Baked Potato Bar
with broccoli / bacon / beans / cheese / olives / tomatoes
A baked potato bar is a fun DIY meal that lends itself to using up a variety of leftovers and / or fresh ingredients as toppings. The only change we made to this meal since featuring it in 2018 is to halve the potatoes before roasting to speed up cook time.
Smarts: Whole potatoes can be cooked in the Instant Pot. For tips, join the Cook Smarts Instant Pot Facebook Group.
Ingredients
- Potatoes, medium russet - 4, halved lengthwise
- Cheese, cheddar - 4 oz, grated
- Onions, medium and red - 1/2, diced
- Broccoli - 8 oz, chopped
- Chives - 1 Tbsp, chopped
- Tomatoes, Roma - 4, diced
- Olives, black and sliced (2.25 oz / 63 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Beans, pinto (15 oz / 397 g) - 1 can, drained and rinsed
- Foil - for baking
- Bacon - 8 strips
- Chili powder - 1/2 tsp
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Sour cream - 1/2 cup (sub plain or Greek yogurt)
- Salsa - 1/4 cup
- Butter (opt) - for serving
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Potatoes - Wash and scrub potatoes. Pierce several times with a fork. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Cheese / Onions / Broccoli - Prep as directed. Store separately. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Broccoli - Place broccoli into a microwave-safe container, cover with a damp paper towel, and microwave until tender, ~2 minutes. If using frozen, defrost in the microwave. (Can be done up to 3 days ahead)
- Chives / Tomatoes - Prep as directed. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Olives - Drain and rinse.
- Beans - Drain and rinse.
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Make
- Heat oven to 425F / 218C. Line a sheet pan with foil.
- Slice potatoes in half lengthwise and rub on all sides with some oil. Place potatoes cut-side down on sheet pan. Season the tops with some salt. Transfer to the oven and roast until potatoes can be easily pierced with a fork, ~30 minutes.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bacon and fry on both sides until crisp, 6 to 8 minutes total.
- Transfer bacon to a paper-towel lined plate. Drain off all but 1 Tbsp / 15 mL (for 4 servings; adjust if customizing) of bacon grease. Return pan to heat.
- Add beans to heated pan. Saute beans until warmed through. Add chili powder and cumin and saute for 1 minute more. Season with a pinch of salt if needed.
- Crumble bacon.
- Set out toppings - bacon, cheese, onions, broccoli, chives, tomatoes, olives, beans, sour cream, and salsa.
- Spread butter on each potato half (if using) and gently mash with a fork. Have everyone top their potatoes at the table and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Reviews
Ratings
Most Helpful
Delicious and versatile! We modified this recipe by scooping out the potatoes after roasting them, mixing the potato with the onion, chopped broccoli, and yogurt, put that back in the potato shell, topped with cheese, then broiled it for a few minutes to make for a tasty twice-baked potato. We then topped that with soupy red lentils (which had double the spices) and the rest of the ingredients.
4 Helpful10 reviews
Neat idea. Though I'm not sure why we poked holes in the potatoes during weekend prep. The potatoes got a little weird looking where the fork went it. But everyone enjoyed making their own and it tasted good. We had leftover toppings, but no left over potatoes, so I ended up just mixing all the topping together as a bean bowl for lunch the next day - that was tasty too!
0 HelpfulThis was soooo good! Everyone loved it! Hubby wanted regular potato and the rest of us had sweet potato. Loved the crunch of the onion and the beef was just the right mix of spices. We added the cheese and chopped up the broccoli more. I liked that the skins were salted and oiled. We will be making this regularly. 5 star +
0 HelpfulDelicious and versatile! We modified this recipe by scooping out the potatoes after roasting them, mixing the potato with the onion, chopped broccoli, and yogurt, put that back in the potato shell, topped with cheese, then broiled it for a few minutes to make for a tasty twice-baked potato. We then topped that with soupy red lentils (which had double the spices) and the rest of the ingredients.
4 HelpfulThis was a fun "make your own" meal. Kids were surprisingly meh towards the potatoes but loved all the other components! A comforting fall meal. Super easy too.
0 Helpful