Twice Baked Taco Potatoes

How can you go wrong when you mix tacos and twice baked potatoes? Hint: you can't!

Oh em to the gee, I used leftover taco meat to make twice baked potatoes, and THEY ARE SO GOOD!

I have a special place in my heart for twice baked potatoes. Yeah yeah yeah fries & chips are good and all, but twice baked potatoes? That's my favorite way to eat potatoes.

I made them in my first year of blogging. Y'all... the photos... the photos from 2011 to 2013/14 are so bad.

Slowly but surely I'm updating those photos, but instead of just making regular twice baked potatoes, I decided to go rogue and add the last lingering bit of taco meat in my fridge.

And it's probably been my most favorite decision of 2016.

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It's like everything good in one. You're using up leftovers, it's very budget friendly, and it's flippin' fantastic. The spicy taco meat with the plain yogurt and lots of cheese (preferably Cabot Chipotle Cheese) are all stuffed into a baked potato, and you have yourself a perfectly packaged delight for dinner or lunch.

Most of the potatoes you find in the store are ginormous. Instead of buying them individually, I buy a 5 pound bag because those potatoes are usually more reasonably sized.

You'll want a 4 to 6 ounce potato, which is around 4 inches.

Let's get to the recipe... you start by baking your potatoes. You can do this ahead of time or just plan ahead since it takes about an hour to initially bake them.

If you are eating baked potatoes earlier in the week, add a few extra potatoes in the oven and save them for this recipe. You'll be so happy you did.

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Let your potatoes cool a little bit, and slice off the top portion of the potatoes, probably about 1/4 to 1/2 inch. You want enough room so you can scoop out the potato but not too much where you're wasting a lot of the potato. Then reserve the insides from one potato. You can toss the other potato insides or use them for another dish (maybe some mashed potatoes for another night!)

Mash the potato with plain yogurt and some of the cheese. I use Cabot Chipotle Cheddar because it gives these potatoes tons of flavor. If you use regular cheddar, you might want to add in a little extra chili powder to taste.

Now, stir in the taco meat. Then pack about 1/2 cup of the mixture into each of the potatoes. You really want to pack the mixture into the potatoes; stuff 'em till ya can't stuff no more

Once you have your potatoes stuffed and ready, you have two options...

1) Bake them for about 15-20 minutes. Cover with cheese, bake another 5-10 minutes and enjoy!
2) Wrap tightly and freeze for later. When you're ready to bake your frozen potatoes, pop them on a baking sheet and stick in an oven. Heat the oven to 400*F and bake for 45 minutes. Top with cheese and bake another 5-10 minutes. Enjoy!

There you go. Use up your leftover baked potatoes and your leftover taco meat to make a delicious, comfort food delight.

I promise you'll want to call & thank me or give me a high five or send me flowers. I like all of those things, so send away 😉

Twice Baked Taco Potatoes

How can you go wrong when you mix tacos and twice baked potatoes? Hint: you can't!

5 from 1 vote

Print Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Servings: 4

Author: Meme

Ingredients

• ▢ 4 small potatoes 4 to 6 ounce
• ▢ 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 1/4 cup shredded cheese about 5 ounces, preferably Chipotle Cheddar, divided
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups leftover taco meat

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400*F. Wrap potatoes individually in foil and bake for 60-75 minutes until a knife easily slices through the center.
• Unwrap potatoes and let cool.
• When potatoes have cooled some, slice off about 1/4 to 1/2 inch horizontal top of the potato. Carefully scoop out potatoes, reserving the insides of one potato. Set aside the potato shells.
• Mash the insides of one potato with the plain yogurt. Stir in salt and 3/4 cup cheese. Then fold in leftover taco meat.
• Pack the mixture into the potato shells until full. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Top each potato with remaining cheese (about 2 tablespoons per potato) and bake for 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!

Notes

*To freeze, wrap stuffed potatoes (that are not topped with cheese) individually. Freeze. When ready to cook, transfer potatoes to a baking sheet. Put in the oven and heat the oven to 400*F. Bake for 45 minutes. Top with cheese, and bake another 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!
*Look for the smaller potatoes usually in bulk bags of potatoes.

Did you try this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment & recipe rating below. Bonus points for tagging @memeinge & #livingwellkitchen on Instagram! THANK YOU! xo

[showhide type="post" more_text="Click here for Nutrition Facts" less_text="Clear Nutrition Facts"]
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Meme

What's your favorite way to use up leftovers? How do you like your potatoes?

Disclosure: I receive free samples of Cabot Cheese as a member of the Cabot Cheese Board. I was not asked and/or compensated to write this recipe or use their cheese. It's just my absolute favorite 🙂

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