Fully-Loaded Skillet Bacon Potato Skins
A super crispy, crunchy version of the snack favorite that you'll love serving friends and family!
Potato skins are typically prepared in the oven, but they’re even more delicious when finished in a cast iron skillet. Finishing the potato skins after the spuds have been (mostly) hollowed out results in a super crispy, crunchy layer outside, complemented by gooey melted cheese, bacon, and chives on the loaded insides. With smart sectioning, you can make 3-4 skins per potato, and they leave enough “meat” left that you can use the fluffy potato insides for another side dish or appetizer.
For our Skillet Loaded Bacon Potato Skins recipe I chose to use russet potatoes, because they’re larger, hold together while crisping up well in the skillet, and are easy to carve out after the initial cooking. While you can opt to bake them in the oven first, I like to microwave them to save time – 30 minutes of microwave cooking (in pairs) can save you up to 45 minutes while still ensuring a quality result.
Another key element is the bacon you choose. Streaky bacon works best at getting things crisped up and crunchy, however, it produces a lot more oil. If that’s not to your liking, then choosing middle bacon works to mix up the fattier rind with more substantial bits of salty pork.
There’s no need to get too creative with the filling – if it melts and crunches it’s awesome! I use crispy bacon, shredded cheese, some steak seasoning and chives, with a splash of sour cream or dipping sauce at serving time. However, if you have left over pasta sauce from the night before, or even a creamy tuna mornay, they also work brilliantly as a tasty filling.
Skillet Loaded Potato Skins are the perfect casual appetizer – easy to make in large or small quantities and highly customizable according to preference. Pair these with some sliders or hot dogs, and it’s all you really need for a quality snack or gameday plate.
Fully-Loaded Skillet Bacon Potato Skins
Ingredients
- 6 large Russet Potatoes, brushed and cleaned
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped finely
- 5 rashers streaky bacon, chopped finely
- 2 tablespoons steak seasoning mix (store bought is fine)
- 1 cup shredded 3-cheese mix
- 2 tablespoons chives
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- Optional: Sour cream, as required
Preparation
- Pierce the potatoes with the tines of a fork and microwave on high for 7-10 minutes (check after 7 for doneness) in pairs. When cooked the potatoes should be easy to pierce through to the middle.
- Preheat the oven at 400°F while the potatoes are cooking. Heat the oil in a skillet at medium temperature. Cook the onion and bacon pieces for 10 minutes or until the bacon is crisp and the onion is translucent. Remove from heat, drain excess oil on paper towels, and set aside.
- Once the potatoes have been cooked, remove them from the microwave. Cut the potatoes into 3 or 4 pieces, similar to orange quadrants in size and shape. Remove the fluffy internal part of the potatoes and set aside for use in another dish. This will leave you with a scoop-able section of potato skin.
- Mix the cheese, bacon, onion, seasoning and chives together in a mixing bowl, then load up each potato skin, level with the top. Re-heat the skillet to medium and place each of the skins in with the oil and bacon fat to cook for 5 minutes on the stovetop.
- Remove the skillet from the stovetop. Place carefully into the oven and cook for a further 5 minutes, until the cheese has melted and begun to turn golden brown.
- Remove the skillet from the oven and place the loaded potato skins onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, then serve immediately with sour cream and/or the dipping sauce of your choice.
Recipe adapted from Deep South Dish