These mouth-watering easy baked potato halves are the ultimate weeknight Dinner Hack. Simple, delicious and beautiful all while you wait for them to bake.
These easy baked potato halves are a weeknight dinner alternative to baked potatoes.
Have you ever taken a bite of a perfectly crispy yet fluffy baked potato half, topped with your favourite savoury toppings, and wondered how such a simple dish can be so undeniably delicious? Well, you’re not alone. According to a recent survey, baked potatoes are one of the top ten favourite comfort foods among Americans.
But what makes this humble side dish so irresistible?
A crispy skin, a hint of seasoning, soft and fluffy inside and the perfect toppings. Keep reading to find out to how to make these easy baked potato halves for your next weeknight dinner.
Preparing Easy Baked Potato Halves
Ingredients
Potatoes: I use yellow flesh potatoes in this recipe. Yellow potatoes are a bit more sweet and softer so overcooking them will make them mushy quickly. White flesh potatoes are a bit more starchy and will hold their shape better so feel free to use white flesh potatoes instead.
Olive oil: I use olive oil for this recipe because of its mild flavour. Olive oil is the fat extracted from olives. The least processed is extra virgin olive oil, which I use in this recipe.
Garlic powder: Garlic powder is dehydrated garlic ground to a powder. It’s sweeter than raw garlic so it just adds a hint of garlic flavour without the sharpness.
Paprika: I use sweet paprika, or just paprika which is most commonly found in grocery stores. It is not sweet in the sugary sense, but compared to its spicy and smoked siblings it is definitely the sweetest of them all.
Chili powder: This powder is made up of various varieties of dried chilies. The chilies are dried then ground and combined into this spice mix. Sometimes other spices are mixed in as well which is why you may find that different brands have slightly different flavours.
Cheddar cheese: I like to use old cheddar in this recipe to add a bold flavour to complement the potatoes. Medium cheddar will work great as well.
Sour cream: Sour cream is made from cream from dairy milk. Lactic acid bacteria is added to sweet cream creating a thick, tangy and creamy substance.
Green onions: Also known as scallions, green onions add a fresh flavour to this dish. Use the green parts of the green onion for a milder flavour or chop up the whites as well if you like a stronger taste.
How to Make Baked Potato Halves
Before you get started get all of your ingredients out. Wash your potatoes and preheat the oven to 400˚F.
Step 1: Prep the potatoes
Cut each of the potatoes in half length-wise and add the potato halves to your glass baking dish.
Next, season the potatoes with the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika and chili powder. Then, using two silicone spatulas, or your clean hands, toss the potatoes with the
spices to coat them evenly.Step 2: Bake the potato halves
Before putting the dish in the oven, turn all the potatoes cut side down in the dish and sprinkle evenly with the coarsely ground salt.
Place the dish with the potatoes in the oven, uncovered, and bake for 25 minutes.
At the 25-minute mark flip the potatoes and put them back in the oven for another 15 minutes.
Step 3: Dress (optional)
In the last 15 minutes of baking, wash and chop the green onions or chives and grate the cheese.
Once the potatoes are cooked, remove the dish from the oven and immediately top each potato half with some cheddar cheese.
After letting the potatoes cool for a few minutes, add the sour cream over the cheese followed by the green onions or chives.
Substitutions
Potatoes: You can use whatever potatoes you have on hand but for the best results you want to use russet potatoes.
Spices: you can skip the spices and use salt and pepper instead to keep this dish extra simple. You can also use other spices you have on hand. Onion powder
Olive oil: If you know anything about baked potatoes you know that butter is a great pairing. If you’re not concerned about extra cholesterol, melted butter is a perfect substitution.
Serving Baked Potato Halves
Once you’ve dressed the potatoes you are ready for serving. Place the potatoes next to your favourite protein and you have the perfect weeknight dinner.
Try these baked potato halves next to our juicy baked yogurt chicken thighs. You’ll have the easiest and most delicious “sheet pan dinner” of sorts that bakes while you wrangle the family to the dinner table.
Let us know in the comments if you have any other questions. And if you like this recipe be sure to leave us a five-star rating below.
Are you looking for dinner ideas? Check out our recipes:
Easy Baked Potato Halves Recipe
Equipment
- 9x13 glass baking dish
- Silicone Spatulas
- Knife
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs potatoes
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp coarsely ground salt
Toppings (optional):
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 4-6 green onions or chives
Instructions
- Start by preheating the oven to 400˚F.
- Now wash your potatoes well then cut them in half length-wise. Add the potato halves to your glass baking dish.1.5 lbs potatoes
- Next, season the potatoes. Add the olive oil, salt, garlic powder, paprika and chili powder. Using two silicone spatulas, or clean hands, toss the potatoes with the spices to coat them evenly.2 tbsp olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp chili powder
- Before putting the dish in the oven, turn all the potatoes cut side down in the dish and sprinkle evenly with the coarsely ground salt.1/2 tsp coarsely ground salt
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes. Flipping after about 25 minutes.
- Top to your liking and serve with your favourite protein.½ cup shredded cheddar cheese, ¼ cup sour cream, 4-6 green onions or chives
