Your family will LOVE this easy twice-baked potatoes recipe! The potato filling is rich and creamy, while the potato skins get nice and crispy. Broccoli and cheddar cheese make this recipe extra delicious, and sets it apart from the rest. Prep the potatoes in advance and store them in the fridge or freezer for a quick 30 minute meal or side dish.
Broccoli Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
Jennifer says: “Love these! Thanks so much for the recipe! Made exactly as written and always make extra to freeze.”
Comfort food is basically the only thing getting me through this wicked cold winter! I’m craving carbs every 15 minutes and right now these twice-baked potatoes are my go-to cure. This famous side dish is:
- creamy, cheesy, and bursting with flavor
- topped with broccoli (yay, veggies!)
- make-ahead friendly/freezer friendly
- a great side-dish but can also work as a main meal if served with soup or salad
- the definition of comfort food
Inspired Wendy’s Baked Potatoes
Confession: My first broccoli and cheddar twice-baked potato was from a Wendy’s (drive-thru). Do you remember those?! My mom would get me one with a small chili and omg, it was heaven.
But my homemade version is 1,000,000 times better! They’re healthy comfort food and I’m convinced after one bite you’ll be 100% obsessed with this recipe.
Ingredients for Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Russet Potatoes: You’ll want to wash your russet potatoes well and dry them completely before use in this recipe.
- Olive Oil: Use whatever you have on hand, it doesn’t need to be fancy.
- Butter: Unlike 99% of the recipes I make, I actually prefer using salted butter for these twice baked potatoes. In a pinch, use unsalted butter and add salt as needed.
- Greek Yogurt: In a pinch, sour cream makes a great sub. Or use sour cream if you prefer the taste and texture. I use Greek yogurt because I find it’s a little healthier, but use what works for you.
- Buttermilk: I love the tangy flavor buttermilk adds (it’s what I use in my mashed potatoes, too). But in a pinch, regular milk will work fine. I don’t suggest using plant-based milks.
- Herbs and Spices: Salt and pepper, chives (or sub green onions), garlic powder, onion powder, dried onion flakes, dried dill weed, and paprika. This spice blend adds so much flavor!
- Broccoli: You’ll need 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked broccoli. Chop it into bite-sized pieces before use in this twice-baked potato recipe.
- Cheese: I love using orange cheddar cheese in this recipe, but use whatever cheese you know melts well and tastes great.
Let’s Make Cheesy Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Prep: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees about 30 minutes before you plan on baking. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Bake Potatoes: Bake the whole potatoes for an hour, or until they’re soft. Set aside until they’re cool enough to handle.
- Mashed Potatoes: Slice the russet potatoes in half. lengthwise, and scoop out the flesh. Place the potato flesh it in a mixing bowl, add butter and use a potato masher to mash smooth. Add in remaining ingredients and mix until combined.
- Potato Skins: Rub the outsides of the potato skins with olive oil, then place the potato skins on the prepared baking sheet.
- Fill Potato Skins with Mashed Potatoes: Divide the mashed potato filling evenly among the potato skins.
- Toppings and Bake: Top with remaining cheese and bake potatoes for about 20 minutes. Or until the cheese melts and the potatoes heat through. Serve at once!
What is a Twice-Baked Potato?
- Twice-baked potatoes, much like biscotti, require two – almost back to back – baking sessions. Thus, they are “twice-baked”.
- The first baking session softens the russet potatoes. You’ll need the potato flesh to become soft enough to scoop out easily.
- The second bake crisps the potato skins and heats the mashed potato filling. It also helps melt the gooey cheese on top of the twice baked potatoes.
This recipe makes 8 twice-baked potatoes, which is a TON of potato if you’re a smaller household. If you’re serving a crowd, you can easily double or triple this twice-baked potato recipe to suit your needs. Jump to the recipe below!
Twice-baked potatoes are totally make-ahead friendly!
- Remember earlier when I said these where convenient? Twice-baked potatoes can be assembled, stuffed, and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can also individually wrap each potato (minus the cheese) in aluminum foil and pop them in the freezer for up to two months. In my experience, cheese does not hold up well in the freezer, so you’ll want to save that step for baking day.
