Broccoli Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes

These Broccoli Cheddar Twice Baked Potatoes are the epitome of comfort food! They are also super easy to make, and can be made ahead of time! A salty, slightly crisp potato skin is filled with creamy luxurious mashed potatoes mixed with fresh broccoli, sharp cheddar cheese, and crumbled bacon. Top with sour cream and sliced green onion for good measure and dinner is done!

You’ll Love These

• They’re a complete meal! Twice-baked potatoes work well as a side dish for your holiday spread, but they are hearty enough that they can stand alone as a main dish too! Serve with a simple green salad and maybe some homemade garlic bread if you’re feeling fancy!
• This is comfort food at it’s finest! Nothing says cozy comfort like a dish of loaded potatoes, served piping hot from the oven. You can literally taste the love in every bite!
• They can be made ahead of time and baked as you’re ready to eat them. AND the leftovers also reheat like a dream – nothing wrong with a thrice baked potato (or just pop it in the microwave for a minute or so)!

Instructions

Coat potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with Kosher salt all over. Bake for 1 hour. Cut each potato in half lengthwise. Scoop flesh from the potato and into a large bowl, leaving about a 1/4 inch of potato around the perimeter.

Add butter, sour cream, and half and half along with a couple large pinches of salt and pepper to the potatoes.

Gently mash until mostly smooth and creamy. 

Add 1.5 cups cheddar cheese, broccoli, bacon, green onion, garlic powder, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper to the bowl with potatoes.

Stir until ingredients are well combined. 

Divide filling evenly between halved potatoes until they are heaping full. 

Divide remaining 1/2 cup of cheese between the potatoes, gently pressing it into the filling so it’s secure.

Bake in the 400-degree oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the filling is heated through. Garnish with sour cream and sliced green onion and enjoy!

Make Ahead Instructions

• You can easily make these broccoli cheddar twice baked potatoes ahead of time! Just follow the recipe instructions below, but after filling the potatoes and before baking them for the second time, place them in an airtight container and refrigerate them until you’re ready to eat. They’ll stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
• When you’re ready to eat, transfer them to a baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for about 30-40 minutes or until heated through.
• You’ll notice the baking time is a bit longer than the original recipe calls for – that’s because the potatoes will be quite cold coming straight from the fridge. Everything except the broccoli is already cooked through, so you’re just looking for the broccoli to be tender-crisp and the other ingredients to be warm.

Tips

• If you don’t have half and half, you could use heavy cream or milk in its place. Half and half is literally just a mixture of equal parts cream and whole milk, so if you have both of those on hand, you can use a 1/4 cup of each to replace the 1/2 cup of half and half in this recipe.
• If you only have heavy cream, I’d recommend adding about 1/3 of a cup. If you only have milk, then use a 1/2 cup and add an extra tablespoon or two of butter. Basically, when you’re mixing up the potato filling, you want it to the be the consistency of a very thick mashed potato. If you’re making substitutions, just keep that in mind and adjust as needed.
• You could even use extra sour cream or Greek yogurt in place of half and half in this recipe. I always recommend using regular or full fat sour cream/yogurt (NOT low fat or fat free).
• You can use any type of cheese you like for this twice-baked potato recipe! I love to use an extra sharp cheddar because of the flavor it adds to the dish. However, some of my other favorites include:
  • Gruyere
  • Havarti
  • Gouda
  • Swiss
  • Edam
• To make this dish vegetarian, just omit the bacon! Or try adding a vegetarian bacon substitute like coconut bacon! Also, using a smoked cheddar or smoked Gouda cheese in place of the sharp cheddar will give you that smoky, meaty flavor without the meat!

Try these side dishes next!