits and fresh green onions, Bacon Cheddar Baked Potato Skins are the perfect game day appetizer or snack!
Pub food, the perfect appetizer, game day favorite, or simply a creative use of leftovers… no matter what you call them, Bacon Cheddar Baked Potato Skins are a really easy (but also delicious) family favorite. They take just minutes to make and they are completely customizable to your preferences!
About the Ingredients
The first thing you should know about the ingredients for Bacon Cheddar Baked Potato Skins is that there aren’t any measurements. Potato skins are not fancy – they are not meant to be! The recipe is not specific. It’s really a recipe that creates something good from something that you would normally throw away, so you can use what you have (without guilt) to bring everything together! Having said that, here’s the ingredient list and some substitutions that will work in a pinch:
- Potato Skins – My favorite potatoes for baking are Russet Potatoes. They have thicker skins and a fluffy inside so they work great for potato skins and also for twice baked potatoes. Yukon Gold Potatoes are also good too! If you want to find out the real differences, you can read all about potatoes here.
- Shredded Cheese – Cheddar cheese is usually the favorite for potato skins but these are delicious with any cheese that melts nicely in the oven! Some other choices are Mozzarella, Cheddar Jack, Monterey Jack, Colby, Havarti, Gouda… really whatever you have on hand in any combination you like.
- Bacon Bits – If I have the time, I love to use crispy cooked bacon all chopped up on top of the potato skins but a lot of the time I use the pre-made bacon bits that I buy from the store and they taste pretty great too.
- Green Onions – When I have fresh green onions I chop them up and throw them on. Sometimes I have fresh chives and I’ll chop them up and put them on instead, and sometimes it is dried pantry chives. They all taste good!
- Other Tasty Additions – Honestly, the only limit is your imagination. If you like it, try it – I promise we aren’t judging!
How to Make Bacon Cheddar Baked Potato Skins
I come from a place where I like to see just what I can make with what I have. It’s no longer out of necessity like it was when I was in college, now it’s just a way that I can feel less wasteful.
I was making twice baked potatoes one day and I was about to throw away the unused potato skins when I suddenly thought about ordering potato skins in a restaurant as an appetizer. It seemed like all I needed was to add cheese, bacon bits and onions to the potato skins, bake them and I would then have a snack. It made me start thinking about how easy they would be to make. What did I have to lose?
I had not ever made potato skins before but I figured they were kind of like nachos where you add cheese and whatever else you want. So I added some shredded cheese, some salt and pepper, some bacon bits and some chopped green onions.
I popped them into the oven at 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes until the cheese was melted and when I pulled them out I was pleasantly surprised. It worked! And to think – I was originally going to throw them away.
Now whenever I make twice baked potatoes and I have extra leftover potato skins, I just toss them into a little ziploc bag and store them in the freezer. This is a simple, crazy easy way to make a delicious, well received appetizer and a pretty tasty snack! Enjoy!
Other Appetizer Recipes You May Enjoy:
Party Pretzel Bites – these delicious little bites are addictive and always welcomed at any gathering.
Bite Sized Sausage Rolls – the BEST bite sized sausage rolls that I have ever tasted. Yum.
Quick and Easy Bruschetta – restaurant quality Bruschetta is hiding in the ingredients in your refrigerator!
Southwest Egg Rolls – Delicious in the deep fryer OR the Air Fryer and so easy to make.
Baked Buffalo Chicken Dip – Our most requested appetizer to date!
Get the Printable Recipe Here:
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Bacon Cheddar Baked Potato Skins
Ingredients
- Leftover potato skins from twice baked potatoes thawed if frozen
- Shredded cheddar or other shredded cheese cheddar, mozzarella, etc
- Salt & pepper
- Bacon bits
- Chopped green onion or chives
- Sour cream for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Spread thawed potato skins onto a baking sheet.
- Generously sprinkle shredded cheese onto each potato skin.
- Sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste.
- Sprinkle bacon bits and/or chopped green onion or chives over cheese.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Serve with sour cream for dipping.
* The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator.
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