I made these loaded sweet potato skins for the Eagles game last weekend. I wasn’t planning to share the recipe because let’s face it… they’re just potato skins. But that’s exactly why I should share this recipe: cheesy, bacon-topped potato skin goodness. The plate disappeared before 1st quarter had ended. But seriously. A great potato skin is really everything you want out of comfort food/game food grub. Salty and crispy, with enough starchy weight to satisfy your hunger. My ideal potato skin is cut thin so that it’s not just a twice-baked potato. Nor is it a pencil thin, crunchy piece of potato skin. How disappointing. Rather, the potato should be cooked just right with the best of the best toppings. Crispy real bacon, not bits out of a can. Sour cream, chives, and a whole lotta melted cheese. And if you love potato skins as much as I do, you have to try them with sweet potatoes. Dare I say they’re even better than regular potato skins. Plus you get all the fiber, vitamin A, and other good stuff. Orange for the win.
Video Tutorial
Loaded sweet potato skins are so simple. The potatoes are hollowed out, leaving just enough edge, then filled back up with the mashed sweet potato. I highly recommend mashing the sweet potatoes with a little milk to make the filling smooth and extra creamy. Top the filled skins with cheese, bake, add bacon, enjoy. Crunch, crunch, crunch. The trick to their crisp? After hollowing out the skins, drizzle them with olive oil. Don’t leave it out! Once drizzled, bake the potato skins for about 10 minutes before filling them. Voila! Extra crispy skins. When I’m feeling like something a little healthier, I add a little garlicky spinach to the filling. This is how I do it: three handfuls of spinach cooked down on the stove with 1 clove of minced garlic and 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Mash this into the sweet potato filling and fill the hollowed out skins as directed below. Then, I usually top each filled skin with 1 Tablespoon of shredded cheese. And I skip the bacon. Bake, and enjoy with a salad—makes a great, meat-free healthy meal. Try it! These crispy skins are becoming a game-time staple. Can’t get enough sweet potatoes? Try sweet potato casserole, candied sweet potatoes, sweet potato turkey chili, sweet potato dinner rolls, or cinnamon sugar sweet potato fries next.
