Cheesy blooming potatoes are easy to make and the perfect way to jazz up that boring baked potato. Impress your family with something fun at your next dinner!
Truth be told, I would eat these cheesy blooming potatoes day or night, for any meal. Actually, in all honesty, I ate the ones photographed here for breakfast this morning, and it totally hit the spot. Feel free to make extra, the leftovers can always be gently reheated in the oven.
What are blooming potatoes?
Inspired by the bloomin' onion, a blooming potato is cut like a potato flower with more surface area, which allows the interior to crisp and take on additional seasonings. These are topped with melted cheese and baked until tender and delicious. Feel free to use the toppings I suggest in this recipe, or go your own direction with your favorite flavors.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Potatoes - This recipe is designed for use with Russet potatoes, but you can use Yukon golds or red potatoes too, but they won't get as crispy. This recipe will be easiest with larger potatoes.
- Olive oil - You can substitute any vegetable oil.
- Table salt - Sea salt is a good substitute.
- Ground black pepper - Fresh ground is the best choice.
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Shredded cheddar cheese - You can substitute your favorite cheese. Parmesan cheese would be a great option too.
Customize the flavors by adding your favorite fresh herbs too.
How to Make Them
This cheesy blooming potato recipe is pretty easy to make, you just have to be careful not to cut through the entire potato. You want to leave the bottom intact to hold everything together. Using a razor-sharp paring knife will make this considerably easy.
- Cut off the top of the potatoes.
- Using a small paring knife, cut circular cuts through the inside of the potato.
- Turn the potato upside-down and make cuts all the way around and through the center of the potato. Leave the bottom of the potato skin intact to hold everything together.
The potato then gets brushed with cooking oil and dusted with seasonings. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, repaint with oil and seasonings then bake for an additional 30 minutes. Finally, top with cheese and return to the oven for 5 more minutes.
Tip: If your potato has a flat side, use that as the bottom.
Blooming Potato Toppings
Blooming potatoes can be treated like a twice-baked potato and topped with pretty much anything you want. Crumbled bacon, sour cream, and green onion would be my main recommendations. However, you could even add chopped onion or jalapeno for a kick and a crunch.
What to serve with this recipe
If you are looking for a great entree to pair this with, you can't go wrong with steak! Check out these great steaks to make this meal a star!
Cheesy Blooming Potato Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 russet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pinches table salt
- 2 pinches fresh ground pepper
- 2 pinches garlic powder
- 2 pinches onion powder
- ¼ cup shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings
- 1 strip bacon (cooked and crumbled)
- 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- Cut off the top of the potatoes.
- Using a small paring knife, cut rings around the interior of the potato.
- Turn the potato upside-down and make cuts all the way around the potato. Leave the base of the potato skin intact to hold everything together.
- Brush the exterior of the potato with olive oil and sprinkle with table salt.
- Carefully flip the potato back over and add additional oil and salt and seasonings to the interior
- Place the potatoes on foil and bake at 425 degrees. After 30 minutes of baking, brush the tops with additional olive oil and sprinkle with more salt.
- Place the blooming potato back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
- Top potatoes with shredded cheddar cheese and bake for an addition 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and add toppings of your choice.
Notes
Nutritional Information
This recipe was originally published on FoxValleyFoodie.com July 6, 2015.
olivia giovanni
Potatoes and bacon!! Oh so yum!
Heather
The best recipes are often the easiest! These look amazing and to be honest, I could eat potatoes and cheese breakfast, lunch and dinner anyways! I love the cut of the potatoes..it really ensures that the cheese gets captured and you don't lose that yumminess to the bottom of your pan (extreme party foul). Thanks for a great recipe!
Anne @ Inhabited Kitchen
What a lovely way to dress up a baked potato!
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "cut rings around the interior..." Do you mean loosen it from the skin?
Thanks.
Fox Valley Foodie
Great question. Can you picture what rings in a tree trunk look like? You are cutting the same rings into the potato so when you look straight down on it from above it is just a series of increasingly smaller circles. They are meant to replicate the rings you would have in an onion. However, you can get good results just by cutting the potato in a grid pattern.
Byron Thomas
Oh, this looks so good! I'd put some sour cream on there and dig in!
Fox Valley Foodie
Sour cream! Fantastic idea!
Manal Obieda
Lovely pictures Ben...I have the same cutting board 🙂 The potatoes look amazing really..
Fox Valley Foodie
Thanks so much!
Amanda@ChewTown
Love the idea of a blooming potato! It looks so full of flavor!
Fox Valley Foodie
It is really a great change of pace if you are sick of the typical baked potato!
Whitney
Oh man! I love a good potato recipe! You should do a hassleback recipe also!
Fox Valley Foodie
That is a good idea, I made them once a few years ago and really enjoyed it!
cristie @ Little Big H
Oh yum. Looks delicious.