Dinner is a cinch with Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes

This recipe for Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes is a fantastic solution for getting a delicious dinner on the table fast. Grill or saute your favorite protein while your frozen Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes bake in the oven. It doesn’t get much simpler than that!

Potatoes naturally have two ‘flatter’ sides, which they naturally roll to when placed on a counter. After baking your potatoes, you’ll need to cut them in half along the ‘edge’ or ‘side’, so that the potato halves lay nice and flat, as shown above. You can tell you’re slicing in the right place because you’ll have to hold the potato upright with your hand.

Of course they’re not called ‘twice baked’ for nothing, because they are baked a total of two times. The first time is just to cook the flesh inside. Then you’ll cut the potatoes in half and mix up the flesh with some amazing tasting ingredients and then mound it back into your pre-baked potato shells.

I developed this recipe to make a lot of these delicious boats of goodness, 12 to be exact. Enough to feed a crowd of unexpected guests, or just bake up two at a time for you and a special someone.

These Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes get a major flavor boost from a package of Boursin cheese. If you haven’t discovered Boursin cheese yet, then let me tell you how perfectly the Garlic & Fine Herbs flavor pairs with mashed potatoes! I’ll always mix either cream cheese or boursin cheese into my mashed potatoes. It really makes them taste amazing.

Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes are flavored with cream cheese, shredded cheddar cheese, boursin cheese, milk, melted butter and salt ‘n pepper. Then you’ll load this mixture back into the potatoes and top them with sauteed bacon bits and more shredded cheddar.

Then they’re ready to be frozen! You can bake some up right away if needed, or freeze them all on a rimmed baking sheet covered with plastic wrap. After spending four hours in the freezer, they can be moved into a plastic zip lock bag for easier storage.

When you’re ready to bake them, set them in a 500 degree F oven for about 20-25 minutes until they’re  heated through and you’ll have a great side dish to any main entree with practically no effort!

Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes

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• Author: Emily
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hours
• Total Time: 1 hours 40 minutes
• Yield: 12 potatoes 1x

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Description

Savory Make Ahead Twice Baked Potatoes are the perfect side dish to accompany any protein main entree. Just pop the pre-made potatoes to bake in a hot oven so you can focus on creating a great meal!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 6 medium russet potatoes, skins washed, dried, sprayed with cooking spray and poked all over with a fork
• 6 ounces of bacon, chopped small
• 9 ounces shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted and cooled
• 1 package Garlic & Fine Herb Boursin cheese
• 1/4 cup milk
• salt and pepper
• 1 scallion

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Instructions

Assembly

1. With an oven rack at middle position, set your oven to heat to 400 degrees F. When heated, place potatoes directly on rack, leaving space between each potato and bake for 1 hour, flipping each potato halfway through. Remove potatoes to a cooling rack for 15 minutes.
2. While potatoes are baking, cook chopped bacon in a nonstick skillet set to medium low until crispy and brown, about 8-10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a container lined with paper towel.
3. With oven mitts on, slice potatoes in half lengthwise (see photographs in blog post how to properly do this). Scoop out potato flesh into a large mixing bowl, leaving a small amount to line under the skins to help potatoes keep their shape.
4. Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar, melted butter, sour cream, entire package of boursin cheese and milk to the potatoes. Beat all together until smooth, adding salt and pepper to your prefered taste.
5. Fill the potato shells with the mashed potato mixture, mounding it in the middle. Press bacon bits into the top of each, followed by the remainder of the shreds of cheese. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place in the freezer. After four hours, you can gently place frozen potatoes in a large zipper lock baggie for easier storage.

Baking from frozen

1. With an oven rack at middle position, preheat your oven to 500 degrees F. Place frozen potatoes directly on the hot rack if you have an oven liner on the bottom of your oven. If not, line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a rack inside of it and place potatoes on that to bake. Bake potatoes for 20-25 minutes or until heated through and shells are crisp.
2. Remove and sprinkle with freshly minced scallion.

Baking right away

1. Same as above, just bake for 10 minutes instead of 25.

• Category: Side
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/2 potato
• Calories: 370
• Sugar: 1.6 g
• Sodium: 592 mg
• Fat: 27.4 g
• Saturated Fat: 15.8 g
• Carbohydrates: 18.6 g
• Fiber: 2.6 g
• Protein: 13.9 g
• Cholesterol: 75 mg