The crispiest potato skins you’ve ever had loaded with cheese, bacon, green onions and sour cream – just like your favorite restaurant. They make a great game day appetizer!
Potato skins are a God-tier appetizer. Nothing satisfies quite like they do when you’re drinking at a dive bar, watching football, hanging out at a bowling alley, or just looking for an amazing starter course at a chain restaurant.
There’s few greater flavor combinations on this planet other than cheddar cheese, bacon, and green onions. The creamy, tangy cheese, salty bacon, and acidic green onions all come together in perfect harmony to balance each other out.
There’s so many different ways to enjoy it (soup, baked potatoes, biscuits, fries, salad…), but my personal favorite has to be on these classic loaded potato skins.
What makes or breaks a potato skin should be fairly obvious – a salty, crispy skin is key. While you can bake potato skins in the oven and get them decently crispy, it doesn’t quite compare to when they are fried. This recipe was developed by deep frying, but I will also include conventional oven instructions in the notes.
If you are serving this as part of a game day spread, I highly recommend cooking another fried appetizer to make the most of your oil. I would make chicken fried pickles or these buttermilk chicken wings that have the most incredible crunch!
Ingredients
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are ideal for potato skins. I recommend trying to find medium-sized, but if only large are available you can always quarter them instead of halving.
- Oil – Peanut oil is my preferred frying oil, but any neutral high-heat oil will work. Canola oil is a good budget-friendly choice.
- Salt – Like French fries, one of the keys to making great potato skins is sufficient amounts of salt. I prefer to use Diamond Crystal in all my recipes.
- Cheese – Cheddar cheese is my go-to for potato skins. Colby-Jack is a good substitute. I recommend buying block cheese and shredding it yourself for the best melt.
- Bacon – I recommend cooking bacon yourself and chopping it instead of using pre-packaged bacon bits.
- Green onions – These bring a bit of onion flavor and acidity that really brings everything together. Chives are an okay substitute in a pinch.
- Sour cream & ranch – Some people prefer either/or as a condiment for their potato skins – I like both!
Tips
- Scrub and dry. Be sure to thoroughly scrub your potatoes under running water and let them dry completely before baking and frying.
- Fry in small batches. Whenever you are deep frying, you only want to add a few things to the deep fryer at a time. Otherwise the temperature drops too low resulting in soggy instead of crispy food.
- Season at every step. Salt the potatoes before baking, before frying, and immediately after frying for the best flavor.
- Make ahead. You can bake and scoop out the potato skins a day in advance and refrigerate them in an airtight container until ready to fry.
Obsessed with potato skins as much as I am? Have you tried them with different toppings yet?? I’m quite fond of pimento cheese potato skins that get a little extra kick from jalapeños.
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Fried Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 3 medium Russet potatoes
- 1 1/2 tablespoons Salt, divided
- 1/2 tablespoon Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Garlic powder
- Oil
- 3/4 cup Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 3 strips Bacon, cooked
- 2 stalks Green onion, sliced thin
- 1/3 cup Sour cream, for serving
- 1/2 cup Ranch dressing, for serving
Instructions
- Before beginning, scrub your potatoes well under running water to remove any dirt. Set aside to dry thoroughly. Mix seasonings together in a small bowl and set aside.
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. When potatoes are dry, place on a baking sheet and poke each a few times with a fork. This will allow the steam to escape.
- Rub the outside of the potatoes all over with a little bit of oil and seasoning. Bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until they are tender. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.
- Once potatoes are cool enough to handle with ease, slice them in half and carefully scoop out the insides, leaving a thin layer of potato all around the skin. Season the inside of the skins.
- Add oil to your deep fryer or to a deep cast iron skillet. Heat and maintain a temperature of 375 F. Fry potato skins in batches until deep brown and golden. (Approximately 3-4 minutes). Remove from deep fryer and set on a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. Immediately season both sides with salt.
- When finished frying all the skins, preheat your ovens broiler on high. Top potato skins with the shredded cheese and broil until melted and bubbly. Remove from the oven, top with bacon and green onions.
- Plate and serve immediately along with sour cream and ranch.
Notes
- Follow steps one through four.
- Brush the inside and outside of the scooped skins with melted butter or oil.
- Bake in the oven at 450 F, skin side down for 10 minutes. Flip and bake another 8-10 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Fill potatoes with cheese and place back in the oven for a few minutes until melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven, top with bacon and green onions, then serve with desired condiments.
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