Potato Skins Recipe

Classic potato skins check all the boxes for a game day snack: crispy shell; salty, tangy cheese; and a meaty kick of bacon. They feel indulgent without being too much and have all of the elements you enjoy in a loaded baked potato… just without as much of the actual potato!

There’s not a definitive answer as to who deserves credit for the creation of potato skins—they were popularized in the 1980s as restaurant appetizers—and they likely took off as a means for restaurants to recycle what would otherwise be discard from making mashed potatoes into a new, revenue-generating dish.

Learn how to make potato skins, an all-time favorite game day appetizer. Want potato skins that are a bit more bite-sized? Try this mini version.

Key Ingredients for Potato Skins

This ingredient list is short, and everything works overtime for the savory, cheesy, and tangy flavors of this classic appetizer.

• Russet potatoes: It’s easier to obtain potatoes that are appropriately sized for this application if you buy a five- or 10-lb bag of russets versus picking out individual potatoes from the bin. The “by-the-pound” potatoes tend to be larger bakers.
• Cheddar cheese: For the best melt, shred your own. Classic Cheddar cheese is a crowd favorite, but if you like a bit more tang, opt for sharp Cheddar.
• Bacon: Make a few extra strips at bacon and use the crumbles to finish off these appetizers.
• Sour cream: The creamy coolness of sour cream offsets the warm potato skins and adds a zap of tang. If you want to try something unique, mix in a seasoning mix, like taco seasoning, for an additional bit of flavor.
• Scallion and chives: Finish off each potato skin with some sliced scallion and chives for a bit of fresh, mild onion flavor. You can also use all of just one.

Recipe Tips For Potato Skins

• Although you could bake your potatoes in advance, it’s easiest to scoop out the potato flesh while they’re still warm. If you opt to prep the potatoes in advance and do not scoop out the flesh at that time, consider re-warming them a bit (in the microwave or oven) when you’re ready to finish the recipe.
• It’s most effective to use more of a scraping motion with a spoon than a scooping/digging motion to remove the potato flesh. It’s all too easy to tear the delicate skin, and dragging an inverted spoon with relatively gentle pressure, to scrape away layers of potato instead of digging out large scoops, gives you a bit more control. 
• You really do need to make sure to leave a thin layer of potato flesh, just enough to provide a stable shell. The paper-thin potato skin needs a bit of structural help from the flesh.
• You can cook your bacon on another rack in the oven while the potatoes bake. 
• Rather than using pre-shredded cheese, buy a block of Cheddar cheese you’d like to eat on crackers in slices and shred it yourself. Not only will the cheese melt nicer, this small detail will really take the flavor of these skins to the next level.

How To Store Potato Skins

Refrigerate any leftovers in a lidded container and eat within two days. The leftovers can be microwaved, but they will no longer have a crisp skin; reheating in the oven or a toaster oven will deliver crispier results. 

Substitutions For Potato Skins

We like the visual of having both green onions and the more delicate chives garnishing these spuds; however, you could certainly stick with just one or the other.

The listed amount of sour cream affords about one heaping half-tablespoon per potato skin, but that can obviously be adjusted to taste. And if not all guests enjoy sour cream, serve it in a dish on the side.

Adding 1/2 to 1 jalapeño, finely minced, to the potato filling would be delicious for a bit of a kick. If desired, sprinkle it in when you add the cheese and bacon.

More Classic Game Day Snacks

Score big with your party crew with these favorites: