Mexican Twice Baked Potatoes
- Author: Annie Chesson
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour 20 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 mins
- Yield: 6 potato halves 1x
- 3 russet potatoes (room temperature, not refrigerated)
- 1 tbs vegetable oil
- 1/2 tbs salt
- 1/4 tbs pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 pack of Taco Seasoning (I used Old El Paso’s 1 oz packet)
- 1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese plus extra for sprinkling over the potatoes at the end
- 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions plus extra for garnish
- 1/3 cup Greek yogurt plus extra for the top
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 2 tbs chopped cilantro plus extra for garnish
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- In a medium bowl, add your potatoes, oil, salt, and pepper
- Make sure your potatoes are room temperature and haven’t been refrigerated, or your cook time will be longer
- Rub the oil and seasonings over the potatoes until they are all evenly coated
- Place them directly onto the grates of your oven and bake for one hour
- Meanwhile, brown your lean ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat
- When the beef is browned, add 2/3 cup water to the pan along with the taco seasoning
- Stir together and let simmer for 3-4 minutes, until the sauce is thickened and no longer watery
- Chop your green onions and cilantro
- When your potatoes come out of the oven, carefully slice them evenly in half (I used a oven mitt to hold the potatoes so they didn’t burn me)
- Hold each potato half and gently scoop out the potato inside and transfer the filing to a medium bowl
- I used a grapefruit spoon for this step since the edges are serrated. It allowed me to remove the potato more easily, but a regular spoon will definitely work too
- Leave a little bit of potato in the skin so it still has some structure–about 1/4 inch
- Set the empty potato skins aside
- Mash your potatoes with a potato masher and add in your beef, Greek yogurt, cheese, cilantro, salsa, and green onions
- Stir everything together until it is all evenly combined
- Try the mixture and season to taste (I ended up adding 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt)
- Place the empty potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet and spoon filling into each potato skin, pressing it down so it fills all the space
- I filled all the potatoes to the rim first, and then went back and mounded more filling on top until all of it was gone. This ensures an even amount of filling goes into each potato
- Top each potato with a light layer of cheese and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes
- Remove the potatoes from the oven and you are ready to serve
- **Optional** Top with Greek yogurt, green onions, and cilantro