Mini Loaded Baked Potato Bites
Stuffed with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and bacon, these Loaded Mini Baked Potatoes make a fun party appetizer when you’re looking for some heartier bites, or a great side dish in place of traditional baked potatoes. These tasty little potatoes are always a hit!
Loaded Mini Baked Potatoes
Why is it that when you make the miniature version of something, it automatically becomes 10x better? These Loaded Mini Baked Potato Bites, for example. These little potatoes feature the same ingredients as a classic loaded baked potato, with the technique of twice-baked potatoes…and they’re WAY more fun!
Serve mini baked potatoes as a fun party appetizer when you’re looking for some heartier bites, or as a side dish in place of a traditional baked potato – our family loves them either way.
You can get even more creative with the toppings and turn these little potatoes into entirely different bites. See below for some of our favorite topping ideas!
What You’ll Need
These oven roasted mini potatoes are made with the same ingredients as your favorite loaded baked potato.
- Small potatoes – Red or yellow will both work, although I prefer the extra creaminess of yellow/gold.
- Olive oil – Olive oil ensures that the salt sticks to the potatoes, and helps the skins to crisp up in the oven.
- Butter – Butter adds richness and delicious flavor to the filling.
- Sour cream – Sour cream adds creaminess and tang, always a favorite when it comes to baked potato toppings.
- Cheddar cheese – I’m using sharp cheddar cheese but feel free to use what you like best – pepper jack would be delicious if you want to add a bit of heat!
- Crumbled bacon – Bacon adds saltiness and meatiness to the potatoes. Feel free to leave it out if you want to make this recipe vegetarian.
- Minced chives or scallions – Chives add freshness and subtle onion flavor to the potatoes. If you can’t find fresh chives, green onions will work too!
What Potatoes Should I Use?
I’m using small yellow/golden potatoes but red potatoes will also work – use whatever you like best.
Keep in mind that different size potatoes will cook at different times, so if your potatoes are smaller than 1.5”, they may only need 15-20 minutes. If your potatoes are larger than 1.5”, they may need 30-35 minutes to become fork tender.
How to Make Mini Baked Potatoes
Whether you’re creating this recipe as an easy appetizer or as a fun side dish, there are just a few steps – roasting the potatoes, adding the filling, and baking until nice and cheesy!
- Roast the potatoes. Wash the potatoes, then dry well. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt in a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until fork tender.
- Scoop out the insides. Allow the potatoes to cool enough to handle. Then slice 1/4″ off the top and scoop the centers into a bowl.
- Make the filling. Stir the melted butter and sour cream in the bowl with the potato tops and centers. Add the shredded cheese, bacon, and chives. Stir and season to taste.
- Fill the potatoes. Fill each potato with the filling. See how they’re really just miniature versions of twice-baked potatoes?!
- Bake. Bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese is melty. Garnish with additional chives and enjoy.
More Topping Ideas
There’s no need to stop with basic loaded baked potato toppings. Have some fun and get creative – make potato appetizers or turn the potatoes into your meal! Here are a few of our favorites:
- Slow Cooker Chili (a great way to use up just a bit of leftovers!)
- Sloppy Joe meat
- Taco meat or carnitas + your favorite taco toppings
- A drizzle of homemade buttermilk ranch
- Salsa
- Chopped steamed broccoli
- Pizza toppings (your favorite sauce, cheese, and pepperoni)
Serving Suggestions
These loaded potato bites can be served as an appetizer or a side dish.
As an appetizer, they’re awesome for game day. Adults and kids alike, both think these tasty potatoes are a winner!
And as a side dish, you can serve them up whenever you’d normally serve a regular baked potato or mashed potatoes. A few of my favorite things to serve loaded baked potato bites with include grilled steak, chicken, or pork chops.
Also! I’m already planning ahead to summertime entertaining, knowing this will be a great potato side dish to serve to family and friends. I plan to make the potatoes per the instructions, through Step 8, where the filling is added to the potatoes. Then I’ll place the loaded potatoes in a baking pan and cover the pan with foil. Later, when we’re grilling for our guests, we’ll simply place the pan on the grill to warm them up. This will be a great make-ahead dish when Blake is flipping steaks on the grill!
Can I Make These Ahead of Time?
This is a nifty li’l recipe for making potatoes ahead of time!
Here’s what to do. Prepare potatoes through Step 8 in the recipe. Place potatoes in a pan/dish, cover, and refrigerate. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking and preheat oven to 400° F. Bake potatoes, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove cover and bake until cheese is melty and potatoes are thoroughly warmed, another 10 minutes or so. Exact baking time will depend on the size of your potatoes and their temperature from being chilled.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
Leftover loaded potato bites can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. These are super easy to reheat in the microwave, though you can always reheat them in the oven as well.
More Potato Recipes:
- Easy Garlic Roasted New Potatoes
- Creamy Mashed Potatoes
- German Potato Salad
- Easy Baked Potato (4 Ways)
- Cheesy Grilled Skillet Potatoes
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Mini Loaded Baked Potato Bites
Ingredients
- 2 pounds small red or yellow potatoes about 12 potatoes 2″ in size
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ⅔ cup shredded medium or sharp cheddar cheese
- ½ cup finely crumbled bacon
- 2 tablespoons minced chives or scallions
- kosher salt and ground pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° F.
- Wash the potatoes and then dry them well. Place potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and roll them around to coat. Sprinkle generously with salt (about 1.5 teaspoons, or to taste), rolling around to coat evenly.
- Roast for 35-40 minutes, or just until they are fork tender.
- Remove potatoes from the oven and allow them to cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes.
- Slice ¼” off the top of each potato and scoop out the centers (a small baking scoop works great!). Place tops and centers into a medium bowl. Do your best to not rip or pierce the potato, so the potatoes can hold the filling.
- Add the melted butter and sour cream to the bowl with the potato centers. Stir until the mixture is smooth and combined.
- Add the shredded cheese, crumbled bacon, and chives to the bowl. Stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Carefully fill each potato with filling, pressing the filling solidly into each cavity. You can simply add about 2 tablespoons of filling, which will leave you with filling left over. Or you can mound the filling on top and use it all up. (If you don't use it all, place it in a container in the fridge to heat up and eat later!)
- Bake the potatoes for an additional 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melty and the potatoes are thoroughly warmed.
- Garnish with additional chives, flaky sea salt, and ground pepper. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition Information:
25 minutes at 400 for the whole potatoes. 10 minutes after stuffing.
Just rolled the extra stuffing into balls and put them in with the baby reds. Crunchy twice baked tastiness!
They were great!
I made these using 2 bags of mini golds. When family was done with dinner there were only 4 little potatoes left. Loved them.
5 Star