- The frozen potatoes will need about 12 hours to thaw before baking, so remember to transfer them from the freezer to the fridge the day before you plan to use them.
- When you bake twice-baked potatoes that you have frozen, you’ll likely need to add a few minutes to the bake time. Start checking at 20 minutes, but don’t be surprised if they take up to 30 minutes.
What to Serve with Twice-Baked Potatoes
- Caesar Salad
- Minestrone Soup
- Pan-Seared Rib Eye Fillets
- Lemon Garlic and Thyme Roasted Salmon
- Garlic Knots
- Sour Cream, Sliced Green Onions, Bacon Bits (?!)
I really, really hope you make these twice-baked potatoes! Paired with a light salad, you’ve got yourself a whole meal.
Broccoli and Cheddar Twice-Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
- 4 medium russet potatoes washed and dried
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 4 Tablespoons (57g) salted butter very soft
- 1/2 cup (113g) non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup (76ml) buttermilk
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 teaspoon dried chives
- 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 and 1/2 cups cooked broccoli chopped into bite-size pieces, divided
- 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Place potatoes in a small baking dish and bake for 1 hour, or until soft.
- Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once the potatoes are cool enough to safely handle, slice each one in half, lengthwise. Scoop out the potato pulp and place it into a large bowl, being careful to leave the skins intact. Rub the outsides of the potato skins with a little olive oil. Place the skins on the prepared baking sheet and set aside.
- Add the butter to the potato pulp and mash – using an electric mixer or a potato masher – until fairly smooth; add Greek yogurt, buttermilk, salt, pepper, chives, garlic powder, onion powder, dried onion flakes, dill weed, paprika, broccoli and 3/4 cup of the cheese.
- Divide the filling evenly among the potato shells then top with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are heated through. Serve at once!
Video
Notes
Oh, these look SO much better then anything I could ever have in a restaurant and I’m dying to make them for dinner this week! Thanks for the recipe!
You’re so welcome, Lynne! Hope you enjoy them 🙂
I love twice baked potatoes, but I haven’t made them in forever! These look delicious! Thanks for the inspiration!
Thank you, Michelle! I hope you make them soon 🙂
Your photos are perfect! Cheers!
Thank you so much, Lauren!
Hi, didn’t have onion flakes but sautéed some onion & garlic in some of the bacon grease (yes bacon was added to the top of the cheese to stay crispy), also used 1/2 old cheddar & 1/2 mozzarella, used sour cream instead of buttermilk (extra butter while mashing potatoes). YUMMY YUM.
I love adding broccoli to our twice baked potatoes! And all that cheese…:)
Anything covered in cheese is always a good idea, right? 🙂
Yessss loved the
They look so amazing! putting these on the menu plan!
Yay! Hope you enjoy them, Nancy 🙂
I just went to the grocery store, and I’m making these right now. I, like you always ordered these from Wendy’s because I absolutely love them. However Wendy’s in NC no longer has them On the menu. My husband and I were talking about them yesterday, and how much of a bummer it was that Wendy’s no longer has them. Then tonight I came across your recipe. It was meant to be! I’ll update you as to how they turn out! Thank you so much!!!
I can’t wait to try these!! They are perfect!
Thank you, Ashley!
My mother in law is obsessed with those baked potatoes from Wendy’s. We have very different cooking styles, so it’s hard for either of us to come up with something the other will eat (we’ve tried). But this is something that I already love just by looking at it. I can definitely make these to take over next time we have dinner there. Cool!
can you freeze them?
What’s not to love! These twice baked, deliciously stuffed potatoes look amazing.
this could NOT be more perfect, I legit have potatoes, cheddar cheese, and broccoli all on hand!! making a version of this tonight 🙂
Made these and loved them! Didn’t have cheddar so I used colby jack – really yummy. Even my picky husband and toddler woofed them down.
This was so good made my Family dinner ther love it so good go make it