Twice Baked Mashed Potato Recipe

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes are always a crowd pleaser, and this recipe takes them to the next level, combining the flavors of mashed potatoes and loaded baked potatoes! The perfect side dish to a holiday meal or really any time of year!

This recipe uses potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, milk, butter, bacon, sour cream, and green onions into a delicious, easy-to-make side dish. You can even make it ahead of time, making it the perfect take along casserole for holiday dinners, BBQs, or just busy weeknight dinners! Your potato lovers will fall in love, I promise!

What is Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes?

Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes is a casserole spin on traditional twice baked potatoes. Instead of putting the mashed, cheesy potatoes back into their skins to bake, you smooth it into a casserole dish, top with cheese and crispy bacon, and bake until bubbly! It is an easy, quick, and delicious mashed potato casserole with all of your favorite loaded baked potato flavors, and is sure to be a hit at home and at events or your holiday table!

Ingredients for this Twice Baked Loaded Mashed Potato Recipe

• Potatoes – Russet potatoes make a great base for this recipe because they help make this dish have such a classic mashed potato taste, are easy to find, and are always a great price. If you don’t have any on hand, yukon gold potatoes will make a good substitute or I love some good red potatoes!
• Cheddar cheese – Shredded cheddar cheese is a necessity. It’s even better if you shred your own (but not necessary)! I recommend sharp cheddar cheese to give that classic baked potato flavor. If you are needing to make this dairy-free, you can substitute with your favorite plant-based cheese variety, though it will affect the texture.
• Milk – Milk is an important ingredient to add to the creaminess of this dish, whatever kind is your preference. You can use whole, lowfat, nondairy, or even half and half for even more creaminess. We love using whole milk or half and half I usually have on hand.
• Butter – Can you even have mashed potatoes without butter? Butter adds the extra richness and smoothness to this dish. You can also substitute plant-based butter to make this dish dairy free.
• Sour cream – Sour cream is what helps make this recipe feel decadent and adds the tangy, creamy taste of your favorite baked potato. You can also sub dairy-free sour cream to make it dairy free!
• Bacon – Crispy, chopped bacon elevates this recipe and sets it apart from so many others, and helps to merge the flavors of mashed potatoes and loaded baked potatoes into one delicious casserole. And it adds a nice amount of protein, too!
• Green onions or fresh chives – Garnishing with these completes this dish, giving it a fresh, crisp addition in both flavor and color.
• Salt and Pepper – Salt and pepper helps elevate each of the yummy flavors in this meal.

Why You’ll Love this Twice Baked Mashed Potato Recipe

• It’s the perfect dish to prepare ahead and warm up when needed! It makes it a perfect addition to your meal prep routine for busy weeknight meals, and it also is a great casserole option when you need to take a side dish to a holiday dinner, BBQ, or other event! 
• It’s budget-friendly. The russet potato base makes it a great option for large families and hearty appetites while not including lots of pricey ingredients, and the bacon makes it even more filling!
• It’s so easy to make, and only takes a few minutes to prepare. You just boil the potatoes, mix all the ingredients together (except for the green onion and some of the shredded cheese), and bake! 
• It’s a great kid-friendly option. Who doesn’t love creamy, cheesy mashed potatoes? It’s a perfect side for those picky eaters. It is such a classic dish, they are sure to enjoy it!
• You can use leftover potatoes and make this even easier to prepare! All you need to do is warm up the leftover mashed potatoes and then mix in the remaining ingredients in a casserole form and bake. 

How to make Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes

• Boil your potatoes over medium heat in a large pot of water until they are tender when poked with a fork. Drain the water out from the potatoes and set them aside. You can peel the potato flesh if you want as well–totally optional!
• Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
• In a mixing bowl, add the cooked potatoes and combine the shredded cheese, milk, butter, and sour cream.

• Mix just until creamy. You can use a hand mixer or mixer if you want!
• Taste the mixture and add the amount of salt and pepper you desire. A good place to start is with 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon of pepper, and go from there. 

• Add the mashed potato mixture to a 13-inch baking dish, and spread it out evenly.

• Top potato mixture with remaining cheese and the crumbled bacon.

• Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly.
• Top with the green onions and serve!

Tell me about this Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes Recipe

• Texture – Creamy mashed potatoes combined with cheddar cheese, butter, milk, and sour cream, makes this a smooth and lovely creamy dish.
•  Ease – This dish is so easy! Using almost one pot, it comes together easily once you boil the potatoes (even easier if you are warming up leftover mashed potatoes), and makes for pretty easy cleanup. And the fact that you can make this recipe ahead makes it an even easier option. 
• Taste – It’s all of your favorite loaded baked potato flavors in mashed potato form!
• Time – With only 10 minutes of prep time that you can even do ahead, this dish comes together in under an hour from start to finish and comes together very simply. It’s a great hands-off option for busy nights.

Frequently Asked Questions

So, this perfect side dish is going to be your favorite side dish for the upcoming holidays! We always love twice baked potatoes, but all the work it takes to get everything back in the potato skins is usually not worth it for me, which is why I just love this recipe!

Remember this great recipe for your dinner parties, Christmas dinner, or just to go along with your main dishes during the week! Let me know what you think, and what different things you would add to make it even tastier!