I recently saw this baked potato trend scrolling through YouTube shorts and became obsessed. Finding a new take on baked potatoes was a thrill. It involves a couple pats of butter, shaker parmesan cheese, and a pinch of shredded orange cheddar. Place your halved potatoes on top of that and bake in the oven. Perfect for weeknights when you don't have time or feeding a crowd with a baked potato bar on Super Bowl Sunday. You're going to love this quick & easy baked potato halves recipe.
reinventing the baked potato?
You know how things happen in life and we find ourselves saying, "Why didn't we think of this sooner?" I would say baking potato halves (instead of whole like we've done for a grillion years) falls into this category.
But layering a little bit of butter, topped with shaker parmesan cheese and shredded cheddar? Game changer. I mean you get this crispy, cheesy crust which is waaaay better than just a baked potato and takes less time to cook too. 🙂 It feels like a modern baked potato. Like, one day will we look back and wonder how we ever made them the other way?
Quick & Easy Baked Potato Halves are highly customizable
Everyone has their favorite thing. We want what we want when it comes to food, right? For me, I need sour cream, bacon and scallions when I'm doing fancy baked potato night. But the sky is the limit with toppings and the more the better! 🙂 You can make pantry baked potato halves and just use whatever you have on hand. The potato is pretty filling, but if it's not quite enough - make a side salad. If you end up making this recipe for a crowd I recommend a go big or go home mentality.
Super bowl Sunday potato bar! Because why not?
As I am posting this, the Super Bowl is upon us. And half the fun of Super Bowl Sunday is stuffing your face with food and don't even pretend it's not. But if you're hosting a Super Bowl party, that usually means there's a lot of work involved too. Why not keep it simple and make a big pot of chili alongside a baked potato bar with all the fixins?! Here's a jumping off point for the ultimate Super Bowl Baked Potato Bar:
- Sour cream
- Chopped bacon (obviously)
- Scallions
- More shredded cheese on the side
- Black beans
- Refried beans
- Chili
- Chopped tomatoes
- Steamed broccoli
- Chicken chunks
- Avocado
- Bleu cheese
- Frizzled onions
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Tips & Tricks to Quick & Easy Baked Potato Halves
The one thing I can tell you about this one is use your ingredients in moderation. It will be tempting to use more cheese and butter before these go in the oven. And I did that when I was testing the recipe so I can tell you what happens.
- If you use too much butter the whole sheet pan will fill up with butter. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you're potatoes won't be crispy. If that happens, remove the sheet pan from the oven and (carefully) tilt the sheet pan so all the butter pools to one end. Then (again, carefully) pour the excess butter into a bowl. Return the sheet pan to the oven to get your crisp back! They're still awesome without the crisp so don't stress.
- It's tempting to put more shredded cheese down too. And you know how I feel about cheese: there's no such thing as too much cheese. I will say the obvious thing: the cheese will probably burn on the sheet pan and that's not a pleasant smell. I mean a cheese crisp forms around the edges already, but if you have rogue strands of cheese on the sheet pan they will burn and smell.
- I found that 425 degrees was the perfect temperature to cook the potatoes and it took about 35 minutes total. Just stick a toothpick in the potatoes to make sure they are tender.
- Don't skip the olive oil brushing and salt and peppering of the potatoes. It really makes a difference in the flavor.
why potatoes should rule the world
If you're new here, let's get this out of the way: potatoes are my favorite food in the world. Desert island, can only choose one food forever, mine is potatoes. Hi, I get excited about potatoes. Like, really excited. Do you? Every which way (as long as there is no mayonnaise involved) I'll eat potatoes six ways to Sunday. Potatoes are my food soul mate. I love them wholly and completely.
Potatoes are like chicken - you can do almost anything to them. Baked. Boiled. Fried. Sauteed. They are versatile, cheap, can be a side dish, a main dish, a snack. You can eat them plain, loaded with cheese, dipped in ketchup - doesn't matter. They taste good every.single.time. Poetry has been written about potatoes. I mean, not well-known poetry... just me, I guess, and a poem I wrote about red bliss potatoes if you're ever feeling misunderstood (or alone) about how much you love potatoes. I'm here for you, man.
As I was writing this my brain went on a journey where I wondered what kind of image AI would create about potatoes ruling the world. If you've stayed this long, I might as well show you the first "potatoes ruling the world" image (which scared me a little) and then "fun potatoes ruling the world" image which made me feel like life under potato rule would be really chill.
If You Simply Must Have More Potatoes:
- The Best Potato & Leek Casserole
- Cheesy Tomato Potatoes
- Little Potato Salad w/Olives, Capers & Asparagus (no mayo!!)
- Baked Skillet Potatoes w/Chorizo
- Red Bliss Potatoes w/Ginger, Garlic & Parsley
- Potato Bacon Croquettes w/Gorgonzola Bechamel
- Yukon Potatoes w/Fried Onions, Garlic & Cumin
Quick & Easy Baked Potato Halves
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 10 large potato halves 1x
Description
It’s time to step up your potato game with this quick & easy baked potato halves recipe. It’s so damn good.
Ingredients
- 5 medium-to-large Russet potatoes
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Pepper
- ½ stick of butter (4 tablespoons, more if needed)
- 3-4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese (shaker cheese)
- 1 cup shredded orange cheddar cheese
Optional Add-ons:
- 1 bunch of scallions, chopped
- Sour cream, as much as you want
- 1 pound of bacon (cooked and chopped)
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Instructions
- Easy, instructional (step-by-step) video is in the recipe card.
- If you’re using the optional chopped bacon, cook that first and set aside. I usually cook it the day before and store in the fridge until I’m ready to use it.
- Chop one bunch of scallions and set aside in a bowl.
- I bought a small block of orange cheddar cheese and shred about a cup. You can shred more too if you want to serve that on side. You can also use the already-shredded kind of cheese too.
- Cut potatoes in half lengthwise and line up on your cutting board. Pour some olive oil in a small bowl and brush the olive oil on one side of the potato. Then season with a light sprinkling of salt and pepper. Turn the potatoes and do the same on the other side.
- Cut thin (razor thin) pats of butter onto sheet pan – two small pats per potato half. Again – my video shows this well. Then spoon 1 teaspoon parmesan shaker cheese on top of the butter, then a small pinch of orange cheddar.
- Place the potato halves on top of the butter and cheese – CUT SIDE DOWN – and bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for about 35 minutes. Use a toothpick to check tenderness.
- While potatoes are cooking, chop the cooked bacon and put in bowl. If you cooked the bacon the day before you can microwave it for about 15-30 seconds before serving, then toss bacon pieces with a spoon.
- Transfer potatoes to a large platter and serve with all your favorite toppings… like sour cream, bacon and scallions to name a few! 😊
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