These elegant Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes are perfect for the holidays! They’re chock full of bacon, boursin, gruyere, chives, and fluffy mashed potatoes for the most delicious side dish. Best of all, they can be made in advance and baked off just before serving!
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Twice Baked Potatoes, Just Like Your Favorite Steakhouse
We’re giving twice baked potatoes the fanciest of face lifts and transforming them into an elegant side dish worthy of a classy steakhouse. Gone is the bright orange cheddar and scallions in favor of soft boursin and gruyere cheeses and minced chives.
While I love silky mashed potatoes, it’s always fun to try a new potato side dish! Loaded twice baked potatoes are perfect for serving alongside herb crusted prime rib or steak au poivre.
These potatoes are so perfect for entertaining because you can prep them in advance and just bake them right before you serve. The holidays are already so busy, why not make things a bit easier on yourself?
The 7 Main Ingredients
You can find the full list of ingredients, quantities & method in the recipe card at the end of the page.
- Potatoes. This recipe works best with Russet potatoes. They’re the classic baking potato and create a super fluffy mash that we’re going to pipe back into the skins!
- Bacon. Use your favorite kind and cook it until nice and crispy.
- Chives. Green onions are the traditional choice, but I prefer the milder, fresher flavor of chives on my twice baked potatoes.
- Boursin. This is a brand of soft, creamy, spreadable cheese from France that’s made with triple cream cheese and herbs and spices. Boursin makes several flavor combinations, but my favorite is the classic garlic and fine herbs! If you’ve always made your twice baked potatoes with cream cheese in the past, think of Boursin as cream cheese’s fancy cousin.
- Gruyere cheese. A type of hard Swiss cheese that’s slightly nutty, creamy, and sweet. It melts beautifully and adds tons of flavor to the filling.
- Heavy cream. You could sub in a lower-fat alternative like half and half, but heavy cream creates the creamiest, richest twice baked potatoes.
- Butter. I always brush the tops with a little melted butter near the end of the bake time to help the filling crisp up and turn golden brown.
How to Make Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes
- Prep the potatoes. Always scrub your potatoes under cold water to remove any dirt, then pat them dry and poke all over with a fork so the steam can escape. To get the skins nice and crispy, I rub my potatoes all over with oil and sprinkle them with salt and pepper.
- Bake until tender. My potatoes usually need about 45 minutes in a 400ºF oven. You’ll know your potatoes are done baking when they’re tender enough to be pierced easily with a knife.
- Scoop out the insides. The trick here is to cut off the very top of each potato to expose the tender middle, then scoop out the flesh with a spoon. Leave a border around each potato to create potato skin boats.
- Make the filling. To the potato middles you just scooped out, mix in the bacon, chives, cheeses, and heavy cream. I like to use a hand mixer to make the filling so it turns out super smooth and creamy.
- Fill the potato skins. I like to use a piping bag for this, but you can carefully spoon the filling into the potato skins too.
- Bake them (again). Brush the tops with melted butter and return the filled potatoes to the oven. After 15 minutes, the tops should be golden brown and the filling should be warmed through.
Make Ahead Instructions
Having make-ahead sides in your back pocket reduces a lot of the stress surrounding holiday dinner prep! Here’s how to prep these twice baked potatoes ahead of time:
- Bake the potatoes and mix the filling a day in advance. Store the potato skins in one container and the mixed filling in a separate container in the fridge.
- Then, simply fill the potato skins and bake them the second time when you’re ready to serve them up.
Jenny’s Tip: You may have to add a little more cream to make the mashed potato filling spreadable.
What to Serve with Twice Baked Potatoes
Loaded twice baked potatoes are the ultimate potato side dish than can be served with just about everything. Here are my favorite main dishes to serve with them:
If you do give this recipe a try, be sure to let me know! Leave a comment with a star rating below. Be sure to subscribe to my weekly newsletter and never miss a new recipe! You can also snap a photo & tag @JENNYGOYCOCHEA on Instagram. I LOVE hearing about & seeing your SMF creations!
More Potato Side Dishes You’ll Love
- Creamy Mascarpone Mashed Potatoes
- Cheesy Hasselback Potato Gratin
- Caramelized Onion and Bacon Mashed Potatoes
- Lemon Dill Potato Salad
- Sour Cream and Onion Mashed Potatoes
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Loaded Twice Baked Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 russet potatoes, about 7-8 oz each
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil
- 4 strips cooked bacon, finely minced
- 1/4 cup minced chives, plus more for garnish
- 5 oz boursin cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup finely grated gruyere cheese
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup heavy cream, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 400ºF.
- Prep the potatoes. Scrub the potatoes of any dirt and rinse them under cold water. Pat them very dry and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Use a fork to poke holes all over the potatoes, then drizzle the oil all over them. Use your hands to rub the oil into the potatoes, then sprinkle the outsides all over with salt and pepper.
- Bake the potatoes. Bake the potatoes for 45 minutes, or until they’re tender enough to be pierced with a knife. Remove the potatoes from the oven and let them cool for 15 minutes.
- Scoop out the insides. Carefully cut the top 1/4 lengthwise off the potatoes to expose the middle. Use a spoon to scoop out the inside of the potato, leaving a 1/4 inch border of potato to create little boats.
- Mix the potato filling. Place the scooped potato in a mixing bowl with the minced bacon, chives, boursin, and gruyere. Don’t forget to scrape any potato from the portion you cut off the tops, then discard the skin. Use a hand mixer to beat the potato mixture, drizzling in the heavy cream while doing so, until the filling is very smooth and the boursin is melted. The filling should be soft and pipe-able, so add as much cream as necessary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Bake the potatoes. Transfer the filling to a piping bag fitted with a large star tip and pipe the filling back into the potato boats so that they’re decoratively mounded. You can also use a spoon to mound the filling back into the potatoes. Gently brush the tops with the melted butter and place them back into the oven on a baking sheet for 15 minutes, until the tops are just starting to brown and the potatoes are warmed through. Top with more chives and serve right away.
Storage Instructions
- Storage and freezing: Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 4 to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months. To freeze, first freeze them in a single layer on a sheet pan or plate before storing them away in a container with parchment paper in-between the layers, to prevent sticking. Defrost them overnight in the fridge, or bake them straight from frozen.To reheat: I place them right in the oven frozen at 350°F in a covered baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes covered and 10-15 minutes uncovered. You could also microwave them, if you’re not so concerned about the outside getting crispy again.
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