Loaded Baked Potatoes are the rockstar cousins of regular straight-laced baked potatoes: colorful, flavorful, and rebellious! Filled with salty bacon bits, bright peppers, broccoli, and tangy sour cream, these Loaded Baked Potatoes are literally a mix of all the best flavors for a truly appetizing appetizer! You’ll be dancing with all the tastes dancing on your tongue. Why would you even want a main course when you could just eat more of these?
Ingredients
- 6 medium russet potatoes
- 12 strips bacon, diced
- 1 pound broccoli florets
- 3/4 cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, to taste
- 4 cups cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 medium green onions, chopped
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Step 2 –Pierce each potato with a paring knife and roast them in the oven until they are tender, about 1 hour, depending on the size of your potatoes.
Step 3 –Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan on the stove-top over medium heat and cook the bacon until crispy, about 7 minutes.
Step 4 –Drain the pan, reserving the bacon fat and setting the bacon aside.
Step 5 –Return the sauté pan to heat and add the reserved bacon fat.
Step 6 –Cook the broccoli and red pepper for 2 minutes. Add the water and allow the vegetables to cook until the water has evaporated. Remove the pan from the heat.
Step 7 –When the potatoes are done cooking, remove and allow to cool until you can handle them.
Step 8 –Cut them in half lengthways and with a spoon, scoop out the insides, leaving about 1/4 inch border on the skins.
Step 9 –Place the scooped-out potato in a bowl and mix with half the cooked bacon, broccoli, red pepper, sour cream, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of cheddar.
Step 10 –Divide the potato filling back into the potato skins evenly.
Step 11 –Return the stuffed potatoes to the oven and bake until heated through, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 165 degrees F in the center, about 10-12 minutes.
Step 12 –Remove and top with the remaining bacon, cheddar, and green onions.