Crispy Potato Skins Recipe

This Crispy Potato Skins Recipe has two types of cheese, bacon, and scallions, and is a flavorful appetizer for any occasion. With inspiration from jalapeno poppers, these potato skins also have jalapenos, which you can easily adjust (or omit) to suit your taste preference.

I’m a pretty big wuss when it comes to spicy food.

What the Pakistani guy at our favorite local restaurant calls “medium” is my absolute limit. And even then I can only get down a bowl of their curry if I have a loaf of their fresh bread in my hand to eat intermittently. Total wimp, I know. (But dang, they like it hot!)

Anyway, if you’re hot food-averse and tend to shy away from anything with jalapeno, I’m here to tell you that this Crispy Potato Skins Recipe is decidedly mild. (However, it’s easy to up the heat factor by adding more jalapenos if that’s your preference.)

And there’s a slight smokiness from bacon, crispiness from the potato skins, and a pop of flavor from scallion.

For the holiday season, in addition to scouting around for new cookie recipes, I’m always looking for new appetizer ideas as well. I like to switch things up for parties and this combo (jalapeno poppers + potato skins) is a fun one to do just that. And be sure to keep this recipe in mind for game-day parties too!

How to Make Potato Skins From Scratch

You won’t believe how easy it is to make homemade potato skins! Here are the basic steps:

1. Wash and pat dry the potatoes. Use a sharp paring knife to poke each potato a couple times (so they don’t explode in the oven!).
2. Bake the potatoes on the center rack in a preheated 400F oven until a fork easily slides in and out. This takes about 40 to 45 minutes for small potatoes.
3. Cool the potatoes until you can handle them, and then cut each in half.
4. Scoop out the potato flesh inside, leaving the skins about 1/4-inch thick.
5. Add cheese, crisped bacon, scallion, etc. to each potato skin and bake until the cheese is melted.

What Can You Do with the Inside of the Potato When You Make Potato Skins?

Because we only need the skins to make this Crispy Potato Skins Recipe, here are a few ideas to help you use up the inside of the potato:

• Garlicky Mashed Potato Cakes
• Chicken Pot Pie Topped with Garlic and Herb Potato Mash
• Creamy Potato Onion Soup
• Spanakopita Potato Salad
• Mashed Potatoes with Cabbage and Onion

How Long Will This Crispy Potato Skins Recipe Last in the Fridge?

You can store potato skins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, place the potato skins on a baking tray and reheat in a preheated 375F oven until warm, about 8 to 12 minutes.

More Appetizer Recipes to Try:

• Pizza Dip
• Cream Cheese Bean Dip
• Honey Garlic Chicken Wings with Satay Dipping Sauce
• Baked Cauliflower Tots
• Chicken Tostadas
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Did you make this recipe? Please rate it and leave a comment below because I love hearing from you! You can also tag @anediblemosaic on social media. To stay up-to-date FOLLOW ME on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. Xoxo, Faith

Crispy Potato Skins Recipe

This Crispy Potato Skins Recipe has two types of cheese, bacon, and scallions, and is a flavorful appetizer for any occasion.

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 218kcal

Author: Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

• ▢ 6 small US No. 1 white potatoes (about 1 3/4 lbs/795 g)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more to oil the casserole dish
• ▢ 1 medium onion thinly sliced
• ▢ 2 jalapenos de-seeded and minced (or more to taste)
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 3.5 ounces shredded yellow cheddar cheese
• ▢ 3.5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• ▢ 3 strips crispy cooked beef or turkey bacon crumbled
• ▢ 3 scallions green and white parts, thinly sliced

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400F. Wash and pat dry the potatoes, and then use a sharp paring knife to poke a few holes in each. Place the potatoes directly onto a rack in the center of the oven. Bake until a fork inserted into the center easily goes in and slides back out, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool until the potatoes aren’t too hot to handle, then cut each in half and scoop out the inside, leaving the skins about 1/4-inch thick.
• Turn the oven down to 375F and brush a little olive oil on the inside of a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.
• Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add the onion and cook until softened and starting to take on a bit of color, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the jalapeno, garlic, salt, and pepper, and cook 1 minute more, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
• Toss the onion mixture together with the cheddar shreds, mozzarella shreds, and bacon in a medium bowl.
• Arrange the potato skins in the prepared casserole dish and fill each with the onion/cheese mix.
• Cover the dish with foil and bake until the cheese is melted, about 25 to 30 minutes. Sprinkle the scallion on top and serve warm.

Helpful Tips

• You can store these potato skins in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• To reheat, place the potato skins on a baking tray and reheat in a preheated 375F oven until warm, about 8 to 12 minutes.
• Vegetarian Version: Omit the bacon and add 1/2 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika.
• Lactose Free Version: Use GO Veggie! shreds instead of cheddar and mozzarella.

Nutrition

Serving: 2potato skins | Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 420mg | Potassium: 347mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 388IU | Vitamin C: 19mg | Calcium: 218mg | Iron: 1mg

Tried this recipe?Mention @anediblemosaic or tag #anediblemosaic!

:: GIVEAWAY ::

Now, because I’m crazy about my readers and because I think you’ll be as crazy about GO Veggie! products as I am, I’m thrilled to bring you a giveaway. This product is great for people who can’t or don’t eat cheese for whatever reason. All GO Veggie! products are lactose-free and gluten-free. Their shreds have no cholesterol and no saturated fat, and nearly 1/2 the fat and 1/3 less calories in regular cheddar, as well as 50% more calcium and nearly as much protein. (You can read more about how GO Veggie! compares with regular cheese and cheese alternatives here.) I’m telling you, this is a game-changer.

For this giveaway, GO Veggie! is providing the following prize pack to one lucky winner (thank you for this generous giveaway, GO Veggie!):

• One $50 gift card to Williams-Sonoma
• One $50 gift card to the grocery retailer of the winner’s choice
• Two GO Veggie! free product coupons
• Three GO Veggie! $1.00 off coupons
• One GO Veggie! winter hat

To participate in this giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite gooey cheese dish.

For extra entries, you can do any of the following (please leave a separate comment for each):

• Tell me what GO Veggie! product you’d be most excited to try if you win.
• Like An Edible Mosaic on Facebook.
• Like GO Veggie! on Facebook.
• Follow An Edible Mosaic on Twitter.
• Follow GO Veggie! on Twitter.
• Follow An Edible Mosaic on Pinterest.
• Follow GO Veggie! on Pinterest.

You do not need to have a blog to enter this giveaway. For shipping purposes, this giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. This giveaway ends December 5, 2014 at 11:59 PM EST. Once the giveaway ends, the winner will be randomly chosen and notified via email. The winner will have three business days to respond with his or her mailing information, otherwise a new winner will be randomly chosen. Good luck to all!

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on December 1, 2014. I updated it with more information on March 31, 2020.

Disclosure: I received GO Veggie! products to try for free, and they are providing the prizes for this giveaway; I also received compensation for this post. I am happy for the opportunity to share brands that I believe in with my readers, and I hope you enjoy my recipe. As always, opinions stated are my own. This post contains Amazon affiliate links to products I believe in, which means that even though it doesn’t cost you anything extra, I will receive a small amount of money from the sale of these items, which helps me keep this site alive – thank you for helping to support An Edible Mosaic!