Do you need a dish that the whole family will love? Do you need a recipe that comes together quickly with a minimum of dirty dishes and fuss? Do you need a side dish to go with grilled meat? Our recipe for Cheesy Bacon Potatoes is exactly what you need.
Whether you serve them baked with smooth sour cream and rich butter piled on top, fried in the form of French fries, or mashed in a creamy bowl of tasty deliciousness, potatoes are one root vegetable that pretty much everyone enjoys. Much maligned in today’s low carb culture, potatoes are one of those things that are labeled as comfort food.
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Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes Recipe
Shake up Taco Tuesday this week by creating a new version of the taco. Our recipe for Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes takes this family favorite and gives it a new twist. If your family still loves tacos, but you’re getting tired of the same old thing, try this recipe today.
Video Version
Equipment
- Vegetable Brush
- Fork
- Large Frying Pan
- Spatula
- Potholders
Ingredients
- 6 pcs Potatoes
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 teaspoon Minced Garlic
- 1 tbsp Chili Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Onion Poawder
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- 1½ teaspoons Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ cup Water
- 1 cup salsa
- Salt and Pepper
- Taco Toppings such as sour cream, cheese, lettuce, tomato, green onions, and guacamole
Instructions
- Scrub the potatoes with a soft vegetable brush under cool running water. Poke the potatoes all over with a fork. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and put the potatoes in the center of the oven.
- Bake the potatoes for 60 to 75 minutes or until they are slightly soft when squeezed, and you can easily poke them with a fork.
- About 20 minutes before the baking time is over, heat a large frying pan over medium heat on the stovetop.
- Put the ground beef in the pan and cook it, chopping it with a spatula until it is fully cooked with no pink remaining. Add the garlic and cook just a minute more until the garlic is lightly browned.
- Drain any excess grease from the skillet and discard it. Season the meat with salt and pepper, stirring to combine.
- To the ground beef, add the paprika, onion powder, cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. Stir in the water and the salsa. Bring the taco meat to a simmer over medium heat. Put a lid on the pan and simmer the mixture for about 15 minutes to reduce the liquid. If there is still excessive liquid in the pan, remove the lid and continue to simmer until the meat is in a thick sauce.
- When the potatoes are finished, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about five minutes. Gently, with a knife, slice the potatoes open lengthwise. Using potholders, squish the ends of the potatoes to open them. Use care so that the potatoes will not break in half completely.
- Salt and pepper each potato and scoop about a tablespoon of sour cream into each potato. Use a fork to slightly stir and mash the potato without breaking the skins of the baked potato shell.
- Spoon the taco meat into each potato, evenly dividing the meat among the six potatoes. Top the meat with shredded cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and any other taco toppings that you prefer.Serve the potatoes immediately.
Notes
So how does one tell the difference between real Mexican food and Tex Mex?
First, one big tell of Tex Mex food is the cheese that tops the recipe. Both Mexican food and Tex Mex recipes feature cheese very frequently in their dishes, but Tex Mex recipes generally use yellow cheeses like cheddar cheese. When authentic Mexican dishes use cheese, however, the cheese is only white cheese.
The second way to recognize the difference between Tex Mex and Mexican food is to consider the spices used to flavor the meal. Tex Mex frequently uses cumin, but Mexican food generally uses chili peppers, oregano, and cilantro, along with cacao and epazote.
Another way of telling the difference between Tex Mex and Mexican food is to check out the tacos. Tex Mex tacos feature either a flour tortilla or hard corn shell that has seasoned ground beef, cheeses, lettuces, and tomatoes in the shell as a filling. Mexican tacos, however, are always made with flat corn tortillas. The filling generally features slow-cooked, shredded beef or pork (not ground beef) that has been marinated before cooking. These tacos have limes, onions, and cilantro for flavoring.
Our recipe for Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes would definitely be considered a Tex Mex recipe, rather than an “authentic” Mexican recipe, even though most people probably use the terms interchangeably. Whatever way that you want to label this recipe, the bottom line is that it is tasty, filling, and something that the whole family will enjoy. If you want to create a new twist on taco night, this is a quick, easy, and appealing way to do so.
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Bacon Cheesy Potatoes Recipe
While you may not have potatoes on the menu more than a few times a month, there is nothing wrong with occasionally indulging in them. Our recipe for Cheesy Bacon Potatoes is definitely an indulgence that pretty much everyone in the family will enjoy. Topped with melted cheese and bacon bits, this recipe is quick and easy to make, taking only a few minutes to prepare before you pop them in the oven for baking.
Equipment
- Large Baking Sheet
- Dish Towel
- Small bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup Real Bacon Bits
- 3 pcs Large Potatoes or 4 to 5 smaller potatoes
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Paprika plain paprika will do if you do not have the smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon Pepper
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 cup Shredded Cheese whatever kind you prefer
- 1 tbsp Chopped Chives optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Wash the potatoes very well, scrubbing them to remove any dirt. Dry the potatoes with a dish towel or paper towel, patting them dry.
- Chop the potatoes into 1-inch pieces, leaving the skins on if you desire. If you would rather not have the peels on your potatoes, feel free to peel the potatoes first. Scatter the potatoes in an even layer on the parchment paper.
- Drizzle the potatoes with olive oil, one tablespoon at a time, making sure that all of the potatoes have a light coating of oil all over them. The olive oil will help the potatoes crisp in the oven.
- In a small bowl, stir together the smoked paprika, pepper, salt, and garlic powder. Use a spoon to sprinkle the seasonings over the chopped potatoes on the baking sheet in an even layer, making sure that all of the potatoes are seasoned.
- Bake the potatoes for 15-20 minutes or until they are tender when you poke them with a fork. Remove the potatoes from the oven.
- Sprinkle the potatoes with the cheese and the bacon bits, making sure that all of the toppings are in an even layer.
- Return the pan to the oven and bake it for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve the potatoes hot.
- You can store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to five days. To reheat, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, put the leftover potatoes on the baking sheet in a single layer, and bake them for about 5 minutes in an oven that is preheated to 400 degrees.
Notes
Our recipe uses a few shortcuts to help you get dinner on the table in a snap. First of all, the potatoes do not necessarily have to be peeled. We used Russet potatoes, but this recipe would also be great with a potato that features a thinner peel, like a red potato or a Yukon gold. If you are cooking for someone who has texture issues and probably will not like eating these potatoes with the peels intact, feel free to remove the peels before you chop the potatoes.
Another shortcut that we use in this recipe is that we use bacon bits to top the spuds. Of course, if you do not have bacon bits on hand but you do have whole bacon, feel free to cook and chop your bacon. It will probably take about six to eight pieces of cooked bacon to equal one cup of bacon bits. Make sure that you use real bacon bits, rather than imitation bacon bits.
This recipe is a great one to accompany anything that you might cookout on the grill. From steaks and hamburgers to hot dogs or grilled chicken, this side dish only takes a few minutes to prepare, and then you’ll slide the pan into the oven to complete the baking time while you flip the burgers on the grill. Most people will love the flavors and textures of this potato dish, so it is a good option for when you have guests over. Another great thing about this recipe is that lining the baking sheet with parchment paper means that clean up will be quick and easy.
We used a shredded Mexican cheese blend, but if you have other cheeses on hand, they would be just as delicious. A tangy sharp Cheddar would give this dish a great complexity of flavor, while a mixture of Parmesan and mozzarella would give it a more mild and herbal flavor. If you choose this kind of cheese, you may want to top the potatoes with a few tablespoons of chopped fresh chives to increase the flavors of this dish.
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